How to start a pressure washing business

Before you buy anything

Most people who want to start a pressure washing business start by shopping for a machine. That is the easy part. The parts that decide whether you make money are less fun: knowing where your dirty water is allowed to go, having insurance before you touch a customer's house, and quoting by the square foot instead of by feel.

The good news is that the startup cost is small next to most trades, you can learn the work in a few weekends on your own driveway, and every clean driveway is an ad the neighbors can see. The hard part is that demand slows down in winter wherever it freezes, and the work is physical. If you can live with both, here is how I would start.

The starter kit and what it costs

Buy what you need for driveways, walkways, patios and basic house washes. Leave the expensive gear for when real jobs ask for it. Check the boxes you need and put in prices from your local dealer. The starting prices are examples, not quotes.

My stances on the kit:

• Buy a surface cleaner on day one. Wand-only driveways take far longer and leave stripes customers notice.
• Skip the hot water unit at first. Residential flatwork and house washing do not need it. Add one when commercial grease jobs show up and pay for it.
• Buy used pressure washers only if you can run them first. Listen for a steady pump and check for leaks at the fittings.
• Ask before you use a customer's spigot, and check the water flow at the first visit. A weak spigot is the reason people add a water tank later.

Where the dirty water goes

This is the part most "how to start" articles skip. The water coming off a driveway carries dirt, oil, grime and whatever chemical you used. Under the Clean Water Act it is unlawful to discharge a pollutant from a point source into waters of the United States without a permit.

Cities with storm sewer permits have to run programs that find and stop non-stormwater discharges. The EPA's fact sheet on those programs lists the flows a city does not have to chase, like lawn watering and street wash water. Commercial pressure washing water is not on that list. So your city can treat it as an illegal discharge, and some cities spell that out.

Here is what one city's rules look like. Brookhaven, Georgia prohibits pressure washing water in the storm drain system, which it defines to include catch basins, gutters, ditches and ponds. It asks for dry cleanup first, washing only in dry weather, blocking inlets, sending water to grass or gravel to soak in, and collecting it with a wet/dry vacuum when that is not possible. It recommends water only and says not to use products with hazardous ingredients like bleach. Violations can cost up to $1,000 per violation per day.

Call your city's stormwater or public works office before your first paid job. Ask where wash water may go, whether detergents or bleach are allowed, and whether you need a permit. Write down who you spoke to.

Old houses and peeling paint. The EPA's lead renovation rule covers work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978, and the firms doing that work must be EPA-certified. Blasting a pre-1978 house with peeling paint can knock a lot of it loose. Until you have read the rule or asked your state's lead program, pass on those jobs.

Set up the business

The SBA's official steps to launch a business cover this well. The short version for a pressure washing company:

1. Choose a structure. A sole proprietor's business and personal assets are not separate. An LLC protects owners from personal liability in most instances, which matters when you work on other people's property.
2. Register the business and any trade name. The SBA says the total usually comes in under $300, depending on your state.
3. Get an EIN. It is free from the IRS.
4. Get licensed. Plan on a general business license from your city or county. The SBA says requirements vary by state, county and city, so ask your city clerk what applies to mobile service businesses.
5. Open a business bank account before the first deposit.

Then insurance. These are the kinds that matter for washing:

How to price by the square foot

Flat surfaces like driveways, walkways, patios and pool decks are usually priced by the square foot. It is easy to measure from the curb or from a satellite view, it is fair to the customer, and it tracks your time. House washes are often priced by the size of the house instead, and small jobs get a minimum charge.

Set your rate from your own speed. Time yourself with your surface cleaner on a dirty driveway, then divide the hourly amount you need by the square feet you cleaned in that hour. If you clean 600 square feet an hour and need $90 an hour, your base rate is $0.15 a square foot. Both numbers here are examples. Use your own.

A few pricing habits that protect you:

• Charge a minimum that covers the drive, setup and cleanup. A single small patio is not worth loading the truck for less.
• Price add-ons separately: oil stain treatment, sealing, gutter faces, fences.
• Quote in writing from photos, and say what is not included, like rust stains that may not come out.
• Sell the next visit. Offer to put customers on a yearly reminder. Repeat work costs you nothing to win.

Your first 90 days

1. Weeks 1 to 2Register, insure, buy the day-one kit. Set up your Google Business Profile. Practice on your own driveway. Call the city about wash water.
2. Weeks 3 to 6First ten jobs from people you know and your own street. Take before and after photos of every job from the same spot.
3. Weeks 7 to 10Door hangers on the streets around each finished job. Ask every customer for a Google review the same day.
4. Weeks 11 to 13Website with online booking. Reach out to property managers and realtors with your photos.

The door hangers work because the clean driveway sits right next door as proof. Put them on the street you just finished, not a random neighborhood across town.

Getting found on Google

Once your own street knows you, the next customers will find you by searching "pressure washing near me". Google says local results come down to relevance, distance and prominence, that more reviews and positive ratings can help, and that you cannot pay for a better local ranking.

• Create your Google Business Profile. If customers do not come to you, Google says to remove your address and list your service areas instead, up to 20 of them.
• Post your before and after photos to the profile. They show the work better than any description.
• Ask every customer for a review with a direct link. Make yours with our free review link generator. Do not give discounts for reviews. Google strictly prohibits incentives.
• Put up a simple website with online booking. A page for each service, real photos, how you price, and a form that takes photos and a preferred day. See how to add a Book button to Google and how to rank higher in Google Maps.

When the season gets busy, the problem becomes missed calls while the machine is running and quotes that go quiet. That is the stage where the Dialbridge system for home service businesses fits: calls and texts answered, quotes followed up, jobs booked.

Sources: SBA: Launch your business; SBA: Choose a business structure; SBA: Register your business; SBA: Apply for licenses and permits; SBA: Get business insurance; IRS: Get an employer identification number; Utah Insurance Department: Business use of your auto; EPA: Summary of the Clean Water Act; EPA: Stormwater Phase II fact sheet 2.5, illicit discharge detection and elimination; City of Brookhaven, GA: Pressure washing guidance; EPA: Lead renovation, repair and painting program rules; Google: How to improve your local ranking; Google: Manage your service area; Google: Prohibited and restricted content (reviews)