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Job Story / Bourbonnais, IllinoisFull Exterior Cleaning Package in Bourbonnais, IL: House Wash, Deck Restoration, and Windows
Yesterday our crew spent the day on a full exterior cleaning package at a home in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The homeowner wanted the whole outside handled in one visit instead of booking three separate services across three different weeks. That is exactly what our package is built for. We soft washed the house, restored the deck, and cleaned every exterior window before we pulled out of the driveway.
Here is how the day went, what we used, and what a package like this looks like if you live in Bourbonnais, Bradley, Kankakee, or anywhere else in Kankakee and Will County.
Step One: Soft Washing the House
The siding and limestone had the green and gray film that shows up on almost every home around here by late July. That film is organic growth. Algae, mildew, and lichen feed on the moisture that sits on a north facing wall, and the shade from mature trees keeps it damp long enough for the growth to take hold. Blasting it off with high pressure is the wrong answer. High pressure forces water behind siding, chews up mortar joints on limestone, and strips the surface without killing what is actually causing the stain.
We soft wash instead. Soft washing applies a cleaning solution at low pressure, lets it dwell long enough to kill the growth at the root, then rinses with a gentle flow of water. The house comes out clean and it stays clean longer, because we removed the organism and not just the color.
- Pre wet and protect the landscaping, mulch beds, and any plants near the foundation
- Apply solution from the bottom up so the walls do not streak
- Let the solution dwell and do the work instead of forcing it with pressure
- Rinse top down, then rinse the plants and the driveway again on the way out
- Hand detail the trim, light fixtures, and the front door area
Step Two: Restoring the Deck
The deck was the part the homeowner had written off. Years of shade, rain, and foot traffic had left the boards gray with dark blotches in the grain. Wood like that does not need to be replaced. It needs the growth pulled out of the pores and the natural color brought back.
We cleaned the boards with GreenOx Renew from GreenFlow, a hydrogen peroxide based wood cleaner that participates in the EPA Safer Choice program. It is a bleach alternative, which matters when a deck sits three feet from a flower bed and the family dog is in and out of the yard all afternoon. The peroxide reacts with the mildew and mold staining, brightens the wood, and biodegrades into water and oxygen. It also soaks into the pores and keeps working after the rinse.
Why we care what goes on your deck: the solution that runs off the boards ends up in the soil, the grass, and the storm drain. Choosing a Safer Choice product costs us a little more per gallon and it is worth every penny. See our deck and fence cleaning service.
Once the cleaner had done its job, we rinsed the deck with controlled pressure and a surface tool so the boards came out evenly, with no wand marks and no furring. The railings, spindles, and stair treads were done by hand.
Step Three: Exterior Window Cleaning
Windows go last for a reason. Washing a house sends dirt, solution, and rinse water down the glass, so cleaning the windows first means doing them twice. After the house and deck were finished, we cleaned every exterior window on the home, wiped the frames, and cleared the sills.
This is the part of the package people notice most. You can walk past clean siding for a week without registering it. You notice the first morning you look out a clean window with the sun coming through it.
Watch the Job
Short clip from the Bourbonnais job. Watch on YouTube
What a Full Exterior Package Includes
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Walk the property with you
We look at the siding material, the deck condition, the landscaping, and anything that needs to be protected or avoided before a drop of water goes down.
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Soft wash the house
Siding, limestone or brick, soffit, fascia, trim, and the front entry. Low pressure, proper dwell time, plants protected the whole way through.
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Clean and restore the deck
Wood safe cleaner, even rinse, hand work on rails and spindles. Composite decking gets a different approach and we will tell you which one you have.
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Clean the exterior windows
Glass, frames, and sills, done after everything else so the finish holds.
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Final walkthrough
We walk it with you before we load up. If something is not right, we fix it while we are still standing in your yard.
Why Bundle Instead of Booking Piece by Piece
Most homeowners around Bourbonnais call us for one thing and then call back six weeks later for another. Booking the package saves you two things. First, your time. One appointment, one crew, one day, and the whole outside of the house is done. Second, the finish holds together. A freshly washed house next to a gray deck and dirty glass does not look finished. Doing it in the right order is the only way to get the result you actually pictured.
We are not the cheapest exterior cleaning company in Kankakee County and we do not try to be. We show up when we say we will, we answer the phone, and we treat the property like our own. If that is what you are after, we are a good fit.
