Pressure Washing Pricing Calculator: How to Price House Washes, Driveways and Roofs

Pressure washing jobs look alike from the curb and then differ the moment you arrive. One two-story house has easy access and light mildew. The next has heavy organic growth, landscaping right up to the siding and a back side you need a ladder for.

Quoting from memory means some jobs pay well and others quietly lose money. A pricing calculator fixes that. You set your rate and costs once, and every quote is built the same way. When a job runs long, you can see why, and adjust next time.

Every pressure washing price comes from four things:

1. Your hourly rate. What one hour on site has to bring in.
2. Time on the job. Setup, pre-treat, wash, rinse, cleanup, pack down.
3. Chemicals and fuel. Surfactants, sodium hypochlorite mixes for soft washing, degreasers, and the fuel your machine and truck burn.
4. Travel. The drive there and back.

Get those right and the price follows.

List a month of business costs: equipment payments and repairs, trailer and truck costs, insurance, phone and software, marketing, and the pay you need. Divide by the hours you actually spend on jobs that month (not hours spent driving, quoting or fixing the pump).

Example, with round numbers for illustration only. Use your own.

• Monthly costs including pay: $6,000
• Hours on jobs: 100
• Rate: $6,000 ÷ 100 = $60 per hour, before profit

Add the margin you want on top.

Track real jobs for a few weeks. Write down the time for:

• House wash (by number of stories and rough size)
• Driveway cleaning (by square footage)
• Sidewalks and patios
• Deck or fence cleaning
• Roof soft wash
• Gutter brightening

You'll quickly see your own pace. Use your typical time, not your best time.

Keep receipts for chemicals and fuel and divide by the jobs they covered. A roof soft wash usually uses more chemical than a driveway. A big flatwork job burns more fuel in the surface cleaner. Add a per-job cost so these don't disappear inside your hourly rate.

If most jobs are close, a flat trip charge built into every quote is simple. If your area is spread out, price travel by distance or time. Either way, put it in the calculator so you don't forget it on the far jobs. For your own bookkeeping, the IRS publishes standard mileage rates that some businesses use for vehicle costs. Ask your tax preparer which method fits you.

A two-story house wash. Round numbers to show the math. Use your own.

• Time on site: 2.5 hours × $60 = $150
• Chemicals: $20
• Fuel and travel: $15
• Subtotal: $185
• Margin at 20%: $185 × 1.2 = $222. Round to $225.

Now add the driveway as a second line: 1 hour × $60 = $60, plus $10 of chemical and fuel = $70, with margin $84, round to $85. Two lines, each easy for the customer to read and approve.

Quotes go wrong when the size is a guess. Before you price:

• Count the stories and the sides you can reach.
• Measure driveway and patio square footage, or estimate from a property map, then confirm on site.
• Note heavy staining, oil spots, rust or organic growth.
• Note water access and where the runoff will go.
• Ask what the customer most cares about. "Get the green off the north side" and "clean everything" are different jobs.

Every quote should say:

• The surfaces included, by name.
• The method (pressure or soft wash) for each.
• What's not included: rust removal, oil stain treatment, sealing, window detailing.
• What happens if you find something unexpected: you stop, explain and price it before doing it.
• Payment terms and any deposit.

Clear quotes get approved faster and argued about less. If you advertise prices, keep them truthful and complete; the FTC's advertising guide for small businesses covers price claims, and our truthful advertising checklist is a quick check.

Where your wash water goes matters. Many cities and counties have rules about discharging wash water into storm drains, and some areas restrict certain chemicals. The EPA's stormwater program page explains the background, but the rules you follow are usually set or enforced locally. Check with your city or county, and ask about business licenses and any contractor registration at the same time. The SBA's licenses and permits page is a good starting point.

The Pressure Washing Pricing Calculator ($14.99) is one Excel workbook with 8 tabs. Set your hourly rate, service hours and material costs on the Service Pricing tab, build each job in the Quote Builder with travel and a deposit, and hand the customer the Quote Output sheet. Job Log, Expenses and Dashboard tabs keep your records, and it comes with a pressure washing service list to start from. The example hours and prices in it are there to replace with your own.

Once your prices are set, the Pressure Washing Price List & Service Menu ($4.99) gives you a one-page US Letter price list with 12 service rows in 4 categories, as an editable HTML file and an editable Word file, plus a How-to-Use Guide PDF.

Set an hourly rate from your monthly costs and the hours you spend on jobs. Multiply by the real time for the job, add chemicals, fuel and travel, then add your margin.

Many companies quote flat prices per job but build them from time and square footage behind the scenes. Use whichever helps you quote consistently, and show the customer one clear number per surface.

The same way: time, chemical cost, access and travel. Roofs often take more chemical and more care around plants, so track your real numbers before you set a standard price.

Either build a standard trip charge into every quote or price longer drives separately. The important part is that every quote includes it.

Checked October 29, 2026.

• EPA, "NPDES Stormwater Program"
• IRS, "Standard mileage rates"
• FTC, "Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business" (price claims are held to the same truthfulness standard as other claims)
• SBA, "Apply for licenses and permits"

This is general information, not legal, tax or environmental advice. Wash-water, chemical, licensing and contractor rules vary by state, county and city. Check your local requirements.