Big Home Cleaning Project: Should You Rent, Buy or Hire?

Your home is your castle, but even a palace needs to be cleaned regularly. It’s possible to maintain many areas of your home yourself, from mopping the kitchen floor to sweeping the front stoop.

However, every so often you’ll have projects that go beyond vacuuming or mopping. When it comes to jobs like cleaning the roof, clearing out clogged gutters, steam cleaning carpets, or pressure cleaning the deck, you may need special equipment.

Let’s discuss how to choose between buying or renting equipment and hiring a professional to do the job for you.

Which Makes the Most Sense Financially?

The big decision comes down to how much you want to spend on a cleaning project. For example, let’s say you need to power wash the patio, driveway, or even clean your home’s exterior. According to Consumer Reports, you can rent a power washer for $40 – $100 a day.

What if you bought one? An electric power washer costs $100 – $400, while a gas-powered model costs $300 – $600.

What if you hired a company to do the cleaning for you? In general, power washing home siding will cost you about $220 – $380. A driveway costs about $130 – $220. Finally, pressure-washing a deck/patio costs about $250 – $420.

If you want to calculate the cost for your home/driveway/deck, the average estimate is usually $.16 – $.22 cents per square foot.

So, when deciding between renting, buying, or hiring, you need to do the math and determine which option fits your budget.

How Often You Need Equipment

Another big question you need to ask yourself is how often you need certain equipment. In other words, how often do you pressure clean your carpets? How often do the gutters need to be cleaned out or the roof?

Some projects might only need to be done once a year, while others are more frequent. It might also depend on your lifestyle.

If you have kids and pets, your carpets might get dirty sooner.

If you live somewhere that experiences harsh winters or frequent thunderstorms, you might track in more mud, snow, or water.

So, you need to think about how often you need the equipment. If you have to clean several times a year, it might make sense to buy rather than rent equipment each time.

DIY vs. Hiring a Professional

The decision to DIY vs. hiring a professional often comes down to safety. Are you capable of pressure cleaning the roof without hurting yourself or damaging the roof? Can you clean the windows on the second floor?

Your strength, age, and general health might make it difficult for you to do some cleaning projects. Other projects are not safe to take on unless you have the proper training.

Get Cleaned Up

Maintaining your house can seem like a full-time job. You need to determine which cleaning projects you can DIY vs. hiring a professional. Answering these questions can help you make the best choice.

If you have a home cleaning project around Covington, LA, consider Ethan’s Roof & Exterior Washing. Our trained technicians provide high-quality service to ensure your home and property stays in prime condition.