House Washing and Soft Washing in Dothan, AL

A house in the Wiregrass rarely stays clean for long. Between muggy summers, mild winters and a spring pollen season that turns everything yellow, siding picks up a film that starts faint and ends up green, gray or black. A professional house wash removes that growth and grime and leaves the outside of the home looking cared for again. Call (334) 621-3439 and we will connect you with an independent local pressure washing provider who serves your part of Dothan or the surrounding area. Dothan Pressure Washing Pros is a referral service operated by Recover Profits Now; we do not wash houses ourselves.

Why houses in Dothan get dirty

• Humidity that rarely lets up. Southeast Alabama stays humid for much of the year. Walls that sit in shade, especially north-facing walls and areas behind shrubs, stay damp long enough for mildew and green algae to take hold.
• Pine pollen. Pine trees release heavy yellow pollen in late winter and spring, and local news coverage has noted it can start as early as February in warm years. The pollen sticks to damp siding, collects on ledges and feeds the film that grows afterward.
• Sandy, iron-rich soil. Much of the Wiregrass sits on sandy loam over reddish, iron-bearing clay. Rain splashes that dirt onto the bottom few feet of siding, and lawn sprinklers keep it coming. Over time it leaves an orange-tan band that does not rinse off with a garden hose.
• Trees and fields. Oaks drop leaves and sap, and homes near farmland collect dust during planting and harvest seasons.

Soft washing versus pressure washing a house

Most professional house washing today is done with a soft wash method. Instead of blasting the siding with a high-pressure stream, the technician applies a cleaning solution at low pressure, usually a diluted sodium hypochlorite mix with a surfactant that helps it cling. The solution kills mildew and algae at the root, loosens dirt, and is then rinsed off at low pressure. Because the cleaning is done mostly by the solution, the risk of driving water behind vinyl laps, scarring wood or knocking mortar out of brick joints is much lower.

High pressure still has its place on a house exterior, just not usually on the siding itself. Brick steps, concrete porches and stubborn spots on masonry may need more force. A good provider adjusts the method to the surface instead of using one setting for everything.

Which surfaces a house wash covers

• Vinyl siding, the most common siding on Dothan-area homes, cleans up well with a soft wash.
• Brick can be soft washed, though red clay staining near the ground sometimes needs a separate treatment.
• Fiber cement (Hardie) and painted wood are soft washed with care, since too much pressure can strip paint.
• Soffits, fascia, porch ceilings and window trim are usually included. Ask whether screens, shutters and the front door are cleaned too.

What house washing typically costs

As a typical national-guide range, many homeowners pay roughly $300 to $900 to wash the exterior of an average single-story or modest two-story home. Cost guides commonly list soft washing at roughly $0.25 to $0.60 per square foot of wall area. Two-story homes, heavy mildew, extensive trim, red clay staining and hard-to-reach areas push the price higher, and many companies have a minimum charge. These are general guide figures, not local quotes. The provider you are connected with will price your home after seeing it or reviewing photos. See our pressure washing cost guide for more detail.

When to schedule

Many Wiregrass homeowners book a house wash in late spring, once the heaviest pine pollen has fallen, so the clean lasts through summer. Early fall is another popular time, after the hottest weeks but before the holidays. Washing on a scorching afternoon is less effective because the solution can dry on the wall before it works, so many crews start early in the day. A typical house wash takes a few hours. Most homes need it every one to two years; heavily shaded homes may need it more often. Our page on soft washing versus pressure washing covers how often to wash in this climate.

House washing around Dothan: what local homes run into

• Older homes near downtown. Neighborhoods such as the Garden District have older painted wood, aging brick and big trees. Hurricane Michael brought down pines and oaks there in October 2018, and the yards that kept their trees are still deeply shaded. Shade plus old paint calls for a gentle soft wash and a test spot first.
• Brick ranches and newer subdivisions. Much of Dothan is brick or brick-and-vinyl, from older ranch streets to subdivisions such as the Highlands. Brick soaks up splash from the local sandy loam, which carries red and yellow iron below the surface, so the bottom courses often need a separate clay and rust treatment after the main wash.
• Homes that back up to fields. On the edges of town and out toward Taylor, Kinsey and Webb, peanut digging, roughly September into October, puts a dust film on walls that face the fields. If that is your house, booking after harvest makes more sense than before it.
• Sprinklers and watering days. Dothan Utilities' Stage II water alert runs April 1 through October 1, with lawn watering limited to set days by address. Sprinkler heads that hit the house keep throwing soil at the bottom of the wall, so aim them away after a wash. In a declared water emergency, the city's conservation plan bans washing paved surfaces, so check the current stage during a drought.

Our page on pressure washing rules and seasons in Dothan has a month-by-month calendar.

What to ask before you hire

• Do you soft wash siding, or use high pressure? What pressure will you use on my brick, trim and windows?
• Is the price in writing, and does it include soffits, porch ceilings, screens and gutters' outer faces?
• Do you carry general liability insurance? Can I see a current certificate?
• How do you protect my plants, grass, outlets and light fixtures?
• What happens if a spot does not come clean, such as rust or clay staining?

Alabama does not have a state license written specifically for pressure washing or soft washing. Providers generally need a business license from the city they work in, such as the City of Dothan, and some counties issue their own business licenses too. Because there is no state trade license to look up, proof of insurance is the more useful thing to ask for: a current certificate of general liability insurance that covers damage to your property, plants or vehicles. If the job grows into repairs, painting or carpentry, ask whether any other license applies to that part of the work. Inside Dothan city limits, the city requires a business license for anyone doing business there, handled by Business Services in the Finance Department, and those licenses expire every December 31. Houston County issues its own license through the Probate Office. A provider who works in Dothan regularly should have no trouble telling you they are current.

Ask every provider how they protect your yard. A careful crew wets down shrubs, flower beds and grass before and after applying cleaning solution, covers delicate plants, closes windows and covers outdoor outlets and light fixtures. Ask where the rinse water goes, too. Wash water should not be sent into a storm drain loaded with detergent, oil or chemicals, so a good provider plans the runoff before starting, especially on commercial lots. Dothan's stormwater rules treat anything entering the city's storm sewer system that is not entirely stormwater as an illicit discharge, apart from exceptions listed in the ordinance, so the curb inlet at the end of your driveway is not the place for soapy or greasy rinse water.

Frequently asked questions

Areas we serve

We connect callers across Dothan, Enterprise, Ozark, Headland and the Wiregrass of southeast Alabama, including:

• Dothan
• Enterprise
• Ozark
• Headland
• Taylor
• Kinsey
• Cowarts
• Ashford
• Webb
• Rehobeth
• Daleville
• Abbeville
• Slocomb
• Houston County
• Dale County

Local pages: Enterprise, Ozark, Taylor.

Related services

• Driveway & Concrete Cleaning
• Roof Soft Washing
• Deck & Fence Cleaning
• Commercial & Storefront Washing
• Gutter Brightening