Deck Cleaning

On Hudson Road it could be any of the three, and that is why the walkthrough confirms the surface before we clean it. Your estimate is built from the measurements first, and if the surface turns out to be something else we tell you before touching it. The era-by-era mix along that street means the porch you are standing on might be original wood, painted concrete or a 1970s slab, and each takes a different setting and a different solution. Original wood gets deck-safe treatment. Painted concrete gets a method that will not lift the coating. A plain slab tolerates more. Guessing wrong on any of them either damages the surface or leaves it dirty, so porch material identification is part of the estimate rather than a decision made on the day.

Decks are cleaned with a surface-appropriate solution and controlled pressure suited to the decking material, not the pressure used on concrete. Wood is worked with the grain so boards aren’t furred or gouged, and composite is cleaned with a low-pressure wash and solution so the embossed surface isn’t scarred. We inspect boards, railings, and fasteners first and clear accessible furnishings before starting, and we point out any soft or failing boards we find.

Not the way we do it, and this is the single most important method constraint on a paver job. Pavers are cleaned with pressure and angle controlled specifically to lift growth and staining without stripping the joints — because once the sand is gone you have a re-sanding job on top of the cleaning you just paid for, and unstable joints let pavers shift. The custom builds in Northampton and the river-view homes carry large paver and poured patios, retaining walls and pool decks, so this comes up constantly here. Joints that are already depleted will need sand regardless of how the cleaning is done, and that is identifiable before anything starts rather than discovered afterward.

As deck-safe treatment, and as its own service rather than part of a house wash. Porches are the constant in Dover — wood decking, painted railings and a century of foot traffic, which means worn paint, softened wood and fasteners that have been in the weather a long time. Pressure on any of that lifts paint and raises grain, so it is low pressure with a solution suited to painted wood. We inspect the decking and railings first and tell you where cleaning would take off paint that is already letting go, because that turns a cleaning into a repainting job you did not budget for. You can get your own number right now: the [instant estimate](/instant-estimate) prices your property from the address in about two minutes, and what you accept is what you pay.

Usually not. Untreated wood exposed to UV turns silver-gray as the lignin at the surface breaks down, and mildew growing in that softened layer adds the fuzzy texture. That is surface degradation, not structural rot. The test is a screwdriver: press it into the board — if it sinks with light pressure, that board has rot and needs replacing rather than cleaning. If it resists, the gray is cosmetic and cleaning takes the wood back toward its natural color, which is also what has to happen before any stain will bond.

Composite is low maintenance, not no maintenance, and the black spotting is the common surprise. Most composite decking contains wood flour bound in plastic, and that organic content plus a textured surface that traps pollen and shade gives mold something to grow on. The spots are growing on and slightly into the surface rather than staining it. It cleans with the right solution at low pressure — but composite scars permanently under pressure that real wood would shrug off, so it is one of the surfaces where the wrong equipment does damage that cannot be sanded out.

Soft washing uses low pressure and surface-appropriate cleaning solutions for delicate materials such as many roofs and siding types. Pressure washing is generally reserved for durable hard surfaces, such as applicable concrete. SurfaceWorks ProWash selects the method based on the material, condition, and project scope.

Three different jobs on the same piece of metal. Gutter cleaning is the outside face of the gutter and downspout. It comes with a house wash or a siding cleaning at no extra cost. A gutter clean-out is interior work: removing packed leaves, shingle grit and sediment from inside the trough, then flushing each downspout to confirm water runs through it. It is included free with roof soft washing, because roof work puts debris into the gutters by design. It is also sold on its own, priced per linear foot, with no other service required. Gutter brightening removes the dark vertical striping bonded to the front face, often called tiger striping. That is oxidized aluminum and road film chemically stuck to the finish, so it needs a dedicated product and will not come off with house wash solution. It is never included in a house wash. A quick way to tell what you need: if the inside is full, you need a clean-out. If the outside is streaked dark, you need brightening. If neither, the cleaning that comes with your wash is enough. The gutter clean-out is free with a roof soft wash and 25% off added to a house wash, and the rate is published on the [pricing page](/pricing). More on what the gutters do to a roof in [black streaks, moss and lichen](/learn/roof-moss-lichen-algae-damage). Why a wash leaves chalky siding chalky-looking, and what actually improves it, is explained in [why a wash will not bring the color back](/learn/why-a-house-wash-will-not-fix-chalky-siding). You can get your own number right now: the [instant estimate](/instant-estimate) prices your property from the address in about two minutes, and what you accept is what you pay.

Yes, on two different timelines, because roof work does not finish on the same clock as everything else. On any surface other than a roof: if you are not satisfied with something we cleaned, tell us within 14 days and we will come back and re-clean it at no charge. Fourteen days rather than a week on purpose — most people do not look properly until the following weekend, and a rain in between makes anyone doubt the result. On roof soft washing: 60 days. A roof keeps improving for four to six weeks after the visit as the treated moss and lichen lose their grip and release with rain and weather. Judging a roof at two weeks would be judging it half-finished. If it has not come around within 60 days, it gets re-treated at no charge. What the guarantee does not cover is anything cleaning cannot correct: oxidized or chalked finishes, concrete scaling where the top layer has already broken loose, failed paint or stain, and rust with an active source still feeding it. Those get identified on the walkthrough and stated before any work begins, so nothing on that list is a surprise afterward. Separately from all of that, there is a warranty. The guarantee above asks whether we did the job right; the warranty asks whether it stayed clean. Black streaking on a roof we soft washed is warranted for two years — three if you are on the maintenance plan — and washed siding can carry a twelve-month regrowth warranty, included free with the plan. Two conditions are excluded from the roof warranty and we point them out before the work rather than after: heavy overhanging tree cover, and areas where water pools rather than draining. Both re-seed growth continuously no matter how well a roof was cleaned. What the roof warranty covers, and how it compares to the five-year ones you will see online, is set out in [how to read a roof cleaning warranty](/learn/roof-cleaning-warranty-what-five-year-really-means). Roof pricing is on the [roof soft washing page](/services/roof-soft-washing). You can get your own number right now: the [instant estimate](/instant-estimate) prices your property from the address in about two minutes, and what you accept is what you pay.

Yes, and it is the sensible time to do it since everything has to come off the patio anyway. Patio and outdoor furniture and equipment cleaning is $79 and covers furniture, swing sets, grills and similar outdoor items, cleaned at a pressure and solution matched to the material. Cushions and fabric are not included — this is hard surfaces: frames, tables, slides, plastic and metal. You can get your own number right now: the [instant estimate](/instant-estimate) prices your property from the address in about two minutes, and what you accept is what you pay.