Power washing in Columbiana, Ohio.

Columbiana is a town that takes its appearance seriously, and it shows on Main Street. Businesses here notice when a facade goes dingy, and a wash on brick, awnings and sidewalk concrete usually does more for a storefront than new signage.

On the residential side we see a mix of older homes near the center of town and newer construction on the edges. The older properties often have painted wood, porch railings and original masonry that all need low pressure and patience. The newer ones are straightforward vinyl, where the whole job is about the right mix and an even rinse.

Columbiana County is well inside our normal service range, so there is no travel surcharge and no minimum job size beyond what makes sense for a trip out.

A typical Columbiana residential job is a full house wash, with the porch and walk added when the concrete has gone dark. Older homes near the center of town get the most careful treatment: painted wood, original masonry and turned porch details all come clean at low pressure and all suffer under a wand.

Downtown business work is usually brick, awnings and sidewalk. Fabric awnings need a much gentler mix than the masonry behind them, so they are handled separately rather than blasted along with the wall. Sidewalk concrete in front of a shop picks up gum and grease at the door, which is a degreaser and dwell time problem.

Spring and early summer is the busiest window for Columbiana homes, and late fall is a good time for storefronts, ahead of the holiday shopping season when the front of your building gets looked at hardest.

For homeowners on the outskirts, the outbuilding question comes up often. Detached garages, sheds and small barns wash on the same visit as the house for a fraction of what a separate trip would cost, and the back wall of a shed is usually the greenest surface on the whole property because nobody ever walks around there to see it.