Sydney house washing quotes range from a quick rinse priced like a car wash to a full-day restoration of a large, heavily soiled two-storey home. The gap confuses people because those prices describe completely different jobs. This guide sets out what moves the number, what a proper soft wash must include, and how to compare quotes so you are not comparing a rinse with a restoration.
We price every job on request after measuring the surfaces, and the figure is fixed in writing before we start; call 0494 810 609 for a quote.
What determines house washing cost by home size and type?
Four things set the price of a professional soft wash: the number of storeys, the wall finish, the level of soiling and the access. A single-storey brick home on a flat block with side access is the baseline. A two-storey rendered home roughly doubles the labour, because every wall needs either a telescopic pole or a work platform and render needs longer dwell times. Heavy soiling, black south walls, lichen or years of neglect, adds a return visit and 20 to 50 percent to the time. Pure-water window cleaning and driveway or path cleaning are usually added as separate line items on the same visit.
Rendered homes cost more than brick because render is porous, holds mould deeper, needs longer dwell times and shows every streak if rushed. A rendered two-storey home in Bellevue Hill with clean north walls and a south wall black with mould is one of the most common quotes we issue.
What pushes the price up or down?
The biggest cost drivers are storeys, soiling and access, in that order. A second storey roughly doubles the setup time because every wall needs either a telescopic pole or a work platform, and the rinse water has to be controlled over a greater height. Heavy soiling adds a return visit. Access issues such as a steep block, a boundary wall with no side path, or a swimming pool under the eaves add time and protection work.
Things that move the price down.
- Open access on all four sides with level ground.
- A home washed within the last three years.
- Brick or painted fibre cement rather than render.
- Booking in the quieter months (May to August) when our schedule has room.
- Combining with other work on the same visit so the crew and equipment are already there.
Things that move it up.
- Black mould or lichen on render that needs a second biocide application.
- Rooflines above 7 metres that need a scissor lift or boom.
- Heritage items or lime-rendered walls that need lower pressure and more care.
- Extensive glass, pergolas and outdoor furniture that must be protected or moved.
- Water restrictions or no mains supply, where we bring tank water.
We also price higher in the Eastern Suburbs for coastal homes between Bondi and Maroubra, because salt-laden grime bonds harder and the rinse has to be more thorough to stop the salt re-wetting and streaking.
Need this done properly? Request a quote or call 0494 810 609. We service the Eastern Suburbs, Upper North Shore, Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches.
What should a proper house wash include?
A proper soft wash includes a pre-inspection, protection of plants, glass and fittings, a low-pressure application of a biocide and surfactant blend, a timed dwell, a controlled rinse at under 500 psi, and a walk-around with the client at the end. Anything less than that is a rinse, and rinsing alone pushes dirt into render rather than lifting it out.
Our standard sequence on a two-storey rendered home.
- Walk the house with the owner, photograph existing damage, test a hidden patch of render for colourfastness.
- Pre-wet garden beds, cover delicate plants, bag external power points and sensors, close windows and vents.
- Apply a sodium hypochlorite and surfactant blend at 1 to 3 percent through a soft-wash system from the bottom up, so runs do not streak dry render.
- Dwell for 10 to 20 minutes depending on temperature, keeping the surface wet.
- Rinse from the top down at 300 to 500 psi through a wide fan tip, with plenty of water volume.
- Re-treat any patches of black mould that have not released and rinse again.
- Rinse all plants, paths and glass, check gutters are not holding chemical, and walk the house again with the owner.
Water goes to garden beds or lawn wherever possible, and we never let treated rinse water enter the street gutter. Woollahra and Waverley councils both publish rules about what may enter the stormwater system, at woollahra.nsw.gov.au and waverley.nsw.gov.au (accessed October 2026), and the fines for contractors who ignore them are real.
For Colorbond cladding and fascia, we follow the manufacturer's care guidance on cleaning agents and pressure, which is published by BlueScope at colorbond.com (accessed October 2026). Harsh alkaline cleaners and high pressure are the two things that void the paint warranty.
How do you compare house washing quotes properly?
Compare quotes by asking each company the same five questions and writing down the answers. Price per square metre tells you almost nothing. The answers to these questions tell you what you are buying.
- What pressure will you use on the walls, and will you use any chemistry? (The answer should be under 500 psi with a biocide. If the answer is a pressure washer only, you are buying a rinse.)
- How many people and how many hours are quoted?
- How will you protect the garden and where does the rinse water go?
- Are you insured for work above 2 metres and can I see the certificate?
- What happens if a mould patch comes back within a month?
A company that answers all five clearly is usually the one to go with. The homes we are called to fix after a cheap wash are the ones where nobody asked.
Is house washing worth it before selling?
Before a sale, house washing is the exterior spend with the fastest visible return. A clean facade is what the hero photograph shows, and the hero photograph is what decides whether a buyer books an inspection. Agents in Double Bay, Mosman and Randwick ask vendors to have it done in the week before photography for exactly that reason.
Our Full House Exterior Package covers the wash, exterior windows, gutters and driveway in one visit and is priced on request for the property. We schedule it so the house is photographed two to five days after the wash, while everything is still spotless and the garden has recovered.
What to do next
If you want a firm number rather than a range, send us a few photos of each side of the house and your suburb, and we will come back with a fixed quote in writing. See our house washing page for the soft wash method in detail, add residential window cleaning if you want the glass done on the same day, and look at driveway cleaning for the ground-level work that finishes the picture.
We do the bulk of our pre-sale washing across the Upper North Shore and the Eastern Suburbs, where rendered homes and tree cover make the before-and-after most obvious.
Related services: House Washing, Residential Window Cleaning, Driveway Cleaning. Areas: Eastern Suburbs, Upper North Shore.
