Last updated: October 2026
How much does exterior house washing cost in the valley?
Exterior house washing in El Cajon, Santee, and La Mesa costs $300 to $600 for a single-story home and $500 to $1,000 for a two-story. Stucco gets a low-pressure soft wash at 100 to 150 PSI. Inland heat and dust push prices slightly higher for oxidized siding and long driveways.
Those numbers come from our own East County quotes this year. They are not a national average.
Price by surface in East County
| Surface | Typical size | Price range | Time on site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-story stucco house (soft wash) | 1,200 to 1,800 sq ft | $300 to $600 | 2 to 3 hrs |
| Two-story stucco or siding | 1,800 to 2,800 sq ft | $500 to $1,000 | 3 to 5 hrs |
| Concrete driveway | 500 to 900 sq ft | $150 to $325 | 45 to 90 min |
| Block wall and side yard | 100 to 200 linear ft | $120 to $300 | 1 to 2 hrs |
Why do valley homes cost more to wash than coastal ones?
Dust. Homes off Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon and along Mission Gorge Road in Santee carry a gray film from dry Santa Ana weeks, and it bonds to stucco after a few months of sun.
That film needs a longer dwell time with the soft wash mix before we rinse. We usually add 20 to 30 minutes on the first wash.
Lots are also bigger out here. A two-car driveway in La Mesa Village might be 600 sq ft, while a Santee cul-de-sac lot can hit 1,000 sq ft with a long apron.
What moves the number up
Three things, mostly. Rust bleed off wrought iron gates, oil under carports, and oxidized aluminum siding that chalks onto everything below it.
On a Santee job off Carlton Hills Boulevard last month, the house itself was a 2.5 hour soft wash. The garage apron had two transmission stains that took another 40 minutes with a degreaser and hot water at 180 degrees.
And water access. If the spigot sits behind a locked side gate or the truck cannot get within 100 feet, we run extra hose and the day gets longer.
Should valley homes be soft washed or pressure washed?
Soft washed, almost every time. Stucco and painted siding crack at the hairline joints when someone runs 3000 PSI across them, and we have repaired the water intrusion that follows.
Concrete is different. We run a 20 inch surface cleaner at 3000 PSI and 4 GPM on slabs, which spreads the pressure and keeps the stripes out.
For the full method, see our soft washing page and the pressure washing page. We also run routes in El Cajon, Santee, and La Mesa.
Fall is a good window. Heat has dropped, the marine layer is back on the western edge of the valley, and stucco dries evenly instead of flashing in the sun. If we cleaned your home in East County, we would love a Google review that names the service and your neighborhood.
