Service
Power Washing & Pressure Washing in Ottawa & Gatineau
Surface cleaning that strips dirt, mildew, and chalking so the next coat actually bonds and lasts.
Power washing in Ottawa cleans siding, decks, driveways, interlock and masonry by matching the water pressure and the cleaning solution to each surface. Pressure washing is the same service under a different name. Done properly it lifts off dirt, mildew, algae, chalking and the road salt a winter leaves behind, without furring wood, stripping mortar or forcing water in behind the cladding.
A wash is usually the opening step of a larger exterior project. Decks and fences are washed before painting and staining, tired cladding before aluminum and vinyl siding painting, masonry before brick painting or limewashing, and when the whole face of the house is due at once it folds into our exterior painting in Ottawa service.
A short season, and the winter that makes the wash necessary
Ottawa's exterior working window is genuinely short. From the last hard freeze in spring to the first one in autumn is most of what you get, because coatings need warm, dry conditions to cure and a washed surface needs time to dry before anything goes on it. Winter is what creates the work: road salt and sand land on siding and driveways for months, and the freeze-thaw swing drives moisture into brick, mortar and interlock joints. The local housing stock adds to it, since Ottawa runs heavily to brick and to aluminum and vinyl siding, with interlock drives and wood decks behind them, and all four want a different pressure.
What is included
House and siding washing
Vinyl, aluminum, engineered wood and stucco cleaned with a solution and a low-pressure rinse, so the dirt comes off and the cladding, seals and trim stay intact.
Decks, fences and exterior wood
Wood worked along the grain at a pressure it can take, so boards come clean and open up to accept stain rather than being furred or gouged.
Driveways, walkways and interlock
Concrete, asphalt and pavers stripped of ground-in dirt, moss and winter salt. Interlock is worked carefully so the jointing sand stays in the seams.
Brick, stone and masonry
Older Ottawa brick and mortar get the lowest pressure that will do the job. Soft century brick is what a rented machine on full power ruins first.
Site protection and clean-up
Plants soaked before and after, windows checked, fixtures covered, and run-off managed so nothing leaves your property carrying soap and sediment into a storm drain.
Our process
Walk it and quote
We identify every surface, what it is made of and what condition it is in, agree the scope, and put a clear written number in front of you.
Protect, then treat
Plants watered and covered, fixtures protected, run-off planned. Then the right solution for the substrate goes on and is given time to do the actual cleaning.
Rinse at the right pressure
Pressure, nozzle, distance and angle set per surface: low on siding, wood and old masonry, higher on concrete, worked in even overlapping passes so nothing stripes.
Final walk and dry-down
We rinse off, check the work with you and clear the site. If painting or staining is next, the surface gets the drying time it needs first.
What does power washing cost in Ottawa?
Power washing cost in Ottawa is driven by surface area first and the material second. A flat concrete drive is quick work; two and a half storeys of siding with ladder work is not, and access often moves the number more than square footage does. Condition matters as much, since heavy algae, moss or years of chalking need a cleaner, dwell time and often a second pass. Delicate substrates cost more per square foot rather than less, because soft washing older brick or painted wood is slower than opening up on concrete. Request your free estimate and you get a clear written number once we have seen the surfaces.
There is no single cleaner for a whole exterior. Organic growth on siding and decks is treated with a dilute sodium hypochlorite house-wash solution and a surfactant so it stays put long enough to work, concrete and interlock usually want a degreaser, and older brick wants the mildest thing that will do it.
Want a real number for your power washing project in Ottawa or Gatineau?
Soft washing vs high-pressure washing
| Consideration | Soft washing (low pressure plus a cleaner) | High-pressure washing |
|---|---|---|
| How it cleans | The solution does the work; water only rinses | The force of the water does the work |
| Suits | Vinyl and aluminum siding, painted wood, stucco, older brick | Concrete, asphalt, interlock, sound stone |
| Algae and moss | Treated, so regrowth is slower | Blasted off, but what is left regrows sooner |
| Risk to the surface | Low when the solution suits the material | Can fur wood, blow out joint sand, strip soft mortar |
| Risk to the wall behind | Little water driven into seams and laps | Water can be forced behind siding and into the wall |
Power Washing: common questions
For most exterior repaints, yes. Paint bonds to whatever it touches, so a coat rolled over dirt, chalking or mildew grips the dirt rather than the siding and lets go early. The surface then has to dry fully before priming, which is why we book the wash as the opening step of the project rather than the morning of it.
It can, and that is the honest reason to hire it out rather than rent a machine for the weekend. Too much pressure furs softwood, blows jointing sand out of interlock, strips soft mortar and drives water in behind siding where it cannot dry. Parks Canada's conservation standards put it as Standard 7: use the gentlest means possible.
It can be, and it changes how we work. Health Canada advises that a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and that on a home built between 1960 and 1990 the exterior may. Blasting a flaking older exterior spreads chips and contaminated water across your yard, so we drop the pressure, collect the debris, follow lead-safe practices and recommend testing rather than guessing.
Once the hard freeze has passed, so roughly spring through early fall. Washing in near-freezing weather leaves water sitting in mortar joints, deck boards and interlock seams, where it then freezes and expands. Spring clears the winter's salt and sand, while late summer suits a fall repaint, since the surface gets time to dry before the coating goes on.
Onto the ground, and on hard surfaces toward the nearest drain. The City of Ottawa is blunt about this: storm sewers carry runoff directly into nearby creeks, ponds, rivers and streams without any form of treatment, so soap reaching one travels untreated into the waterway. We soak plantings before and after, manage the run-off and keep it out of storm drains.