Last Tuesday was supposed to be simple. Clean the driveway, maybe hit the deck while I was at it. Two hours max. Instead, I spent the day creating what can only be described as a domestic water disaster that made me question every life choice that led to me holding a machine that shoots water at 3,000 PSI.

But let me back up.

It all started because my mother-in-law was coming to visit. Again. And Susan has this way of noticing every single thing that's wrong with your house without actually saying anything directly. She just... observes. Makes little comments. "Oh, the driveway's looking a bit tired, isn't it?" or "I remember when this deck was such a lovely color."

So there I was on Saturday morning, staring at my oil-stained driveway and my increasingly gray deck, thinking about Susan's inevitable observations. That's when I remembered seeing those pressure washing trucks around the neighborhood. Professional services that charge like $400 to spray water at your house for a few hours.

Four hundred dollars. To spray water.

I mean, come on. How hard could it be?

The Fatal Flaw in My Logic

Here's the thing about being a guy that thinks he can figure anything out: sometimes you're wildly mistaken, and you don't realize it until you're halfway up your shins in muddy water, holding a machine that is actively working to destroy everything you own.

I drove to Home Depot absolutely brimming with confidence. I rented their biggest, baddest pressure washer available - the very kind that had warning stickers all over it that I, of course, ignored. The teenager at the rental counter mumbled something about differing nozzles and PSI settings, but I was already busy plotting the $400 I was soon to save when I did this myself.

The machine looked serious. Professional. It looked like it meant business. Naturally, that should have been my first clue, but I was too prideful in my practical wise expenditure to really pay attention to warning labels.

I loaded it into my truck, drove home, and immediately began looking for an outlet to plug this monstrosity in. I found one on the exterior of the garage and hooked up the hose; I primed the pump just like the rental kid had shown me how; and I fired her up.

The sound alone should have given me pause. This thing sounded like a diesel engine and a leaf blower were having a screaming match. But no, I was committed to my mission.

When Confidence Meets Reality

The first spray was... absolutely amazing. Honestly. I pointed that nozzle at a particularly filthy section of driveway and watched as years of oil stains and just plain old nastiness disappeared before my eyes. It was almost magic. As if I had developed an amazing superpower that allowed me to actually turn time backward and restore things back to their original condition.

For about ten minutes or so I felt like a genius. This is easy! Why do you pay a professional for this? Look at me blasting away years and years worth of grime like some sort of domestic superhero!

Then I got ambitious.

The deck had been nagging me and bothering me for months. It used to be this nice warm brown color. Now it looked the color of gray and old wood, and honestly, it was looking sort of sad. If this thing can make my concrete look shiny again certainly it could make short work out of wood, right?

Wrong. So very, spectacularly wrong.

The first blast of water hit the deck and gouged a groove, easily a quarter inch deep right through the wood. Not cleaned it. Not refreshed it. Etched a permanent scar in the wood that looked like I had literally taken a chisel to the all wood deck.

Did I stop? Of course not. I naively thought maybe I was holding it too close. So, I took a step back and tried again. Luckily, I managed to strip the stain off of about a three-foot section of railing, leaving me with raw wood that looked astoundingly like it had gone through a blender.

This is when the panic began to set in.

The Flood

While I was preoccupied in the process of ruining my deck, I made yet another classic blunder. I had left the pressure washer running, and somehow had the strange ability to angle it toward the foundation of my house. You know, the large wooden ledge with your basement windows in it.

I was so busy trying to get the misfortune of also ruining the deck off my mind that I did not even see the water blasting straight into the window well leading into my basement. Running for who knows how long, this machine was basically pumping water into my house at an industrial-strength pressure for around fifteen minutes.

When I finally realized what happened, and hurried downstairs to check, I opened the door to find a flooding basement. Not a little water - we're talking about an indoor lake situation. Water was gushing through the window, flowing down the walls, and spreading across the floor toward all the junk I have saved down there.

Christmas decorations were freely floating like sad boats. Boxes with important papers had turned to soggy mush. My workbench was completely submerged. It was like a pipe had burst, except I was the someone who did it, and the pipe was a machine I rented for this specific purpose - to make my house look better.

I was now standing in three inches of water, watching accumulated years dissolved around my ankles, while having one of those moments where you realize you made a bunch of bad decisions that all led up to this exact moment.

