WAYCROSS — “There’s a lot more to it than people think,” says Cory Taylor, owner of Direct Pressure, a pressure washing service based in Waycross and operating throughout Georgia.
Taylor says his crew mostly does commercial and fleet work these days, cleaning commercial properties and vehicles, but he started off pressure washing homes and cleaning just about anything else needing it in general.
He’s learned a lot along the way, some of it technical and specific to the pressure washing business — and some just falling under basic good business practices.
Taylor offered his biggest piece of advice for spring cleaners and anyone else who needs pressure washing done now or in the future.
“Be careful, especially around tax time,” Taylor warns. “People get a refund and want their home pressure washed, but a lot of these fly-by-night guys got a refund, too. They buy a little pressure washer from Home Depot and suddenly they’re in business, but if they mess something up, you’ll never get them on the phone or see them again.”
As for his own phone, Taylor says his keeps ringing. Direct Pressure has been in business for almost seven years now, growing from a small one-man residential pressure washing operation to a thriving business handling commercial and fleet contracts all over the state.
“We’re licensed and insured, but most of those shady tree guys aren’t. That’s a really big deal,” says Taylor. “When I got started, there were only about 10 or so legitimate pressure washer businesses in the area.” Other aspects of the business are more technical. Taylor says seminars and training hosted by vendors for the companies making the chemicals and equipment he uses have been invaluable.
In the balance between the right machine and the right chemicals for the job, Taylor says often you have to let the chemicals — the right chemicals — do the work.
“A lot of newer paints, especially blues and grays, have organic components in them,” Taylor explains. “You hit it with ordinary bleach and it can turn crazy colors. I’ve seen spotted pink, even neon green.”
Which is why Taylor recommends having anyone pressure washing your home do a test spot in an inconspicuous area.
“Chemicals play a big part in it, especially for soft-washing,” he stated.
Taylor says a soft wash often works better, though many don’t know to ask for it.
“Most people want pressure washing because that’s what they have always had done or what other people told them they need,” said Taylor, but in reality, soft-washing is the better route for many homes. “If you pressure wash stucco or soffit or say, older wooden trim, especially if it’s a little rotten, you’re just going to blow it away.”
Taylor says attention to things like that is what drives his success.
“We’ll refuse a job before we mess it up,” he stated.
That eye for detail is what earned Direct Pressure contracts across the state. However, being a small tight-knit crew, usually just Taylor and a few guys he can trust, they can’t be everywhere all the time.
Like a lot of other businesses, he might subcontract out to an out of town operation local to his customer, but the quality and the standards have to be there.
“Even when I subcontract it out, my name is on it,” says Taylor.
He feels it important the Direct Pressure brand stand behind every job he takes. That means communication is key.
Taylor asks the subcontractors to send him pictures and videos. He tells them to double check their cleaning agents and asks questions about the materials and surfaces that will be washed, and he wants them to ask him questions if they don’t understand something. In essence, he wants to know everything about the job being taken on.
Taylor recommends, whoever you go with to clean the exterior of your home, make sure they are someone you can trust. Not just licensed and insure, which he says is the beginning, Taylor advises getting someone who takes the time to inspect the job before they unload the first thing from their truck — and who will answer any questions you have.
“There are more reputable guys out there than when I first started,” says Taylor. “But do yourself a favor and make sure they aren’t just a shady tree amateur looking to make some quick money.”
