Questions, answered.

One to two gutter cleanings per year by WindowWorks, set by your tree cover and debris load. Each visit doubles as a roof inspection, early moss is treated at no extra charge, and if moss returns we retreat the affected areas per the warranty terms.

The visit is your roof inspection, gutters are a damp moss nursery that reseeds the roof, and debris left in valleys stays wet and shelters regrowth. Removing all three is what makes a 3-year warranty possible.

We keep treatment strength low to protect coatings, seams, and fasteners, and algae returns faster on these surfaces, so we cannot guarantee full elimination the way we can on shingle, tile, and cedar.

On Premium, yes. On shingle and tile, Deluxe is left to work, so results build over four to six weeks and some debris may keep releasing after.

Anything that is not living growth: rust, mineral, paint, and chemical stains stay, along with granule loss, oxidation, and faint ghosting where lichen was attached. We do not do roof repairs, so missing shingles, failing flashing, and leaks need a roofer.

Insurers in western Washington audit homes with aerial imagery, and roof moss is one of the top three triggers for a non-renewal notice. Every job includes before-and-after photos you can keep on file for your carrier.

Because there is only one way to clean these roofs without risking the paint, the seams, the fasteners, and your roof warranty. A damaged seam turns a cleaning job into a leak. That is not a trade we would make, so we do not offer it.

To protect the roof we have to keep the mix weak, and algae comes back faster on these surfaces than on shingle. We are not going to promise years of clear roof when the safe method cannot deliver it. An annual wash is the honest answer, and it costs less than a rescue cleaning anyway.

The day we leave, because the light rinse carries off treated growth. On shingle a no-rinse treatment can take weeks to show, but membrane and metal always get the rinse.

Faded or chalky paint, rust, and worn coating stay put, because that is wear, not growth. Failed seams and standing water damage are a roofer's job, not ours. We will point out what we see and give you the photos either way.

We come look at it. Nobody can scope a commercial roof over the phone. Access, roof condition, where we get water, where it drains, your work window, insurance requirements, and tenant notice all change the number.

Yes. A metal roof on a house and a membrane roof on an office building get the same weaker mix and the same light rinse, because that is what the material allows. There is no package to pick either way. What changes is access and scheduling, not the method.

Yes. Guard tops plug with pine needles and overflow like open gutters. We clean them, lifting sections where the design allows, and when a system causes more upkeep than it prevents, we recommend removal.

At minimum once a year, or every two years on very low-debris lots. Sun sheds granules off asphalt shingles, and they wash into the gutters and compact into dense, hard-to-clear clogs.

Minor ones: loose hangers, reseated sections, and small seam leaks, quoted on site during the clean. Re-pitching, section replacement, and new installation aren't included; bigger issues get photo-documented so you can handle them while they're small.

No. Cleaning clears the troughs and downspouts above grade. The buried lines are underground drainage jetting, its own service, and we recommend it when we see slow drainage or pooling.

Each visit includes a roof inspection with early moss treated free, and it clears the damp debris moss regrows in. One to two cleanings a year, set by tree cover, keep the 3-year moss-free limited warranty active; downspout jetting isn't included unless you choose Premium.

Because cleaning is about the inside. Troughs, downspouts, guards, flow. The dark streaks are on the outside faces and they are not dirt, so nothing about a trough cleaning touches them. Whitening is the separate treatment that does.

Two things happening at once. Sunlight breaks down the paint on the aluminum, leaving a soft chalky surface instead of a slick one. Then dust, pollen, road film and grit off the roof collect on the top lip of the gutter, and every rain and heavy dew carries that over the edge and down the face in the same paths. On a chalked surface it beds in instead of rinsing off. The stripes are those paths.

Usually much better, sometimes not perfect. What we are removing is partly the paint's own pigment, so on a finish that has been chalking for fifteen years the gutter can come back clean but flat. Age of the coating, how deep the chalking runs, and how long the stripes have been setting all move the result. We do a test section first and you decide from there.

No, and neither can we scrub it off. The coating makers are explicit that nothing abrasive should touch these finishes, and a finish that is already chalking is the last one to put pressure on. It takes chemistry worked in gently, or it takes nothing.

No. Bleach kills things that are alive, and this is not alive. A house wash or a roof wash drives straight past it, which is exactly why homeowners are surprised when the gutters still look streaked after everything else on the house came clean.

Washing the faces before the film has time to bond, on the gutter visit that is already scheduled. Beyond that: keep the run from overflowing, because a gutter that spills over the front washes the same channel with dirty water all winter, and keep the roof clean, because asphalt shingles shed the grit and carbon that does the staining.