The Call for Help

That's when I finally swallowed my pride and did what I should have done in the first place. I googled "pressure washing near me" with soaking wet fingers while standing in my flooded basement.

The first company I called was booked for three weeks. The second didn't call back. The third guy - Tony from AllClean Services - answered on the second ring and actually laughed when I explained my situation.

"Let me guess," he said. "Looked easier on YouTube?"

Thirty minutes later, Tony was standing in my driveway, surveying the damage I'd managed to create in less than two hours. He looked at my gouged deck, my flooded basement, and the pressure washer that was still sitting there like evidence of my incompetence.

"Well," he said, "the good news is we can fix most of this. The bad news is it's going to cost more than if you'd just hired us to begin with."

He was being kind. What he probably wanted to say was "What the hell were you thinking?" But Tony's a professional, and professionals know that shaming customers doesn't help anyone.

Watching a Pro Work

What transpired next turned out to be remarkably grounding in the most positive sense. Tony went to his truck and returned holding equipment that looked remarkably similar to what I had just used, but somehow everything he did was different.

First, he spent what felt like ten minutes just observing my property. Not cleaning anything, simply... observing. He examined the siding material, assessed the deck wood, tested a small, hidden area for water pressure before getting into anything extravagant.

Then he started cleaning, and it was like watching someone speak a foreign language to me. There were different nozzles for different surfaces. Different pressure settings. Different cleaning solutions for different stains. He had this gadget called a 'surface cleaner' that made my driveway look like I had professionally detailed it versus being blasted with water at high pressure.

For the deck, he told me he used something called a wood brightener and a completely different process that actually restored the wood rather than destroyed it. The parts of the deck I had damaged? He had a treatment for that too - something that would reduce the gouges and blend the stripped areas into the rest of the deck.

Throughout the entire process he was patient in explaining to me what he was doing and why. He explained how concrete can handle high pressure, pointed out how wood needs a gentler process, described how different stains call for different chemicals, and mentioned how the pressure and angle matter in addition to the cleaning equipment.

It took him around three hours to clean my entire property and repair the damage I created. When he finished, my place looked better than it had in years. No longer 'clean,' but restored.

The Real Cost of DIY

Here's the math that hurt to calculate:

Pressure washer rental: $89 Gas and time: $40 Basement water damage cleanup: $300 Deck repair materials: $150 Lost items in basement flood: $200 Tony's emergency service call: $500

Total cost of my "money-saving" DIY project: $1,279

Cost if I'd just hired Tony from the beginning: $350

I literally spent more than three times what professional service would have cost, destroyed part of my house, ruined a bunch of stored items, and spent my entire Saturday creating problems instead of solving them.

But the money wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was realizing how much I didn't know about something I'd assumed was simple.

What I Learned About Professional Services

After watching Tony work, I understood that professional pressure washing isn't just about having the right equipment. It's about understanding materials, chemical interactions, water dynamics, and surface restoration techniques that you can't learn from a YouTube video.

Tony explained that different surfaces need completely different approaches. Concrete can handle high pressure, but you still need to know about joint damage and surface etching. Wood requires lower pressure but specific cleaning agents to avoid stripping or splintering. Vinyl siding needs careful pressure control to avoid forcing water behind the material.

He showed me stains on my driveway that I thought were permanent but that came out easily with the right pre-treatment chemicals. He identified mildew on my house siding that I hadn't even noticed but that would have become a bigger problem if left untreated.

Most importantly, he understood how to work efficiently without causing damage. What took me two hours to mess up, he corrected and improved in three hours of actual productive work.

The Search for Good Service

After my disaster, I became much more interested in understanding how to find quality pressure washing services. Not all companies are created equal, and the difference between good and bad service can be significant.

Tony gave me some advice about what to look for when searching for "pressure washing services near me." He said the companies worth hiring will:

Ask questions about your property before giving estimates Provide detailed written quotes that specify exactly what will be cleaned Have proper insurance and can show proof of coverage Explain their process and why they use specific techniques Offer guarantees on their work Have good local references and reviews

He also warned me about companies that give quotes over the phone without seeing the property, don't have proper insurance, or pressure you to sign contracts immediately.

The best way to find good service, he said, is through referrals from neighbors who've had work done. People are usually happy to recommend companies that exceeded their expectations and warn you about ones that didn't.

