Side Hustle MBA
Gear · starts at $50 – $1,500

Power Wash

Clean driveways, siding, decks and patios with a gas pressure washer, charging per square foot or per job in your local area.

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The numbers

Each one links to its source and the day it was checked.

Startup cost
$50 – $1,500

Source: durable.com · checked 2026-10-23

Time to first dollar
Days to about 3 weeks for a first paid job; roughly 3–6 weeks to a first 10 customers

Source: doorstephq.com · checked 2026-10-23

Earnings
Low
$150 per job (minimum trip charge on a small driveway)
Typical
$250–$400 per job
High
$500+ per job on large exteriors or commercial flatwork; solo annual revenue usually under $50,000

Source: durable.com · checked 2026-10-23
Corroborated by housecallpro.com

What it is

Power washing (pressure washing) is a local service business where you use a high-pressure or low-pressure "soft wash" rig to strip dirt, algae and mildew off concrete, siding, decks, fences and roofs. Most operators start solo with one gas machine and a surface cleaner, working residential driveways and house exteriors on weekends. It is one of the cheaper trades to enter because the machine is the business — there is no license exam in most states and no storefront.

How it works

  1. Buy a gas machine and a surface cleaner
    A gas unit in the 3.5–4 GPM range plus a rotating surface cleaner is the core rig. Durable's guide notes that without a surface cleaner a driveway takes 3–4 hours instead of 45 minutes, so it is not an optional accessory.
  2. Register and insure before the first job
    Form an LLC and get general liability cover. You are spraying 3,000+ PSI at other people's property, and an uninsured etched driveway or water-damaged siding claim will cost more than the machine.
  3. Set a per-square-foot price with a minimum
    Durable's guide uses $0.15–$0.40 per square foot with a $150–$250 minimum trip charge. The minimum is what stops small jobs from losing money on drive time and setup.
  4. Get found locally before paying for leads
    Set up a free Google Business Profile, post before-and-after photos in neighborhood Facebook groups, and ask for a Google review at job completion. Paid lead platforms are worth adding once you know your close rate.
  5. Work the street you are already on
    Door hangers on the houses around each finished job is the standard tactic in the niche — the clean driveway next door is the sales pitch. Guides call this a "5-around".
  6. Plan where the dirty water goes
    Wash water with detergent into a storm drain breaks local illicit-discharge ordinances in many counties. Contain it, route it to landscaping, or use no chemicals where rules are tight.

What you need

The gear

Gas pressure washer, 3.5–4 GPM / 3,500–4,000 PSI
The core machine. Electric units are too slow for paid work; flow rate (GPM) matters more than pressure for cleaning speed.
Rotating surface cleaner (15–20 inch)
Turns a 3–4 hour driveway into a 45-minute job and leaves no stripe marks. The single highest-return accessory.
100+ ft of high-pressure hose rated to your machine's PSI
Lets you reach the back of a property without moving the rig; underrated hose bursts.
Downstream chemical injector ($15–$30)
Applies detergent or sodium hypochlorite at low pressure before you rinse — the basis of soft washing siding and roofs.
Nozzle set and adjustable wand/turbo nozzle
Different degrees for concrete versus siding. Using the wrong tip is how beginners etch concrete and strip paint.
Soft wash cleaning chemicals (sodium hypochlorite, surfactant)
Algae and mildew on siding and roofs are killed chemically, not blasted off — pressure alone damages those surfaces.
Safety gear: eye protection, non-slip boots, gloves, hearing protection
Chemical splashback and 3,000+ PSI recoil cause real injuries; gas engines are loud enough to need ear protection.
Water tank and/or trailer setup (later purchase)
Lets you work commercial sites and properties without usable spigots. Most operators start on the customer's water.
Wash-water containment (berms, vacuum recovery, mats)
Required where local ordinances ban detergent runoff into storm drains.

The catch

The per-job numbers look great until you count the job: drive time, setup, teardown, chemicals, fuel and the 20–40% of quotes you lose to someone underbidding you, because the barrier to entry is one machine and anyone can buy one. Thimble's survey of owners found two-thirds of pressure washing businesses grossing under $50,000 a year, and every single one earning above that had employees — solo, this is a sub-$50K business, and that is gross, not take-home. On top of that you carry real liability: 3,000+ PSI etches concrete, forces water behind siding and strips paint, and in many counties letting detergent-laden wash water reach a storm drain is an ordinance violation with fines attached. In cold climates the season simply stops for several months.

Where the work is

Thumbtack
Angi
Jobber
Housecall Pro
ERGO NEXT Insurance (formerly NEXT Insurance)
Amazon (gear)

Every number on this page

12 facts, each with its source and the day it was checked.

Lean startup cost: gas pressure washer with surface cleaner, plus LLC filing and insurance
Washer + surface cleaner $700–$1,200; LLC $50–$300; general liability $500–$1,200/yr; guide states you can launch for under $1,000
confidence: medium

Source: durable.com · checked 2026-10-23

Time to reach the first 10 customers as a solo operator
About 3 to 6 weeks with consistent outreach, door hangers and Nextdoor
confidence: low

Source: doorstephq.com · checked 2026-10-23

Typical revenue per residential pressure washing job
$250–$400 per job, with a $150–$250 minimum trip charge and pricing at $0.15–$0.40 per square foot
confidence: medium

Source: durable.com · checked 2026-10-23

Per-job pricing range (independent source)
Jobs typically priced $150–$500, with many residential cleanings landing around $250–$400; $0.15–$0.75 per square foot for most residential flatwork
confidence: medium

Source: housecallpro.com · checked 2026-10-23

Consumer-side average hourly cost of pressure washing on a labor marketplace
$52 per hour average in the U.S.
confidence: medium

Source: taskrabbit.com · checked 2026-10-23

Annual gross revenue reported by surveyed pressure washing business owners (survey of 1,000 small business owners, 2021 earnings)
Two-thirds reported up to $50,000 annual gross revenue; one-third reported $100,000–$200,000, and every business above $50,000 had at least one employee
confidence: medium

Source: thimble.com · checked 2026-10-23

General liability insurance cost for a single-person pressure washing business
About $680–$885 per year
confidence: medium

Source: insurancecanopy.com · checked 2026-10-23

Consumer price per square foot and for a typical house exterior
$0.10–$0.50 per square foot; $150–$750 for a 1,500 sq ft house
confidence: medium

Source: angi.com · checked 2026-10-23

Penalty for discharging pressure-wash water into a storm drain (example county ordinance)
Up to a $1,000 fine and/or 60 days in county jail under Gwinnett County, GA's illicit discharge ordinance
confidence: medium

Source: gwinnettcounty.com · checked 2026-10-23

Housecall Pro affiliate payouts as published on its PartnerStack listing
Up to $320 per qualified lead, $180 per enrollment, $10 per new lead; paid after the referral has been on the platform 30+ days
confidence: medium

Source: market.partnerstack.com · checked 2026-10-23

Amazon Associates standard commission rate for the categories pressure washing gear falls in
Home Improvement 3.00%, Tools 1.75% (standard onsite links, US)
confidence: medium

Source: affiliate-program.amazon.com · checked 2026-10-23

Equipment cost range by tier
Residential machines $1,000–$3,000; commercial machines $3,000–$15,000+; vehicle and transportation $5,000–$30,000
confidence: medium

Source: zenbusiness.com · checked 2026-10-23

Researched 2026-10-23. Back to every hustle