Almost never. New gutters stripe for two reasons: manufacturers add wax to the coil paint so it feeds through the forming machine, and that residue holds dirt. And if the roof was torn off recently, the shingle dust from the tear-off lands right on the gutter lip. It is an environmental problem, not a manufacturing one, which is also why the gutter installer will not come back and clean it.

Per linear foot, quoted on your gutter estimate. The crew, the ladders and the fall protection are already on site for the cleaning, so adding it to that visit costs less than sending anyone back out for it alone.

No. We soak the beds around the house before we start, cover what needs covering, and rinse everything down again when we finish. Tell us what you baby out there and we will plan around it.

It removes organic growth, not inorganic stains like oxidation, rust, efflorescence, or mineral deposits, which can show more once surrounding grime is gone. Oxidation, rust, and soot each have their own treatment, and the What's On My Siding guide covers what comes off before we start.

That's oxidation, the coating breaking down from UV, and a normal wash doesn't touch it. Our removal starts with a test area, is quoted after assessment, may require a signed waiver, and sometimes repainting is the better investment.

The wash itself is gentle, but cleaning can release paint that's already chipped or failing, and degraded stain on cedar can look uneven once grime is off. We flag those conditions during the walk-through, and sometimes the right call is repainting or re-staining after.

Insurers in western Washington audit exteriors with aerial imagery, and siding algae is one of the three maintenance conditions they flag most, sometimes with only 30 days notice before non-renewal. A house wash addresses what they look for, and we can send you before-and-after photos on request for your carrier.

A walk of the property, and whatever you already know about it: how we can reach the elevations, what the building is clad in, your work window, water and power on site, where the runoff goes, your insurance and site requirements, and who tells the tenants. Bring those and you get a number in one exchange instead of three. If you do not know one of them, say so and we will settle it on site rather than guess.

Yes, at the right pressure. High pressure drives water behind panels and through window assemblies, and EIFS and painted assemblies take damage from pressure concrete shrugs off. That is why the substrate is confirmed on site and written on the quote, so there is a record of what the method was chosen against.

Usually, and it depends on the building. Tenant-facing and public areas often move to after hours or a weekend, which carries a labor differential. Where the work has to happen during operating hours we say so, agree what gets closed off and for how long, and settle who tells the tenants and how much notice they get.

We reach it from the ground with poles, from ladders, or from a lift, so what matters is whether a lift can get to the elevation and what the site can take. Send us the address and we will tell you straight whether it is a fit, including when it is not.

Sometimes, and not always. On an old chalked or oxidised wall we test a section first and show you what it gives back before you commit to the whole building. If the coating has failed, that is a repaint, and we will tell you that instead of selling you a wash that cannot fix it.

Yes, and most managed property does. No single interval fits an envelope, because shaded elevations grow back and street-facing elevations collect film at different rates, so the cadence gets set at the walk. One schedule, the same crew, and a documented maintenance record for the board file or the capital plan.

Outside only, Basic and Deluxe are the same physical service at the same price; they only separate when interior work is included. Premium stays its own quoted option either way.

Every package includes a screen dust-off and wipedown. Screens loaded with dust or turning green need the deep screen cleaning add-on instead.

Purified water dries spot-free on its own; wiping while it dries is what adds lint and streaks. If anything looks off once fully dry, call us and we'll make it right.

Fog between panes is a failed seal, a window repair, not a cleaning, and we'd rather tell you than charge you. Bonded minerals get a specialty treatment: we test a spot first, a signed waiver may be required, and etched glass may not fully recover.

No. Paint, silicone, adhesive, and stucco bond to the glass; that's construction window cleaning, a separate service quoted by condition, with a signed scratch waiver required before work begins.

Two risks no method eliminates. Tempered glass can carry factory debris fused into the surface, which turns into scratches the moment anything moves across it. And residue hides damage that was already there. The waiver covers both, it gets signed before we start, and without it we do not work.

By condition, after an assessment in person or from clear photos, never sight unseen and never by window count. Two panes of cured silicone can take longer than a whole house of ordinary glass.

Residue sometimes hides scratches, chips, or etching that were already there, and they show once the glass is clean. We document what we find and walk it with you; replacing damaged glass or failed insulated units is outside our scope.

We confirm up front who signs the waiver and who accepts the finished condition, especially when working for a general contractor rather than the owner. The waiver requirement itself is identical to residential, no exceptions.