Understanding What You're Actually Paying For

One thing I hadn't appreciated before my DIY disaster was what professional pressure washing services actually provide beyond just the cleaning itself.

Expertise and Problem-Solving Tony could look at my property and immediately identify potential problems I would never have considered. He knew which surfaces could handle aggressive cleaning and which required gentle techniques. He spotted potential drainage issues and protected plants and outdoor fixtures that could be damaged by overspray.

Proper Equipment for Each Job While I'd rented one pressure washer and hoped it would handle everything, Tony's truck was essentially a mobile cleaning laboratory. Different machines for different applications. Hot water systems for stubborn stains. Specialized surface cleaners for even results. Chemical injectors for applying cleaning solutions safely.

Insurance and Liability Protection When I damaged my own property, I had to pay to fix it. When professionals work on your property, their insurance covers any accidental damage. This protection alone can justify the cost of professional service.

Time and Convenience What would have taken me an entire weekend (assuming I didn't destroy anything else), Tony completed in a few hours while I did other things. The time savings alone has value, especially when you factor in the stress and frustration of struggling with unfamiliar equipment.

Guaranteed Results Professional services stand behind their work. If you're not satisfied with the results, they'll come back and make it right. When you do it yourself, you're stuck with whatever results you achieve.

The Seasonal Service Reality

Tony also educated me about the seasonal nature of pressure washing services. Spring is obviously the busiest time, when everyone wants to clean off winter grime and prepare for outdoor entertaining season. But that also means higher demand, longer wait times, and sometimes higher prices.

He recommended fall cleaning as often being more practical - removing summer accumulation of dirt, pollen, and organic growth before winter weather sets in. Many companies offer better availability and pricing during their slower seasons.

Weather matters more than I'd realized, too. Pressure washing works best in specific temperature ranges with appropriate humidity levels. Too cold, and cleaning chemicals don't work effectively. Too hot, and solutions can dry too quickly and potentially damage surfaces.

Professional services understand these variables and will reschedule if conditions aren't right for quality work. This is another advantage over DIY approaches, where you might push ahead regardless of conditions and get poor results.

The Technology I Didn't Know Existed

This experience taught me about pressure washing techniques I didn't know existed. The professional equipment is more advanced than anything available to rent or purchase for home use.

• Hot Water Systems: The unit mounted on Tony’s truck can heat the water to the optimal temperature for the job. Heated water breaks down oil stains and organic matter more efficiently than cold water, therefore reducing (if not eliminating) the need for harsh cleaning chemicals.

• Variable Pressure Controls: Professional-grade equipment offers a pressure-controlled system that allows the pressure to be adjusted constantly depending on the surface being cleaned. I had caused damage by simply putting full pressure on a delicate surface while the equipment was turned on and off.

• Chemical Injection Systems: Professional equipment can automatically mix different cleaning chemicals to ensure an effective solution without waste or environmental impact. The equipment also allows switching between cleaning solutions as different surfaces are approached without missing a beat.

• Water Recovery Systems: Many service providers are using recover systems to collect wash water for proper disposal. The original pre-treatment water will not enter storm drains and many watercourses as the service provider carries out their business. This is timely, given that many communities are implementing stricter regulations around water pollution.

The Health and Safety Reality Check

The exposure I received during the instruction opened my mind up to health and safety considerations I didn't necessarily think about. The high-pressure water was sufficient to lodge water and debris under skin layers, leading to infections not yet visible. Serious injuries could occur that were not immediately evidenced.

Tony showed me proper health and safety equipment and techniques that were indeed well beyond the safety glasses I had worn. Protective clothing, proper positioning, associated pressure, and thinking about electrical hazards with water were all health and safety areas I would consider when using the equipment.

He also brought up chemical safety considerations I hadn’t even given a thought to, such that different cleaning agents and mushrooms required different handling practices, PPE, and neutralizing processes. There are chemical combinations that can emit toxic gases or become corrosive.

Furthermore, the ladder-based work for cleaning house siding and gutters presented a whole different layer of health and safety concerns that professional reps are trained and equipped to carry out successfully without injury.

When DIY Makes Sense (Spoiler Alert: Rarely)

After my expensive education experience, I asked Tony where I could see DIY pressure washing realistically making sense. His answer was rather refreshing.

