What is the difference between power washing and pressure washing?
Very little, for most homeowners. Both use water at high pressure to strip dirt off hard surfaces. In the trade, power washing sometimes means the water is heated, which helps with grease. Most people in Las Cruces and El Paso use the two words for the same job, and Kat’s booking menu calls it power washing.
What matters more than the name is the surface. Old oil on a driveway, rust from a planter, and red desert mud each come off differently. Tell Kat what the stain is at the walkthrough and she will tell you what she expects to lift.
Which surfaces can be power washed?
Hard outdoor surfaces that take water well. Kat confirms each one on your list at the walkthrough. The ones people ask about most:
- Patio slabs and covered patios, where dust and monsoon mud build up
- Walkways, front entries and the apron in front of the garage
- Driveways, with honest expectations about old oil stains
- Block walls and courtyard pavers
- Outdoor furniture frames, alongside a patio furniture cleaning
Roofs, gutters and anything that needs a ladder outdoors are not on the list. Kat would rather point you to the right trade than take on work she does not specialize in.
Is pressure washing safe on stucco and painted surfaces?
Not always, and that is worth knowing before you hire anyone. High pressure can gouge stucco, lift paint, force water behind trim and wear down soft pavers. Most homes in Las Cruces and El Paso are stucco, so the walls of a house are a different job from the concrete in front of it.
Ask Kat at the walkthrough which surfaces she will wash and which she would leave alone. You will get a straight answer, the same way she tells clients openly that carpets are not her specialty.
When should you power wash in Las Cruces and El Paso?
After the spring winds, when fine dust has settled into every texture on the patio. After monsoon season, when July to September storms leave mud splashed across walkways. And the week before you host, when the patio becomes the room everyone sits in.
Before a home goes on the market, too. Kat’s team has reset homes for sale in Las Cruces and in Arrey, and a clean front walk is the first thing a buyer sees. Pair power washing with a move-out or deep cleaning and the inside matches the outside.
How much does pressure washing cost?
Kat sets one flat rate at the free walkthrough, based on the surfaces, their size and their condition. Her booking menu lists power washing as roughly a two-and-a-half-hour visit for a typical job.
For a national comparison, HomeGuide’s pressure washing price guide puts a driveway, deck or patio at about $108 to $262 and a house exterior at about $173 to $358. Adding power washing to a patio cleaning or a house cleaning that is already booked keeps the job in one visit with one team.
Questions about power washing
Do you pressure wash driveways?
Driveways are among the surfaces people ask about most, and Kat confirms yours at the walkthrough. Dirt and dust come off well. Old oil stains that have soaked into concrete may lighten rather than disappear, and she will say so before you pay.
Can I combine power washing with patio cleaning?
Yes, and it is the most common pairing. The slab gets power washed and the patio furniture gets cleaned in the same visit, priced together at the walkthrough.
Do you power wash roofs or second-story walls?
No. Roofs, gutters and outdoor work on a ladder are outside what Kat’s team takes on. She will point you to the right trade.
What do you need from me on the day?
Access to the area and to an outdoor water tap, and anything fragile moved off the surface being washed. Kat confirms the details at the walkthrough.