Last updated: September 2026
What to Check Before Hiring a Commercial Pressure Washing Crew
Vetting a commercial pressure washing company in San Diego comes down to three checks: a certificate of insurance with at least $1M in general liability, proof they reclaim wash water near storm drains, and a rig that runs 3000 PSI at 4 GPM, not a rented homeowner unit.
We get calls every month from property managers who hired someone off a $99 special and ended up with a citation, a cracked walkway, or both. Large residential properties, HOA complexes, and multi-building apartment sites carry more risk than a single driveway, and the company you hire should carry paperwork that reflects that.
How Do You Check Insurance and Water Reclamation Compliance?
Ask for a certificate of insurance naming your property or management company as an additional insured, not just a screenshot of a policy page. We carry a $2M general liability policy and produce a current certificate on request, usually same day.
Water reclamation is the piece most homeowners never think to ask about. San Diego's municipal code treats wash water runoff into a storm drain as a discharge violation, and the fines land on the property owner, not just the contractor. Any job that drains toward a curb inlet needs a vacuum recovery setup or a berm-and-extract method. If a company can't describe how they handle runoff on a slab that drains to the street, they haven't done this long.
Equipment That Actually Handles a Large Property
A homeowner-grade electric washer tops out around 1.4 to 2.5 GPM. That's fine for a 400 sq ft patio. It is not fine for a 12,000 sq ft parking structure or a three-story stucco building with efflorescence streaking down from the roofline. Our trucks run 4 GPM hot water rigs through a 20 inch surface cleaner for flatwork, and drop to a dedicated low-pressure soft wash setup for anything painted or stuccoed.
How Do National Franchises, Regional Crews, and Owner-Operators Compare?
| Type | Insurance | Water Reclamation | Typical Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| National franchise | Varies by franchisee | Inconsistent, ask directly | $0.12 to $0.20 per sq ft |
| Regional crew (3-10 trucks) | Usually $1M-$2M | Usually compliant on route work | $0.08 to $0.15 per sq ft |
| Owner-operator | Should carry $1M minimum, ask for proof | Should describe their method unprompted | Quoted per property |
We stopped bidding annual route contracts under 5,000 sq ft years ago. The math doesn't work once you count drive time and a 20 minute rig setup on something that small, and it pushed us toward larger properties where the equipment actually earns its keep.
What Should a Multi-Building HOA Contract Include?
A complex with six buildings and shared walkways needs a written scope, not a verbal walkthrough. We put building numbers, square footage per surface type, and a rain-delay clause into every HOA quote after a Scripps Ranch board asked us to rebid a job that had been quoted as "the whole property" with no breakdown.
The rebid took an extra hour of measuring. It also meant nobody argued about scope creep six weeks later when a resident asked us to also do their private patio.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Sign
- Can you show me a certificate of insurance right now, not next week?
- What's your method for wash water that drains toward a storm inlet?
- What PSI and GPM does your equipment actually run?
- Who is on site the day of the job, and can I call them directly?
Property managers who ask these four questions eliminate most of the underbid, underinsured crews before they ever get a walkthrough. See our full service list or the water reclamation and BMP compliance page for how we document this on every commercial bid.