Pressure washing has the best revenue-per-equipment-dollar in home services: a few thousand dollars of gear bills $250–$600 per residential job, and commercial contracts (storefronts, HOAs, fleets) turn it into scheduled recurring revenue.
It's also gloriously simple to sell — before/after photos do the closing for you. The operators who win treat it like a route business: recurring maintenance plans, dense neighborhoods, and commercial anchors that fill weekdays.
Who this fits
- ✓Outdoor, physical workers who want fast cash flow
- ✓Weekend launchers keeping a day job through the ramp
- ✓Route-minded owners who'll sell maintenance plans, not one-offs
- ✓Anyone with a truck/trailer or willingness to rent-to-start
What it costs to start
Pressure washer (4+ GPM commercial unit)
$1,200 – $3,500
Surface cleaner, hoses, wands, chemicals
$500 – $1,500
Trailer or truck setup with water tank
$500 – $3,000
LLC, insurance, first marketing push
$600 – $1,500
What you can realistically earn
Typical residential tickets: driveways $150–$300, house washes $250–$500, roofs (soft wash) $400–$900. Two jobs a day at a $300 average is $12,000/month gross in season; solo operators keep 65–75% after fuel, chems, and insurance.
Commercial flattens seasonality: monthly storefront contracts at $100–$300 and quarterly HOA common-area work anchor the calendar regardless of weather swings.
Ranges are educational estimates from operator-reported figures — your market, effort, and execution decide where you land.
Why it works
- +Cheapest entry among serious-revenue service businesses
- +Before/after marketing basically sells itself
- +Natural recurrence — surfaces re-dirty on a schedule
- +Commercial contracts create true route revenue
Honest downsides
- −Seasonal in cold climates (pair with holiday lights or interior work)
- −Physically demanding; weather-dependent scheduling
- −Low barriers mean price-shopper competition (sell quality + insurance)
How to start: step by step
- 1
Buy commercial-grade from day one
A 4 GPM machine with a surface cleaner halves your job time vs. big-box units. Speed is margin.
- 2
Learn soft washing early
Houses and roofs are chemical jobs, not blast jobs. Soft-wash skills unlock the highest tickets safely.
- 3
Price by surface, quote from photos
Square-footage pricing with photo quotes closes same-day without drive-outs.
- 4
Blitz one neighborhood with before/afters
Post every transformation locally; neighbors buy what they can see from the sidewalk.
- 5
Convert one-offs to annual plans
Spring house wash + fall driveway package at a bundle discount. Recurring plans are what make this boring (good).
Common questions
Do I need a license?
Most areas require only a business license and insurance; some regulate wastewater runoff (reclaim rules) for commercial work. Check municipal rules — compliance is a selling point against cheap competitors.
What about winter?
Cold-climate operators stack holiday light installation (same customers, same trucks) or interior services. Sunbelt operators run year-round.
Solo ceiling?
Around $10k–$15k/month gross solo in season. Past that: a two-person crew doubles throughput, and you shift to selling and scheduling.
See which cash-flow business fits your capital.
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