Red Flags When Hiring an Exterior Cleaning Company

The seven red flags, ranked by what they cost you

In rough order of damage done: one, someone points a pressure washer at siding, a shingle roof, or a window seal and calls it power washing. Two, a firm whole-house price quoted sight-unseen, with no pane count and no square-foot measurement. Three, no certificate of insurance, or a screenshot of one instead of a current copy from the agent. Four, a promise to remove hard water spots from glass nobody has inspected. Five, urgency: the price expires tonight, the crew is already in your neighborhood. Six, a large deposit, especially cash or a personal payment app. Seven, a recurring plan with a contract, an auto-renew, and a cancellation fee. The first one can cost you thousands in siding or glass. The rest cost you money and a wasted Saturday. Anything on this list is enough to end the call.

Red flags in the pitch, the paperwork, and the crew

Idaho does not license window cleaning or pressure washing as a trade, so no state board is vetting anybody and every check is yours to run. Ask for a certificate of general liability insurance sent by the agency, not forwarded as a photo; $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate is the normal residential level. Ask for the legal business name and a physical address, then confirm they match. Ask who physically shows up, because a subcontracted crew means the company you vetted is not the company on your ladder. On door-knock sales, the federal Cooling-Off Rule gives you three business days to cancel most sales of $25 or more made at your home, and a salesperson who does not volunteer that is counting on you not knowing it. A quote that exists only as a text message with no written scope is not a quote.

The technical tells: PSI, chemistry, and temperature

This is where a real operator gives themselves away in one sentence. Vinyl, painted lap siding, stucco, and hardboard get soft washed: the chemical does the work and the rinse stays under roughly 500 PSI at the surface. That is why house washing prices out at $0.18 per square foot as a soft wash and not as pressure. Concrete flatwork is different, 3,000 to 4,000 PSI through a surface cleaner is routine, and that exact setup aimed at siding drives water behind the boards and blows out caulk joints. Asphalt shingles should never see pressure at all; the roofing industry's own guidance is chemical treatment only, because pressure strips granules and shortens the roof. Wood decks want 500 to 1,200 PSI, a 25 to 40 degree tip, and a foot of standoff. And temperature is real here: below about 40 degrees, sodium hypochlorite slows down and rinse water starts freezing on the wall, which is why Treasure Valley house washing effectively closes from late November into March.

Red flags in the guarantee, the deposit, and the plan

Read the guarantee instead of the headline. A rain guarantee should state a length and a scope; Reflekt's is seven days and covers rain spotting on exterior glass, not sprinkler overspray, which is a different problem with a different fix. A satisfaction guarantee with no timeframe and no remedy is a slogan. On money: a routine residential job in the $199 to $600 range needs no deposit at all, and a company asking for half up front in cash is managing its own cash flow with yours. Custom holiday lighting is the one honest exception, because the material is cut for your roofline. On recurring work, no contract should be required, cancellation should cost nothing, and the discount should be disclosed in dollars rather than vibes. Reflekt's memberships have no contract, and quarterly saves $100 per cleaning. Pay by card or invoice to a business name, never a personal payment-app handle.

What is not a red flag, and when not to hire at all

Some things homeowners penalize are actually good signs. A company that asks for photos or your full address before quoting is measuring, not stalling. A company that declines your job, say a pressure wash on 1920s wood sash, is protecting you. Windows left visibly wet after a pure-water clean are the method working; deionized water dries with nothing in it. A young company is a legitimate thing to weigh, and we will not pretend otherwise: Reflekt started in April 2025 and has 4.9 stars across 115+ Google reviews, which is a shorter record than a ten-year competitor. Now the part that costs us: do not buy a house wash on chalking, oxidized paint, because soft washing lifts the chalk unevenly and you end up needing paint, not cleaning. And hard water etching is corroded glass, not a deposit. No chemical, razor, or soap removes it. Mild cases sometimes improve with cerium oxide polishing; severe ones need new glass, often $200 to $600 per insulated unit.