No. Molten metal burns into the glass and leaves a hole in the surface, so there is nothing to lift off. That pane needs replacing, and we will tell you that instead of charging you to try.

We remove it, and we tell you to fix the source first or it comes straight back. There is a limit: once the minerals have etched deep enough, taking them off means taking off enough of the glass surface to distort what you see through it. Past that density we stop and tell you, rather than trade a spotted window for a warped one.

Rain handles loose dust only. Pollen bonds to the glass, algae is living growth, and rain itself leaves mineral traces on flat and low-tilt panels.

Late June to early July, right after the pollen fall ends. Earlier catches panels still collecting pollen, and later wastes the best production window.

Most residential systems do well with one annual visit. Larger or production-critical systems benefit from a second between mid-November and January, and heavy conifer overhang can justify twice yearly.

Clean them as soon as possible, since multi-year buildup is exactly the soiling rain never removes. The first clean sets a baseline, then an annual schedule maintains it.

No. Cleaning doesn't include electrical inspection, inverter or performance diagnostics, panel or cracked-glass repair, or roof structural work, but we document condition and flag anything we spot.

Organic growth, oil and gum, and mineral staining are three different problems needing three different methods. Pressure aimed at a chemistry problem, or at stone and stucco, just wears out the surface.

On surfaces with organic growth, especially shaded ones, yes: it kills remaining spores and can turn a twice-yearly clean into an annual one. It isn't relevant for oil, gum, or complex stains.

Results depend on stain depth, age, and porosity, so we test spot first and quote a range; full removal isn't guaranteed. We also find the source first, or the stain comes straight back.

It's the only method that reliably lifts oil, grease, and gum; cold water just smears them. Deep-set oil in porous concrete may not fully release even with heat, and we say so upfront.

No, sealing is a separate trade we refer to a specialist; we do the required prep clean, timed to your coating job. We also don't repair cracked, heaved, or settled concrete, pavers, or stone.

Only if you tell us to. A commissioned mural is work somebody paid an artist for, and a tag is a name sprayed on your wall without asking. They are not the same thing and we do not treat them the same. If what is on your wall looks commissioned, we ask you before we touch it.

Once. Exterior paint fades, so the patch never quite matches the wall around it, and the next tag lands on a fresh flat panel that is the easiest surface on the building to write on. After a few rounds you are maintaining a quilt. We do not paint, so we have nothing to sell you either way.

On sealed concrete, metal, and glass, usually. On porous brick, block, or aggregate that has held the paint a while, a faint shadow can stay, and we do not guarantee full removal on porous substrate. The test spot tells us which one you are looking at, and you get that answer before we treat the whole area, in writing on commercial work.

In Seattle, yes. Graffiti on private property is a nuisance under the city code, and an owner has ten days to clear it after notice, or 48 hours if it is gang or hate related. Bellevue also makes removal the property owner's responsibility. Rules differ city to city, so check yours.

More than anything else. Spray paint keeps curing into a porous surface the whole time it sits there, so the same tag comes off more completely this week than next month. Fast removal is also what every city graffiti program is built on: a wall that gets cleared stays cleared, and a wall that holds a tag collects more.

High pressure scars brick, masonry, and softer concrete, and it takes the mortar out of the joints. That trades a tag for a lighter, eroded patch you cannot undo. We use removal compounds matched to the surface and the paint, and let the chemistry do the work.

Concrete, brick, block, stone, stucco, metal, and glass, flat or vertical, commercial or residential. Send a photo if you can and we will match the method to the surface.

Spores establish before you can see them, and visible growth is already displacing sand. A quick wash once or twice a year kills it first, at a fraction of a re-sand project's cost.

The wash is prevention: it kills joint growth while leaving your sand in place. The re-sand is correction for depleted joints; not sure which you need, send photos and we'll tell you straight.

Careless pressure does exactly that, which is why the wash uses a low-pressure rinse. When joints need pressure washing, we pair it with a full re-sand, never spray-and-go.

No. We prepare the surface, including the deep cleaning a sealer needs to bond, and refer sealing itself to a specialist.

No, resetting and releveling isn't our work. We restore depleted joints with the re-sand, then keep the surface on a schedule so it never reaches the shifting stage again.

Yes, and it's the efficient way. The crew and equipment are already set up, so adjacent driveways, walkways, and patios can join the same visit.

Yes. That is the point of the process: strip the old stain fully, neutralize the chemistry in the wood, and it can take a light-bodied stain evenly, even after decades under a dark finish.