For very basic applications – cleaning the patio furniture or washing cars with the polyester appropriate low-pressure (~900 psi) equipment – a DIY process could be pretty straight forward (and cheap). However, any applications related to your house, vehicles, and/or driveway or other ancillary house features, in general, are best left to a professional or qualified individual.

The data suggests the risk-to-reward factor does not generally work out in favour of the homeowner in a DIY process. I’m not sure one would ever outway the cost of a significant problem with a physical structure or vehicle as an option for cleaning in house applications. The opportunity cost associated with the time spent on an inferior project will also weigh against DIY cleaning. In general, you are likely getting what you pay for and may not have the option of turning back with the original cleaning effort.

The Annual Maintenance Reality

Tony recommended annual professional cleaning for most residential properties, with some surfaces requiring more frequent attention. This seems expensive until you consider the alternative - allowing contamination to build up until it causes permanent damage or requires replacement of surfaces.

Regular maintenance cleaning is much less expensive than restoration or replacement. It's also more effective, as removing light contamination is easier and less risky than trying to restore heavily soiled surfaces.

He offered an annual service contract that provides scheduled cleaning at a discount compared to one-time service calls. This makes budgeting easier and ensures that cleaning happens on an appropriate schedule rather than waiting until problems become obvious.

My New Relationship with Professional Services

Six months after my pressure washing disaster, I've completely changed my approach to home maintenance projects. I now start by researching what's actually involved in any task before assuming I can handle it myself.

For pressure washing, I'm now a dedicated customer of Tony's service. He comes out each spring to clean my entire property, and I spend my weekends on projects I actually enjoy and understand instead of creating expensive problems.

The results are consistently better than anything I could achieve myself, the process is stress-free, and my property actually looks maintained rather than like a series of amateur experiments.

My neighbor Jim, who watched my DIY disaster unfold, has also become a convert to professional pressure washing services. He admitted that my experience taught him the value of paying for expertise in areas where amateur mistakes can be expensive.

The Search Strategy That Actually Works

If you're convinced that professional pressure washing is worth investigating, here's the approach I wish I'd used from the beginning:

Start with Local Referrals Ask neighbors who've had good results with pressure washing services. People are usually happy to share recommendations for services that exceeded expectations and warn about ones that didn't.

Check Online Reviews Carefully Look for detailed reviews that mention specific work performed and results achieved. Be wary of generic praise or reviews that seem fake. Pay attention to how companies respond to negative reviews.

Get Multiple Detailed Quotes Contact at least three companies for written estimates. Good companies will want to see your property before providing quotes and will specify exactly what work will be performed.

Verify Insurance and References Confirm that potential contractors have liability insurance and workers' compensation coverage. Ask for and contact recent customer references.

Ask About Guarantees Quality companies stand behind their work and will specify what guarantees they provide on their services.

The Economics of Professional vs. Amateur

When evaluating professional pressure washing services, the value is clearer when you view it through the lens of the total cost of ownership instead of just the cost of service.

Professional cleanings are typically around $300-600 for most average-sized residential homes (in 2021). It depends on size and complexity, and that also factors in all equipment, labor, materials, and insurance, as well as the time it takes to do the job.

DIY costs include rental of equipment ($80-150/day), cleaning chemicals ($50-100), the cost of your time (easily 6-8 hours when you factor in learning curve, actual cleaning, and packing up equipment), and the cost of damage if you accidentally damage part of your property or the cost of repair from damage that will not arise until later. Damage and repair could easily run hundreds or thousands of dollars as the result of your DIY.

When comparing the professional results to what you hoped to achieve, and considering the time you save and both financial and mental safety to achieve a cleaning project with professionalism, professional companies can have higher value for most homeowners.

The Unexpected Benefits

In addition to a clean property, there are several unexpected benefits of hiring a professional to pressure wash your home.

Protecting your property value. Regularly keeping your property clean helps to maintain curb appeal and make sure the surfaces are not contaminated that could cause irreversible damage to your surfaces. Clean properties just tend to look better maintained, therefore more appealing and valuable.

Health benefits. Mold, mildew, and organic growth needs to be removed to create a healthier environment around your home. This is even more critical for families with allergies or respiratory sensitivities.

