PressureWashingBossPro Blog — Quotes & Estimates

Add-Ons on a Pressure Washing Estimate: Gutter Brightening, Rust and Gum Removal

Add-ons are the small lines that make a good job a great ticket. A customer who wants a house wash rarely calls asking for gutter brightening, but plenty of them say yes when it is right there on the estimate with a price beside it. The trick is putting add-ons on the quote in a way that is easy to say yes to and impossible for the crew to forget.

Why Add-Ons Belong on the Estimate

Deck and fence work, covered in Deck and Fence Quotes for Pressure Washing Companies, is often sold as an extra. The smaller add-ons work the same way, just with less measuring.

When an add-on lives only in conversation (“Oh, and we can do the gutters too”), three things go wrong. The customer forgets the price. The crew never hears about it. And if it does get done, the invoice may not include it. When the add-on is its own line on the estimate, the customer approves it, it carries onto the job, the crew sees it on their phone and the invoice includes it.

Gutter Brightening

Gutter brightening means cleaning the black streaks and oxidation off the outside face of the gutters. It is a natural partner to a house wash, because clean siding makes dirty gutters stand out.

• How operators price it: flat by house size, or by the linear foot. As an example, a typical home might be $65 to $95.
• How to measure it: the property map can measure linear feet from satellite along the roof edge.
• What to note: which sides, the number of stories and any sections that are hard to reach.

It is worth being clear that gutter brightening is the outside face, not cleaning debris out of the gutters. A short description on the service, like “Removes black streaks from the outside of your gutters,” prevents that mix-up.

Rust Removal

Orange stains on concrete from irrigation water, fertilizer or metal furniture are common and do not come out with a normal wash. Rust removal is its own treatment and deserves its own line.

• How operators price it: flat per area or per stain group, or by the square foot of stained area.
• What to ask for: a photo of the stains, so you know whether it is a few spots or a whole driveway edge.
• What to promise: be honest that some old stains lighten rather than disappear.

Rust often comes back if the cause is not fixed, such as well water in the sprinklers. A note on the estimate saying so sets expectations and can lead to repeat work.

Gum Removal

Gum is mostly a commercial problem: storefront sidewalks, restaurant entrances and shopping center walks. It usually takes hot water and time.

• How operators price it: as an add-on to the storefront or sidewalk clean, often flat per visit or by area.
• When to offer it: on the first clean of a new storefront account, and periodically after that.

Commercial bids are covered in more detail in Commercial Pressure Washing Bids: Storefronts, Drive-Thrus, Dumpster Pads and Garages.

How to Present Add-Ons

Add-ons sell best when they are visible and specific. A few habits that help:

• Put them on every relevant quote. Gutter brightening on every house wash, rust removal on every driveway that shows stains in the photos.
• Make each one its own line with its own price, so the customer can see what they are adding.
• Describe them in plain words. Customers do not know what “brightening” means until you tell them.
• Include them in packages where it makes sense, like a house wash with gutter brightening.

Because add-ons come from your service list in PressureWashingBossPro, they are always one click away when building an estimate, and they use the same price every time.

Pay attention to which add-ons customers accept and which they skip. If almost nobody takes rust removal at your price, maybe the description is unclear or the price is high for your market. If almost everybody takes gutter brightening, it may belong inside your house wash packages instead of beside them. Your own estimates are the best pricing research you have, and they cost nothing to read.

From Approved Add-On to Completed Job

When the customer approves an estimate with add-ons, every line carries onto the job. The crew sees “House Wash, Gutter Brightening” on the job card on their phone, not just “House Wash.” When they tap Complete, the invoice is created from the same lines, so the add-on that was sold is the add-on that gets billed. To see the rest of the quoting tools, visit the PressureWashingBossPro pressure washing estimate software page.