Marysville spreads across flat ground north of Everett, out toward Tulalip. The lots are bigger than the city lots to the south, and the ground is slow to drain. Water does not run off a slope because there often is not a slope. Damp, flat yards grow film on every surface that does not see afternoon sun. Washing without changing the shade means it returns. We still wash it, and we tell you the interval.
Snohomish County · ZIP 98270 · 2020 population 70,714
The north side and the patio that never dries
Concrete walks, the patio, and the foundation line are the usual work. We keep the wand moving and we do not etch a clean stripe down a walk by lingering. Dirty water gets pushed to a place that is not your front door.
A treatment after the wash is what keeps the green from being back at the first warm week. Pressure alone is a haircut.
The ground in Marysville
Flat ground sounds easy until a winter storm sits on it. French drains and permeable surfaces matter here more than tall walls. Yards are family yards: room for a lawn, a play set, fruit trees that people already have and want kept, and a patio that can take a barbecue without turning into a pond.
The soil is the kind that grows a decent lawn if it can breathe, and moss if it cannot. We mow, aerate, and seed the open lawns, and we bark the beds so the weed cycle slows down. Drainage is the job we would rather do first. A new sod lawn laid over undrained flat clay is a replacement lawn in two years. Fruit trees get pruned for light and for the fruit, not sheared into balls.
How we do the work
Most of what people call pressure washing here is organic film: the black and green on the north side, the walks, the fence. The fix is the right tip, the right distance, and often a wash that kills the growth so it does not return in a month. A zero-degree tip on a soft wood deck is how you get a furred, ruined deck.
We do not drive water up under lap siding or into a vent to prove the washer is strong. High pressure is for concrete that can take it. Wood, paint, and mortar joints get a softer approach.
What we look at first
- What the surface is
- Where the water will run
- Plants and outlets we need to protect
- Whether the black is mildew that needs a treatment, not just a blast
What will not come out
Rust, deep oil, and etching that is already in the concrete. We can fade some of it. We will not promise a new slab. Paint that is loose will leave with the dirt, and you will see the bare spots. We point those out first if we can.
How often
North sides and shaded patios, about once a year if you care. Sunny south walks can go longer. Exposed marine rails may want it yearly. We do not sign you up for a monthly wash of a surface that does not need it.
Wood versus concrete
Concrete can take a stronger wash. Cedar decks, fences, and soft siding cannot. If we raise the grain, the surface holds more dirt afterward. We would rather leave it a shade less bright than furred.
More from this crew
- Pressure washing across Snohomish County
- Patio installation in Marysville
- Paver installation in Marysville
- Fence installation in Marysville
- Yard cleanup in Marysville
- Pressure washing in Everett
- Pressure washing in Arlington
- Pressure washing in Lake Stevens
Sources for the climate and the water
- USDA plant hardiness map for choosing plants that can take a Snohomish County winter.
- EPA WaterSense on watering less once a lawn or a new planting is established.
- EPA Soak Up the Rain on keeping roof and yard water from becoming someone else’s problem.