Reducing maintenance costs. The cost of cleaning surfaces to prevent buildup of cleaning contaminants that would ultimately require replacement or maintenance due to aspects needing to repaired or replaced is much cheaper than the cost of repairs of replacement investments.

Peace of mind. Just knowing that you have maintained your property and are not faced with the stress and risk of a DIY cleaning project has several dimensions of value that are difficult to quantify, but easy to appreciate.Final Thoughts from a Reformed DIY Warrior

From my pressure washing fiasco, I learned an important lesson regarding the difference between things I can reasonably do myself versus hiring someone to do the work for me.

Some home maintenance IS complicated and specialized even if it seems easy from the outside.

When I search "pressure washing near me" now, I'm looking for property maintenance partners and not hoping to avoid a few bucks. Purchasing professional services saved me a lot of time, money, and provided me peace of mind, not to mention that they do a much better job than I ever did.

My driveway and deck look better than they have in years. My basement is dry and all my stuff is still intact. And, best of all, I can appreciate professional help instead of waging a battle against myself to prove I could do it!

Susan was over last month and actually commented on how nice my property looked. This time there was no passive aggressive comments about how I should fix the outside of my house because there was nothing I could demand to fix!

Sometimes, knowing when not to do it yourself is the best do it yourself decision you could have made.

If you are standing in your driveway right now, looking at stains and somewhat debating whether to rent a pressure washer to do it yourself, please, learn from my expensive mistake.

Put your car keys down, pick your phone up, and search for "commercial pressure washing" instead.

Your property, your wallet, and most likely your weekend will thank you for that little decision.

The Ripple Effects I Didn't See Coming

Three months removed from the disaster with my pressure washer, I continue to discover the unintended consequences. For instance, my insurance company now has a record of water damage that will affect my future premiums. And the deck repairs I attempted to manage myself? Even with Tony's help, my amateur status is evident, and it probably diminished my home's value somewhere in the range of $200-$500.

On a positive side, word of my total failure has spread through the neighborhood, and now I'm the guy that people call to help them through their "too simple" home improvement project. I've dissuaded three neighbors from making the same mistake and helped them find quality service providers instead.

My wife still references "the pressure washing incident" when I gain too much confidence in a home improvement project. She is now the voice of reason who asks "remember how well that worked out last time you though that looked simple?" This gets annoying, but she is right more often than not.

The Professional Network I Discovered

One of the unexpected benefits of hiring Tony was that I discovered a network of other professional services that Tony has worked with. Recently, I discovered my gutters needed repair from winter storm damage, and Tony recommended a contractor that provided excellent work at a reasonable cost. Similarly, when I needed tree trimming that I didn't want to try climbing up a ladder for, Tony provided a referral for a licensed arborist who actually showed up when they promised.

What I learned is that a good contractor is always connected to other good contractors and they usually share those referrals!Having reliable service providers has made home maintenance less stressful than the old days when I would google random service providers and just cross my fingers.

Tony also introduced me to "bundled" maintenance services. His company has a landscaping service and a window cleaning company they use under a package with a discount rate to offer to homeowners who prefer integrated maintenance for their homes, rather than individually contracted services. The coordination saves time and money over individually contracted services.

The Seasonal Schedule I Never Knew I Needed

Prior to my pressure wash schooling, I relied on a reactive maintenance approach to home maintenance, mainly responding to issues when they became obvious rather than preemptive and scheduled. Tony enlightened me on the immense value of scheduling a preemptive, seasonal maintenance approach.

Pressure washing in the spring would not only rid residue salt leftover from winter, and creating a clean area for the next weeks of sticky outdoor activity but would actively prepare washable surfaces for active use coming out of dormancy. Then, in the fall, the initial pressure wash would remove a summer's accumulation or pollen and organic growth, preparing surfaces for the winters freezing and thawing cycle. A much better approach than trying to remove what is visually dirty or stained after it had accumulated over some period.

Tony also educated me about the seasonality that is cyclical for different surfaces (i.e. wood is better washed in the spring and sealed in the fall, concrete is better washed after winter and stained or surface coat treated during summer, etc.) to maintain surfaces better and not have to rely on more invasive maintenance methods.

