How do we hire a pressure washing contractor for our HOA common areas?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 8, 2026

How an HOA board scopes, bids and oversees pressure washing of sidewalks, walls, pool decks and buildings, including wash water rules, lead paint and insurance.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Hire on a written scope that names every surface, the cleaning method for each one, and where the dirty water goes. That last line is the one boards skip, and it is where the low bid usually gets its price. A crew that lets wash water run down the gutter saves an hour of setup. In most cities that runoff is an illegal discharge to the storm drain, and the city can hold the property owner responsible, which here is the association. Before anyone starts, get a certificate of insurance and a W-9, and have a director on site for the first hour of the first day. Rules differ by state, by city and by what your governing documents say about maintenance, so read this as general education and not legal advice.

Walk the property and list every surface

Take a clipboard and a phone and walk everything the association maintains. A typical list for a 60 to 120 home community: the entry monument, perimeter screening wall or fence, common sidewalks and curbs, the mailbox kiosk, clubhouse walls and walkways, the pool deck, the dumpster pad and the playground border. Measure concrete in square feet and walls and fences in linear feet with the height. Photograph each stain and note what caused it: orange rust from irrigation water, black algae on the shady side of a wall, oil under a guest parking row, gum at the mailboxes. Write down what each surface is made of, because the method depends on it. Then check your maintenance chart. Owner driveways and lot walks are usually the owner's job, and washing them with association money can raise a fairness complaint from the owners you skipped. If an owner asks whether the board can make them clean their own driveway, that is a covenant question with its own guide.

Match the method to the surface

High pressure is right for bare concrete and wrong for almost everything painted, soft or old. Plain concrete sidewalks and pads take a rotary surface cleaner, which gives an even finish without the stripes a wand leaves. Painted stucco, siding, wood fences and signs need a low-pressure wash with a cleaning solution that does the work, often called soft washing, because high pressure can etch wood, force water behind siding and strip paint. Roofs are the clearest case. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association says never to use a pressure washer on an asphalt shingle roof because it causes granule loss and early roof failure. Its recommended method is a 50:50 mix of laundry-strength liquid chlorine bleach and water, left on for 15 to 20 minutes and rinsed with low-pressure water. Bleach mixes kill plants, so the bid should say how the crew protects beds and turf, usually by soaking plants before and rinsing after. Pavers lose joint sand when washed, so ask for a price to re-sand. Ask every bidder to name each cleaning product and send the safety data sheet with the bid.

Decide where the wash water goes before you sign

Federal stormwater permits require cities with regulated storm sewer systems to prohibit non-stormwater discharges by ordinance. Under 40 CFR 122.34(b)(3), a short list of discharges, such as lawn watering, street wash water and individual residential car washing, need not be prohibited unless the city finds them a significant source of pollutants. Commercial pressure washing is not on that list, and cities that publish guidance treat the wash water as something the contractor has to capture. Pinellas County, Florida tells crews cleaning building exteriors with high-pressure water to use sandbags or berms or seal the storm drain with plugs or rubber mats, and says violators of its stormwater ordinance may be fined up to $10,000 per day plus cleanup costs. Haltom City, Texas tells apartment managers to collect and properly dispose of pressure washing wastewater and to get the local utility's approval before putting it into the sewer system. Arvada, Colorado says power washers must capture wash water, collect it in containers and dispose of it properly, and warns that if it reaches the storm sewer the property owner could be liable under the city ordinance and the federal Clean Water Act. Call your city's stormwater office, ask what they require, and write the answer into the scope. While you are at it, ask the water utility whether any drought restrictions apply that week, and decide whether the crew brings its own water or uses the association's spigots.

Buildings painted before 1978

If your condominium buildings, townhome rows or clubhouse went up before 1978, the paint on them may contain lead. The EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires anyone paid to disturb paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 to be certified in lead-safe work practices. The EPA says pressure washing is not a prohibited practice under the rule, but the firm must isolate the work area so no dust or debris, including in the wastewater, leaves it, and must dispose of the wastewater properly. If the job includes washing peeling paint on an older building, and especially if it is prep for repainting, ask for the firm's EPA certification number and make the containment part of the scope. A standalone clubhouse may fall outside a rule written for housing, but the lead in its paint is the same, so ask for the same containment. A crew that only does sidewalks never needs any of this. A crew washing 1970s clapboard does.

Insurance, workers' comp and tax paperwork

Get a certificate of insurance showing general liability, with the association named as additional insured, and auto liability for the truck and trailer that will sit on your streets. Workers' compensation depends on the state. Texas lets most private employers opt out, and the Texas Department of Insurance calls those employers non-subscribers, so a Texas crew may legally have none. Ask, and weigh that when a worker falls off a wall on your property. Florida section 440.02(20)(b) requires coverage for private employers with four or more employees, or one or more in the construction industry. Colorado requires workers' compensation for any employer with one or more employees and presumes anyone paid for services is an employee. Our guide on how to check a vendor certificate of insurance walks through reading the form line by line. For taxes, collect a W-9 before the first check. The IRS reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC is $2,000 for payments made in 2026 and $2,100 for payments made in 2027, up from $600, and payments to corporations are generally exempt. If you pay the same unincorporated washer $2,000 or more in a calendar year, the form goes to the contractor and the IRS by January 31.

Lines to put in the bid request

Send the same scope to at least three contractors so the prices compare. Paste this and edit it: 'Scope: clean the surfaces listed in Attachment A by the method listed for each. Concrete flatwork by rotary surface cleaner. Painted, stucco, wood and signage surfaces by low-pressure wash only. Contractor names every cleaning product and attaches its safety data sheet. Contractor blocks affected storm inlets, recovers wash water and disposes of it as the city requires, and states the disposal point in writing. Contractor protects plants, pool water, vehicles, windows and light fixtures, and repairs or pays for any damage it causes. Work hours [8 a.m. to 5 p.m.], weekdays only. Price by line item in Attachment A, with a total. Payment within 30 days after a joint walk-through and correction of any missed areas.' Ask for the price per square foot on concrete so you can add or drop areas later without a new bid. Ask for photos of a past job with drain protection in place. Our guide on how to write an HOA request for proposal covers scoring the answers and checking references.

A sample timeline, owner notice and motion

Six to eight weeks out, walk the property and write the scope. Five weeks out, call the city stormwater office and send the bid request with a two-week deadline. Three weeks out, the board votes. Two weeks out, send the owner notice and confirm the pool closure dates if the deck is included. Before work starts, take dated photos of every surface, so a damage claim later is about facts. On day one, a director watches drain protection go in. Afterward, walk the job with the contractor before approving payment. Notice owners can adapt: 'The association has hired [contractor] to clean common sidewalks, the entry monument, the perimeter wall and the pool deck from [date] to [date], weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please keep cars off common sidewalks and curbs on those days and close windows that face the work. The pool will be closed [dates]. Owner driveways are not included.' Motion: 'Move to accept the bid of [contractor] dated [date] for common area pressure washing at a cost not to exceed $[amount], paid from the [operating / reserve] fund, subject to receipt of a certificate of insurance and W-9 before work begins.'

Mistakes boards make

Hiring on a phone quote for 'washing the common areas' and getting four prices for four different jobs. Taking the cheapest bid without asking where the water goes. Letting a crew hit painted stucco or a wood fence with a concrete wand. Washing the pool deck while the pool is open. Paying in full before the walk-through. Washing some owner driveways as a favor and then hearing from the rest. Never asking the city what it requires, then getting the call when a neighbor sends a photo of foam in the gutter.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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