Painters are great at painting. But the pre-wash is a different trade, and done with high pressure and the wrong chemicals it leaves old paint that bubbles under the new coat and can drive water behind siding, where it turns up later as moisture and mold. Prep is our trade, so the paint can do its job.

Strippers push the wood alkaline. Put stain or paint on wood whose chemistry is still off and it cures wrong, adheres badly, and fails early. We neutralize and rebalance the wood after stripping, so the finish behaves the way the manufacturer designed it to.

No. Our job ends at a clean, neutralized surface that will take the finish evenly, and your painter or stain crew takes it from there. That split is deliberate: prep is our trade, finishing is theirs.

No. Cleaning improves safety and appearance and preps the surface, but it doesn't strip stain, sand weathered wood, or fix failing paint; if your deck or fence needs more, we'll say so.

Coatings bond to clean wood, not to what's growing on it, so stain or paint over grime fails early and you pay twice. A thorough prep wash is what makes the new coat last.

Yes, for safety more than looks: algae grows on composite fine, and shaded composite can be slick within six months. Composite never gets a protective recoat, so the annual clean is its whole maintenance plan, and our method avoids etching or fuzzing the texture.

No, the method is matched to the material. Soft woods get a low-pressure rinse, high pressure stays off vinyl entirely, and the solution does the work instead of pressure.

We set expectations by material first: degraded stain can look uneven once the grime is off, failing paint may release, aged cedar keeps some UV gray, and weathered hardwood can vary in tone. When that happens, the surface is ready for a recoat, and we'll say so.

Each is its own line on one estimate: the deck by material and area with railings priced apart, the fence by material, length, and height. One visit, one crew, one setup.

Gutter overflow at the downspout despite clean gutters, water pooling near the foundation after rain, standing water at a yard drain, or drainage slowing in one zone. The line is invisible, so symptoms are usually the first clue.

Gutter cleaning clears the troughs and downspouts above grade, but a packed underground line still backs the system up at the downspout. Jetting is the step that completes the gutter system.

Roots mean the pipe is cracked and they return until it's repaired, so those lines get jetted annually with a camera each visit. Digging only comes up in the extreme cases, where the pipe is crushed or collapsed and no amount of jetting will hold. Depending on the job we either open it up and replace that section ourselves or bring in a drainage contractor, and we tell you which one it is before anything starts.

No, they reduce it. A Gutter Stick keeps needles from packing the downspout and underground line, typically stretching jetting from every year to every two.

No. Lint packs the vent line, the lint trap housing below the screen, and the flexible duct behind the dryer, the part that crushes and wears fastest; Premium deep cleans the housing and exhaust port and replaces that duct.

Deluxe is camera inspection plus full cleaning of the vent line, ductwork, and exterior termination. Premium adds deep cleans of the exhaust port and lint trap housing, light cleaning around the dryer, and a new transition duct; non-standard fittings get confirmed with you first.

It restores airflow, which is what slow dry times usually are. It does not repair damaged ducting or internal dryer problems; any duct damage gets documented with photos and a recommendation.

The whole system: pest cage, vent flap, duct condition, and any blockage's severity and location, all photographed. A stuck flap means pests and moisture or blocked airflow; a broken cage is an open door for nesting.

Severe blockages can take extra work or a repair visit, and active nest removal is quoted separately. You get a photo report either way, and if the exterior cage is broken or missing, we can install a pest mitigator.

Usually, yes; rooftop and high-wall vents are the same trained, insured at-height work our crews do daily. Ladder access above the ground floor adds to the price, and tight chases or finished construction can limit how far the inspection reaches.

No. It is rated to handle up to 25 gallons per minute, far above what a residential washer discharges. What does cause slow draining is a filter nobody has cleaned in six months, which is what the annual service is for.

No. It clamps onto the discharge hose your machine already has and drains into your existing standpipe, wall box, or laundry sink. Nothing is cut, nothing is permanent, and it comes off without a trace.

You need roughly 8 inches of clear wall above the mounting point so the lid lifts off, a reachable standpipe or sink, and room to stand and empty a bag. In the largest field study of these filters about one home in five could not be fitted. We check first, and there is no charge if yours will not take one.

Rinse the bag every 8 to 10 loads, which is every one to three weeks for most households, and the bag itself lasts one to two years. Liquid fabric softener leaves a film that blinds the mesh, so if you use it expect to clean more often. We tell people that before we install, not after.

A septic system has no step designed to capture synthetic microfiber, and there is very little research on what happens to it in a drainfield. Catching it at the machine is the only certain way to keep it out. We are not going to claim it will save your drainfield, because nobody has shown that.