Another benefit to scheduling is receiving quarterly or semi-annual invoices, rather than paying substantial/unscheduled maintenance costs for problems in need of immediate intervention or to prevent damage. The Equipment Envy Phase

I must admit that the sight of Tony using commercial-grade equipment for pressure washing made me momentarily consider purchasing my own professional-grade version. With the right equipment, it is logical that you should be able to produce professional results, right?

Tony quickly dispelled that notion. Professional equipment costs thousands of dollars, requires a lot of maintenance, and takes up a lot of space. And importantly, just having the equipment doesn’t make you knowledgeable about how to use it.

"It's the same as developing a professional kitchen, and expecting to cook like a chef," he said. "The equipment is important, but the equipment is only as good as the person operating it."

He also pointed out that the professional equipment is expected to be used by people every day who understand its maintenance, safety, procedures, etc. A home owner may use it twice a year, and that learning curve and maintenance of the equipment did not make professional equipment practical.

This entire conversation opened my understanding of the difference between being equipped to do a task, and being qualified to do a task. I can own the same tools as a professionally qualified individual, and not have the knowledge, experience or judgment to do use the tools effectively.

The Environmental Awareness I Gained

One whole different aspect of pressure washing I had never considered was the environmental aspect. Later in the day when Tony outlined his disposition of water recovery and chemical management procedures to me, I realized how much contamination my DIY endeavor probably sent into local storm drains.Professional pressure washing services find themselves more and more under pressure to responsibly manage wash water, including the use of biodegradable cleaning agents when possible, and to ensure that contaminated runoff does not enter waterways. Many communities have their own policies about washing water disposal, policies that homeowners often do not know about.

Tony's business uses environmentally responsible cleaning products and has systems in place to capture wash water and dispose of it properly. This environmental awareness is starting to provide a competitive advantage as municipalities have stricter policies and homeowners become more aware of the environment.

Awareness of these environmental considerations also gave me a greater appreciation for an additional element of professional services - they keep current with regulations and best practices that most casual users are unaware of.

The Lesson on Insurance I Learned Too Late

The water damage in my basement resulted in an insurance claim, thus informing me of coverage limitations I did not know about. Water damage by homeowner negligence is treated differently from damage due to an external source, such as a storm or pipe failure.

While my insurance covered the removal of water from the basement and some of the damaged items, they classified the event as “homeowner caused," which determined the amount that would be covered and affected future premiums. If I had hired a professional service and the same damage occurred, recourse would have been through the professional’s liability insurance, a totally different coverage than that provided by my homeowner’s policy.

This distinction is seldom thought about by homeowners resolving the DIY versus hire a professional service dilemma. The insurance protection that comes with a professional service is of real value, even compared to the quality of work performed. I learned that some professional services do, in fact, cover more than their unfortunate basic liability insurance, that in fact they are guaranteeing that they will repair any damage they create in the action of the service regardless of the amount of basic insurance the company has!

The additional potential coverage, if needed, would be worth having for that extra fee.

The Social Connections I Didn't Anticipate

My pressure washing mess was neighborhood entertainment for a period of time neighbors would walk past to ask about "the flood" or "how are you "deck repair" going? In spite of feeling embarrassed, we struck up some interesting conversations on home maintenance stories they had from the past.

I learned pretty quickly that almost every homeowner had at least one "DIY disaster" to share, like the neighbor who wanted to put up a ceiling fan, but ended up rewiring the whole house. Or the polite family behind us who wanted to take out a tree and ended up taking out their fence. Or the lady that wanted to refinish her hard wood floors and ended up replacing them.

Sharing these stories that highlight the common home repair overconfidence resulted in a kind of bonding moment, where we were better able to connect on shared experiences. I found my neighbors and I had developed an informal "network" about the service contractors there in the neighborhood that we would endorse and the ones we would warn others not to use.

The social aspect of home maintenance - livelihoods of invariably disaster and the occasional success - was much more important than I had ever thought when meeting folks and talking through similar home maintenance experiences and in some cases the collective shared experience of finding a workable culture of support in our neighborhood were really impactful.

The Halved Economy Value Revelation.

I had not done the piece of math prior to my pressure washing calamity that ultimately calculates the actual value of the time that you spend on your own projects to maintain your home.With the equipment rental, repeated trips to Home Depot for supplies, the actual labor and subsequently the putting things back together and dealing with the damage I created--my "simple" pressure washing project took up the majority of my weekend, and a part of the next week.

