Pressure washing cost calculator

Pick the surface, measure the area, be honest about the soiling. The output is a price band and the method line that goes with it — pressure, nozzle and detergent — because the number only defends itself if the method behind it is stated. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

Job estimate

Surface

Area to cleansq ftCondition

Access

Estimated price range

$240 - $480

3000-3500 PSI · 25 deg green / surface cleaner · 24-30 min on site

Detergent: Degreaser pre-treat, SH post-treat. This is a planning band, not a survey figure: measure the site and price your own labour.

Photograph-style measuring wheel standing on a walkway, mossy concrete on one side of the diagonal and bare wet clean concrete on the other — A measuring wheel on a front path — the measurement comes before the price.

PSI & nozzle quick reference

0 degRed: Spot jet. Etches most surfaces.4000 PSI
15 degYellow: Stripping bare concrete.4000 PSI
25 degGreen: General concrete and walkways.3500 PSI
40 degWhite: Siding, wood, vehicles.1500 PSI
~65 degBlack: Detergent draw, low pressure.500 PSI

The bands behind the number

Every surface carries its own dollars-per-square-foot band, because the method differs. Concrete is a surface-cleaner job at full pressure. Siding is a chemistry job at almost none. A shingle roof is the same chemistry with a longer dwell and a hard rule against pressure. Those method differences are the whole spread.

Surface	$/sq ft	Working pressure	Nozzle
Concrete flatwork	0.20–0.40	3000-3500	25 deg green / surface cleaner
Vinyl or fibre-cement siding	0.20–0.45	100-500 (soft wash)	Black soap then 40 deg white rinse
Brick and masonry	0.30–0.50	1200-2000	25 deg green
Wood deck or fence	0.35–0.60	500-1200	40 deg white
Composite decking	0.50–1.00	Manufacturer max, often <=1500	40 deg white
Asphalt shingle roof	0.40–0.75	Soft wash only — never pressure	Low-pressure soft-wash tip
Paver cleaning	0.30–0.55	1500-2500	25 deg green / surface cleaner
Paver sealing (labour + material)	0.90–1.90	n/a — roller or sprayer	n/a

Worked example: a 1,400 sq ft driveway

Concrete flatwork, three years since the last clean, one oil patch by the garage, spigot at the side of the house. That is heavy on the condition scale and easy on access. 1,400 sq ft at $0.20–$0.40, times 1.25 for condition, gives roughly $350–$700, and the time line reads 35–44 minutes on site. Quote the middle of that band unless the oil turns out to be deep.

The floor beats the maths on small jobs

Below about 900 sq ft the square-foot arithmetic drops under the $175 call-out floor. Drive time, setup and teardown do not shrink with the job, so the floor is what you quote. The calculator says so when it happens.

Surface damage risk

Never carry a concrete number onto siding, wood or shingles. 3,000 PSI through a 25-degree tip is right for a driveway and will furrow cedar, drive water behind vinyl and strip the granules off asphalt shingles. Pick the surface before you pick the pressure.

What moves a quote after the site visit

No water on site. A buffer tank and a haul add a line, not a multiplier — price it as its own item so the customer sees why.
Landscaping. Pre-wetting and tarping beds before a soft wash is real time. It is also the difference between a happy customer and a dead hedge.
Rust, battery acid, tyre marks. These are specialty removals, not soiling levels. Quote them separately or exclude them in writing.
Wash-water containment. Commercial work often requires it. See the discharge note on starting a pressure washing business.

Pressure washing cost calculator

The bands behind the number

Worked example: a 1,400 sq ft driveway

What moves a quote after the site visit

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