Exterior House Cleaning: What It Includes and the Right Order

What people mean by exterior house cleaning

Exterior house cleaning is the whole outside of the house, not just the siding. Done properly it covers five separate jobs:

• The roof, where black algae streaks and moss live
• The gutters, inside and out
• The siding, trim, soffits, fascia, and shutters
• The windows
• The hardscape, meaning the driveway, walkways, patio, deck, and fence

Most people book one or two of those at a time, which is fine. But if you are doing the whole house, the order the work happens in makes a real difference to the result, and a surprising number of companies get it wrong.

The right order, and why it matters

The short version: work top down, and finish on the ground. Everything you clean sends dirt, dead algae, and runoff downward, so anything you clean early gets dirty again if something above it is still filthy.

1. The roof

The roof goes first because it is the highest thing on the property and because it produces the most debris. A roof soft wash kills the black algae, and dead algae, moss, lichen, and years of loose grit all wash down into the gutters and down the walls. Clean the siding before the roof and you will be cleaning it twice.

Roof cleaning is soft wash only. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association recommends a low-pressure chemical wash for asphalt shingles, because pressure strips the granules that protect them. Expect $400 to $750 for an average single-family roof, and see our roof cleaning cost guide for the details.

2. The gutters

Gutters come second, right after the roof, because they have just caught everything the roof let go. Cleaning them out first and then washing the roof means doing the gutters twice.

A proper gutter cleaning means every section hand-cleaned, the debris bagged and hauled away rather than dumped in your beds, and every downspout flushed and confirmed running. That runs $175 to $325 for most homes.

3. The house wash

Now the walls. A soft wash with biodegradable, plant-safe detergent takes off the green algae, the black mildew in the seams, and the film of pollen and road dust, and it takes the streaks off the outside faces of the gutters at the same time. That is why the gutter exteriors get done as part of the house wash rather than the gutter cleanout.

Every side of the house, soffits, fascia, trim, shutters, and downspouts. Pricing starts at $389 for a single-story cape or ranch, $475 to $575 for a two-story colonial, and $550 and up for larger homes. There is a full breakdown in our house washing cost guide.

4. The windows

Windows come after the house wash, never before. A house wash puts detergent and runoff on the glass, and no matter how carefully anyone rinses, the glass will need doing again afterward. Cleaning windows first is money spent twice.

Our window cleaning is $8 per pane with a $200 minimum, exterior or interior, and it is the step that makes the biggest difference to how the house looks from inside.

5. The hardscape

The driveway, walkways, patio, deck, and fence go last, because every single thing above them has been draining onto them all day. Concrete gets a surface cleaner at high pressure for an even finish. Pavers get controlled pressure and re-sanded joints. Wood and composite decking get a detergent and a gentle rinse, because pressure ruins both. There is more on each surface in our patio and deck cleaning guide.

Driveways and concrete run $150 to $400 depending on size and staining.

Where to start if you are doing it in stages

Not every house gets the whole exterior at once, and that is fine. If you are spreading the work out, the order above is also a good priority order. The roof and gutters protect the house, so they come first. The wash and the windows change how the place looks. The hardscape is the finishing touch.

Doing it all in one visit does save time on site. The truck is already there, the water is already hooked up, and the setup and breakdown only happens once. We quote the whole exterior together and send back one flat price. Text 2 or 3 photos of your house to (860) 553-9326 and we will put a number to it.

How long it takes

Most single-family homes are a one-day job for everything, or two days if the roof is large and the hardscape is extensive. You do not need to be home, though we like it when you are, because we walk the property with you before we leave rather than sending an invoice and driving off.

When to schedule it in New England

Two windows work best around here.

Late spring, after the pollen and the maple seed drop are finished, usually late May into June. Wash before that and you will watch a yellow film land on everything within a week.

Early fall, after leaf drop, usually late October into November. This is the better slot if you only do it once a year, because it clears the gutters before the freeze and takes a summer's worth of algae off the siding before it sits there all winter. Gutters full of leaves in December are how ice dams start, which we covered in how often to clean your gutters.

What separates a good job from a cheap one

• Plant protection. Every bed and shrub wet down before anything is applied and rinsed again after. Prep is what keeps landscaping alive, not the label on the jug.
• Method matched to surface. Soft wash on siding and roofs, pressure only on concrete and hardscape. Anyone offering to pressure wash your roof or your vinyl should be shown the door.
• All sides. Read the quote. Cheap house wash prices often mean the front and one side.
• Insurance. General liability and workers comp, with a certificate of insurance sent before work starts.
• A walkthrough. Somebody should walk the property with you and fix anything you point out while they are still there.

Book the whole exterior

Applewood Exterior Cleaning is owner-operated out of Pomfret Center. There are two of us, we grew up here, and one of us is on every job, so nobody is guessing about which surface gets which method. If something is not right, we come back inside 30 days, and if growth returns within the year our 365-day guarantee covers it.

You can see everything we do for homes on our residential services page. Text 2 or 3 photos of your house to (860) 553-9326 and we will send back a flat quote for the whole exterior, usually within the hour.