Illustration for The House Wash Guarantee

Here’s what a call-back normally covers, how long it lasts and how to ask without a fight.

What companies actually promise

Company (area) Missed spots or quality Regrowth
The Total Wash Co. (Madison, WI) Call or text within 48 hours and they return free; if a second visit still falls short, no charge for that part Soft wash: regrowth within 90 days gets a free return visit
Mr. Clean Power Washing (Baltimore, MD) 100% satisfaction guarantee; they come back free if there’s an issue Six-month warranty: algae returning on the siding gets re-treated free
Preferred SoftWash (Greenville, SC) 100% satisfaction guarantee on all services 5-year limited warranty on complete roof cleaning (roofs only)

Notice how different “100% satisfaction” can be. One company spells out the window, the trigger and the remedy. Another states the promise but not the details. The specific one is the one you can use.

The Madison owner explains why he added a regrowth promise. He noticed that north-facing homes there with heavy tree cover can re-green faster in a wet summer. Rather than argue, he guarantees the result. He says it costs him about one return visit a year.

What a call-back usually covers

Missed spots and streaks. On one trade forum, a washer’s customer texted the morning after a wash about a blotchy patch. The advice from others was to go back and re-wash right away, since he hadn’t warned the customer it might happen.

Drip marks found later. Another washer reported a call a couple of weeks after a job about drip marks on one side. He went back and scrubbed them off.

Problems found weeks later. In another thread, an owner called six weeks after a wash about spots on a painted porch ceiling. The other washers said six weeks was no reason to ignore it. The washer went back, found he couldn’t scrub it out, and offered a refund, a paint allowance or a repaint.

What it usually doesn’t cover

  • New dirt. One company’s guarantee says it covers its workmanship, not new bird droppings, a storm that re-soils the siding or sap that falls later.
  • Problems that were there first. Oxidation, faded paint and old damage can become easier to see once the dirt is gone. Our guide to damage vs what was already there helps you tell them apart. Chalky siding is covered in our oxidation guide.
  • Risks you agreed to. In one thread, a washer warned a customer that a year-old driveway might streak if washed without his usual tool. The customer chose to go ahead, then complained about streaks. The washer said he gave a refund.

How to ask

  1. Check the job before the crew leaves. Our guide to judging a wash by results has a walk-around list.
  2. Take dated photos of anything that looks off, close up and from a distance.
  3. Call or text inside the window. Describe the spot and send the photos. Keep it to facts.
  4. Ask what they’ll do. A re-wash, a hand scrub or a partial refund are all fair answers.

Get it in writing before the job

A regrowth promise matters most where it’s damp. In Columbia, South Carolina, morning humidity averages 89% in August.

The FTC suggests getting any promises made in conversation written into the contract. For a house wash, that means the re-clean window, any regrowth period and what’s excluded. Our guide to house wash deposits covers the other terms to read. Our methodology page explains how we check these sources.

Sources

Based on 8 sources · How we price