The amount of water used during a standard house pressure wash depends on the size of your home, the machinery being used, the chemicals being used, the level of dirtiness, and the level of experience of the technician. For an average-sized suburban home, a house pressure washing service will use about 300-900 gallons of water. If you are curious about how much that will cost, the city of Idaho Falls, Idaho claims that the average US price of water is about $1 per every 1500 gallons. If you do the math, the average house wash will tack on an estimated $0.20 to $0.60 to your water bill at the end of the month.
Size of your home
It is no surprise that the size of your home will be the largest influence on the amount of water being used in a pressure washing project. A larger home will take longer to wash and the longer the project, the more water will be used. To read further on how long a pressure washing project can take, read our article on it here.
The machinery being used
All pressure washers have PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) and GPM (Gallons per Minute) values associated with their performance. These are often advertised to demonstrate the efficacy of the machinery, with PSI being what many consider to have the largest influence on efficacy. At EcoWash, we disagree. While PSI is important, GPM is the more important factor of the two as long as PSI is within the 2500-3500 range.
A higher GPM flow (3.0+ GPM) will speed up the rate of cleaning and a lower GPM rating (less than 2.0 GPM) will take much longer to clean a home of equivalent size. Smaller machinery can end up using far more water as the level of time and attention needed when washing can result in more gallons being used overall. While this may seem counterintuitive, a professional-level pressure washer will generally yield better results.
The chemicals being used
Chemicals, like sodium hypochlorite, will dramatically speed up the removal of mold, algae, and mildew on a siding pressure-washing project. If chemicals are administered correctly, this time-saver will result in fewer gallons being used overall and a better, longer-lasting result.
The level of dirtiness
No surprises here- a dirtier home will take longer to wash and will use more gallons of water. If your home is filled with grime, you can expect it to have a larger impact on the water bill than a clean house being washed.
Level of experience of the technician
An experienced pressure washing technician will always be quicker and better than an inexperienced pressure washer technician. This all goes back to the speed of the pressure washing service being a major influence on the gallons of water used. Pressure washers have set gallon-per-minute flow rates and the fewer minutes they are being used, the fewer gallons are being sprayed out from them.
Altogether, a house wash could take as few as 300 gallons if it is fairly small, is either somewhat clean or the technician is using appropriate chemicals, and the correct equipment is being used. On the other end, 900 gallons can be expected on a larger home or if an inexperienced individual is using the pressure washer. More articles on pressure washing can be found here, and our complete guide to pressure washing can be found here.
If you are a homeowner interested in a free pressure washing or deck staining quote, get in touch with an EcoWash Representative here.