Professional vs. DIY Pressure Washing Cost
in Gwinnett County

Professional pressure washing costs more than renting a machine yourself because you're paying for commercial-grade equipment, professional-strength detergents, liability insurance, and the experience to clean every surface safely. A DIY pressure washer rental runs $50 to $100 per day, but homeowners frequently damage siding, etch concrete, or void warranties by using the wrong pressure settings. Professionals also finish in a fraction of the time and deliver results a consumer-grade machine simply can't match. We've been providing pressure washing services across Gwinnett County for over five years, and we've fixed plenty of DIY damage along the way.

On the surface, renting a pressure washer looks like a bargain. Home Depot and Lowe's in Dacula rent consumer-grade electric and gas pressure washers for $50 to $100 per day. But that's just the rental fee. Here's what DIY actually costs when you add everything up:

When you total it up, a DIY pressure washing day costs $130 to $250+ in direct expenses - plus an entire day of your time. Compare that to a professional driveway cleaning that costs $100 to $250 and takes 30 to 60 minutes, or a house wash that costs $250 to $500 and takes an hour or two.

This is where the real cost difference shows up. A rental pressure washer in the hands of someone without experience can cause serious, expensive damage:

Etched concrete: Using too much pressure or holding the wand too close leaves permanent light-colored marks in concrete. These "tiger stripes" or swirl marks are visible forever and can only be fixed by resurfacing the concrete - which costs $3,000 to $6,000 for a driveway.

Damaged siding: Vinyl siding cracks and warps under high pressure. Hardie board paint chips. Water forced behind siding can cause mold growth inside your walls. Siding repair or replacement runs $5,000 to $15,000 depending on the extent of the damage.

Damaged roof shingles: Pressure washing a roof strips the protective granules off asphalt shingles and voids most manufacturer warranties. A new roof costs $8,000 to $20,000+. This is why professionals only use soft wash on roofs.

Damaged wood: High pressure splinters and gouges wood decks and fences, leaving a rough, fuzzy surface that's impossible to repair without sanding and refinishing. Professional deck cleaning uses adjusted pressure settings to clean without damaging the wood grain.

Window breakage: Pressure washers can crack or shatter windows, especially older single-pane glass. They can also blow out window seals on double-pane windows, causing permanent fogging.

When you hire a licensed and insured professional, you're protected. If something goes wrong on the job - a window breaks, a spigot gets damaged, there's a slip-and-fall incident - the company's insurance covers it. Kidd's ProWash carries general liability insurance specifically for this reason.

When you DIY, you assume all the risk yourself. Damage to your own property isn't covered by the rental company. Injuries from high-pressure water, slippery surfaces, or lifting heavy equipment are on you. And if your pressure washer sends water onto a neighbor's property and causes damage, that's your liability to deal with.

There's also the warranty issue. Many siding, roofing, and deck material warranties specify that cleaning must be done properly - often by a professional using approved methods. DIY cleaning with inappropriate pressure settings can void these warranties, leaving you unprotected if problems develop later.

A job that takes a professional 45 minutes with commercial equipment takes a homeowner 3 to 5 hours with a rental machine. The difference comes down to GPM (gallons per minute) and experience. Professional machines move more water more efficiently, and experienced operators don't waste time learning on the job.

Factor in the time to pick up and return the rental, set up and break down, figure out how to use the equipment, and clean up afterward - you're looking at a full day commitment for what a professional handles in a couple of hours.

For most homeowners in Gwinnett County, a Saturday spent pressure washing is a Saturday not spent with family, not relaxing, and not doing something you actually enjoy. When the professional cost is comparable to what you'd spend in rental fees, chemicals, and fuel anyway, the value proposition is pretty clear.

We're not going to pretend DIY never makes sense. If you already own a pressure washer and you want to do a quick rinse of your patio furniture, clean your garbage cans, or spray off your grill - go for it. Those are low-risk tasks where the stakes are low and professional help isn't necessary.

But for anything involving your home's siding, roof, driveway, deck, or fence - surfaces where damage is expensive and the right technique matters - professional cleaning is the safer and smarter choice. The cost difference is small when you factor in everything, and the result is dramatically better.

Before you load a rental machine into your trunk, get a free quote from us. You might be surprised at how close the professional price is to what you'd spend doing it yourself - minus the risk, the time, and the sore back the next day.

Explore our full list of pressure washing services to see everything we handle. From house washing to driveway cleaning to roof cleaning, we do it all with the right equipment and the right approach - and we stand behind every job.