Yes, pressure washing adds value to your home. Think about it this way: plenty of people wash their car every week, and that car might be worth $50,000 to $80,000. Your house might be worth anywhere from $500,000 to $2 million. It's your largest asset, so why wouldn't you wash it?
I'm Troy Hillard, founder and franchisor of Wash Rite. I've been in exterior cleaning since 2015, and the Wash Rite group now runs 142 trucks across Australia and New Zealand. Here's how washing protects your home's value, and how it can help when it's time to sell.
A clean house is a protected house
Washing your house extends the life of everything that protects it: the paint, the cladding, the windows, the roof and the gutters. Those layers protect everything underneath, so keeping them clean keeps your whole home in better shape.
Take your roof. A standard roof might last 40 to 50 years. In my experience, a roof that's washed regularly and well maintained can last far longer, potentially up to 100 years.
Why real estate agents work with us
A lot of our work is pre-sale washing, and over the years Wash Rite has built strong relationships with real estate agents across the country. Agents see real value in having homes washed before they go to market, for two reasons:
- It presents better. A clean house looks better in the photos, the listing and at open homes.
- It protects your price. A clean house doesn't hand buyers a dirty roof to use as a bargaining point to push the price down.
Biggest bang for your buck: the roof wash
If you're selling, a roof wash gives you the most value for your money. It costs around $750 to $1,000 plus GST, but your roof protects the entire house beneath it.
Pre-purchase inspectors pay close attention to roofs because they know a re-roof is a big expense for a buyer. A clean roof with clean gutters goes a long way at inspection time.
When to book: 3 to 4 weeks before going to market
Book your clean three to four weeks before you plan to list. That way your home is at its cleanest when the photographer arrives and when the pre-purchase inspection happens.
There's nothing worse than a drone shot of a dirty roof.
Driveways and oil stains
A clean driveway is one of the first things buyers see. An average driveway clean costs around $120 to $200 plus GST. Oil stains and tyre marks cost extra, with an average oil stain costing around $80 to $150 to remove.
One thing to know: only fresh oil stains can be fully removed. Concrete is porous, so the longer oil sits and soaks in, the harder it is to get out. If you've got a new stain, deal with it sooner rather than later.
Cost vs impact: the low-hanging fruit
A pre-sale house wash typically costs $300 to $500 plus GST, and a roof wash around $750 to $1,000 plus GST. That's a fraction of what you'd spend repainting a house or putting in new landscaping.
Washing the house and roof is the low-hanging fruit for any seller wanting to add value before going to market.
The DIY mistake that costs sellers
The biggest mistake I've seen from people cleaning their own homes before a sale is damaging their timber deck. Too much pressure cuts the timber fibres and leaves the deck feeling fluffy and fuzzy underfoot. That fuzz is broken timber fibres.
Once the damage is done, it's too late for us to come in and fix it with a wash. Leave the deck to a professional.
How often to wash to protect your home's value
- House: once a year for the best results and longevity.
- Roof: every three to five years.
- Coastal homes: more often, to wash away the corrosive salt spray from the beach.
The one thing to remember
The outside of your house protects everything inside it: your belongings and your family. Maintaining the exterior is the most important thing you can do for your home.
Keeping your paint, roof, windows and cladding clean is how you protect them. Moss, mould, algae and lichen eat away at those surfaces every day. Remove them, and your home's protective layers will last a lot longer.
Thinking of selling, or just want to protect your biggest asset? Contact your local Wash Rite for a free quote.
