Pressure is the wrong tool for most of a house. High pressure on siding drives water behind the boards and into the wall, which causes a much more expensive problem than the dirt it removed. Siding wants a soft wash with the right cleaning solution and low pressure. Hard surfaces like concrete and pavers can take real pressure. The shaded north elevation is usually mildew and algae rather than dirt, and it needs treating or it grows back before the season is out.
Scoped in writing before anything is booked, with the surfaces, the products and the number of coats named so you can compare it against anything else you have been quoted.
The Lake County painting year
Interior work runs every month. Exterior is weather dependent, so the spring slots go first.
Pressure
Pressure washing is one of the few services where doing it too hard is worse than not doing it at all, and the damage is permanent.
Wood. High pressure on cedar, pine or any softwood tears out the soft fibre between the grain lines and leaves a furry, ridged surface. It looks clean for a week and then it holds dirt worse than before, and it will not take stain evenly. Wood gets low pressure and a cleaning solution doing the work, not the wand.
Vinyl siding. Pressure driven upward under the laps forces water behind the siding and into the wall. Vinyl gets washed downward, from a distance, at moderate pressure.
Painted surfaces. Too much pressure strips paint — which is sometimes the point before a repaint, and is a disaster if you were only cleaning.
Brick and mortar. Older Lake County brick has soft lime mortar, and high pressure removes it from the joints. That is expensive to repoint.
Windows and seals. Direct pressure at a window seal drives water inside.
Concrete and hardscape is where real pressure belongs — driveways, walks and patios take it fine.
The right approach is the lowest pressure that does the job with the correct cleaning solution. If someone quotes you a power wash without asking what the surfaces are, that is a warning.
Purpose
These are two different jobs and they get quoted differently.
Cleaning for appearance. Removing green algae from the north side, dirt from the siding, and the grime that accumulates on a Lake County house over a season. Straightforward, and it is worth doing annually.
Washing as paint prep. More thorough and more specific. The goal is not just visible dirt — it is mildew spores, chalking from old paint, and anything that would compromise adhesion. This includes a mildewcide treatment on shaded elevations, because painting over live mildew means it grows through the new coat. If your exterior repaint quote does not include a proper wash, that is a corner being cut.
Deck and fence prep. Different again — this involves a cleaner appropriate to the wood, often a brightener afterward, and then genuine drying time before any stain goes on.
Mildew is the Lake County constant. North-facing walls, anything under a tree canopy, and shaded lakefront elevations through Highland Park and Highwood grow it every year. Plain water does not kill it. It needs the right solution and dwell time.
Timing. Late spring once the pollen has finished is ideal for a general clean. Before a repaint, the wash and the painting should be days apart, not the same day — the surface has to dry.
Around the county
What needs washing in Lake County follows the shade. North-facing walls, anything under mature canopy through Long Grove, Wauconda, Lincolnshire and Riverwoods, and the shaded lakefront elevations in Highland Park and Highwood grow green algae and mildew every single year without exception. Those need a proper mildewcide with dwell time, not just water at pressure. Open subdivision lots through Gurnee, Grayslake and Lindenhurst are more about ordinary dirt and pollen, which is a simpler wash. Older brick through Waukegan, North Chicago and the pre-war streets of Highland Park needs genuine care, because soft lime mortar comes out of the joints under high pressure and repointing is expensive. Concrete driveways, walks and patios anywhere in the county are the one place real pressure belongs and they take it fine. Timing-wise, late spring once the pollen has finished is the right window for a general clean, and any wash done as paint prep needs to happen days before the painting rather than the same morning.
What we handle. Siding of every type, brick and stone with appropriate pressure, soffit and fascia, gutters exterior, decks and fences at low pressure with the right cleaner, concrete driveways and walks, patios and pavers, and garage floors.
What needs care rather than pressure. Older lime mortar, cedar and other softwoods, painted surfaces you intend to keep, window seals, and anything with an existing failure that pressure will make worse.
What we will not do. Roofs. Pressure washing asphalt shingles strips granules and shortens roof life significantly, and it is one of the more damaging things done to houses in the name of cleaning. Roof algae is a soft-wash job with the right chemistry, done by roofing specialists.
Sequencing with other work. If a wash is prep for painting or staining, the two need separating by enough dry days for the substrate to actually dry through, not just look dry. On a humid Lake County stretch that can be longer than you would expect. If a contractor offers to wash and paint the same day, that is a corner being cut.
Water source and runoff. We use your spigot, and the runoff goes where the grade takes it. On a property with new landscaping or a sensitive planting bed, tell us and we will route around it.
How it works
We look at the surfaces, not just the rooms. Prep is what the number is built from, so it is what gets measured.
You get the surfaces, the products, the number of coats and the price in writing before anything is booked.
Interior any month. Exterior inside the season, not squeezed into the end of it.
We walk the finished work with you under real light and fix anything on the list before the final invoice.
Towns we serve
Service area
Text a photo of the room or the elevation and we will scope it, or call and we will walk it through with you.
Questions
By surface area and by the amount of preparation the surfaces need, which is the part that varies most between two houses that look similar. A wall that needs washing, filling, sanding and priming is several times the work of one that needs a coat. You get the scope in writing — surfaces, products, number of coats — so you can compare quotes on the same basis rather than on a single number.
Interior work runs all year, and January through March is the easiest time of year to book. Exterior work is weather dependent and needs surface temperature and dryness within range, so it runs roughly April through October in Lake County. We would rather tell you to wait for spring than put a coat on in November that fails by summer.
A single room is usually a day or two. A whole-house interior runs one to two weeks depending on how much trim and how much prep. A full exterior is typically one to two weeks, and the weather decides more than the crew does. You get a schedule up front, and you are told when it moves.
No. Interior work is done room by room so the house stays livable, and each room is put back at the end of each day rather than at the end of the job. If a kitchen is being refinished you will lose the use of the cabinets for a few days, and we plan that with you rather than around you.
Text a photo of the room or the elevation and we will scope it. Fastest way to a number.
Text a photoCall (224) 706-1302