Tony did the work, including the damage repair, in around four hours while I did things I actually enjoyed doing. When I calculated my time investment at even a minimum wage rate, it would have been cheaper to hire the service, and this math does not even consider the damage costs.

This time value metric now factors into most of my decision-making about DIY versus professional services decisions. Spending my weekends on maintaining my property is not much of a joyful process to me, and I value my weekends much more for family time and the opportunity to relax. Using not just my time, but my mental energy trying to avoid injury from working with unfamiliar equipment, the stress of potential mistakes, or future costs caused by maintenance activities does not make for a good use of my use of a valuable resource.

There is a mental energy cost to acting as the property caretaker responsible for checking for problems, researching technique, troubleshooting problems, or worrying about future possible damage costs that is real, and difficult measure.

Long-term Relationship Value

Almost eighteen months after my disaster, I developed an ongoing relationship with Tony's company that has both service value and relationship value. They know my property well, understand how it needs maintenance, and are usually aware of developing concerns well before they become expensive problems to fix.

During routine cleaning visits with Tony and his crew, they pointed out loose siding I needed to address, found early indications of wood rot that needed treatment, and identified drainage issues that could lead to foundation issues down the road. The value of this preventive maintenance service is a significant and ongoing benefit.They also offer priority scheduling for ongoing customers, which means I don't need to stress about trying to book services months ahead of time during the busy season. If there is storm damage that requires immediate assistance, as an existing customer I receive faster response time than others.

The relationship aspect of working with a service provider also equates to better communication and a customized service. Tony knows what I am looking for from the cleaning process and can tailor his approach accordingly based on past outcomes and feedback.

The Education That Never Ends

Even after gaining my life lesson about pressure washing, I learn new things about professional property maintenance that I never knew existed. Tony has educated me about preventive treatments that extend the life of surfaces, seasonal maintenance schedules that prevent issues, and ways to identify issues that need to be addressed by professionals soon.

This never-ending education has made me a more informed property owner and a better consumer of professional services. I can ask better questions, understand the rationale behind the recommendations for various services, and I am a better decision-maker when it comes to investing in preventive maintenance versus waiting until problems develop.

Education never ends, especially when it comes to maintaining my property between professional service visits. I know what I should look for, what I should worry about, and what can wait until the next scheduled service.

Last Reality Check

Two years later, my pressure-washing disaster has become a parable I tell to illustrate the difference between confidence and competence.While the short-term costs were high and the experiences may have been unfortunate, the investment has taught me an immeasurable amount about how I approach projects involving maintenance, both on my property and in life generally.

I have learned to actually do some research prior to jumping into a project, to be honest with myself about my capabilities and knowledge, and to understand when the value of involving a professional is worth the costs. These lessons go very well beyond maintenance on my property, but values in career decisions, financial decisions, and anything else where over-confidence may end up being expensive.

My property is now well maintained by professionals, it looks the best is has looked in years, and it is no longer stressful to maintain or take up my weekends with my own unqualified attempts at it. This gives me peace of mind and produces results that simply make the professional costs feel more like a bargain, rather than an expense.

When people ask me how I value pressure washing, I simply tell them to search pressure washing near me and then to interview, 4 to 5 cleared qualified contractors. But I say more than just that. I share the adventures I had along the way in learning to appreciate appropriately qualified contractors.Adventures that involved a series of lessons that actually cost to fix, instead of succeeding, many of which were still fun learning experiences.

Sometimes it is best to learn from making a mistake, if you are fortunate enough to learn not to make the same mistake again, and humble enough to admit you don't know how to be successful. My wet basement, and gouged deck, have been costly lessons, nonetheless lessons that were of an educational nature.Ones that I won't soon forget.

If you have a project in mind which involves a bit of equipment, potentially dangerous activities, and potentially costly mistakes to fix, do yourself a favour - even if you want to try it as a DIY project, still get a few qualified estimates with the pros. You may find that once you account for your time, potential damages, and better results than you could produce, that the dollar's differences may actually be much closer than you had though.

While you may not ultimately hire a professional, or the quotes are more than you thought, please at least utilize some intelligence in your DIY project once you do it. Do your research, but also utilize planning, learn how to use those few things properly, and try your best to keep your expectations reasonable. Learn from my errors, instead of your own.

Just please know your basement will thank you.