Have any of you soft washed a property and have the owner come out and say the powers not working all of a sudden? This wasn’t the nicest of places as the wood was starting to rot, but I gave it a quick wash. When I arrived to wash the back of the property the client came out and said the power went out. We messed around with the GFCI box and couldn’t figure anything out. I know they’re supposed to be waterproof… Anyway, he called an electrician and said its going to be $150, the wash was only $90. What should I do? I feel like I’m getting scammed.
check the breakers in the electric panel. Maybe something was tripoed. It’s possible the gfi still has water in it preventing it from resetting and once it dries out, it will again work. If all else fails, replace the gfi. They’re simple to replace and cost $20
Replace it definitely. I know it’s a simple fix but i pay an electrician so no liability on my part. We fry 20 or 30 every year. Always 2nd or 3rd floor balconies with covers open and you can’t see them from the ground. Most Apartments charge $35 per and local electricians usually $100 per. Pay it and charge more than $90 next time 
It’s ground level. Single story. I charge a flat rate for single story washes. $90, in and out in 45 minutes.
Pay it.
Not paying the $150 would probably cost you more in losing a customer.
$90 house wash?
Don’t sell yourself too cheap.
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My market is very saturated with homeowner pressure washer toting illegals. $90 for a single story is the median, and is high in some of the surrounding cities. Sad, I know.
If it were me, I’d just change the outlet myself. $25 on the high end for a GFCI receptacle, and maybe 20 minutes of my time if it takes a few minutes to figure out which breaker to turn off. But I have some electrical experience. I’m not recommending this course of action, and it might not be legal for you to do without a license in your part of the country. Here it’s pretty lax.
A $90 housewash puts you right in competition with these “homeowner pressure washer toting illegals”. There are many homeowners who will not hire that type of “contractor”. They shouldn’t even be your competition; you’re attracting the wrong customers.
Bump your minimum to $175. Just try it for awhile. You’ll get more no’s, but the yes’s you get will be nicer to deal with.
In my experience, it seems the pickiness/difficulty of the customer is inversely proportional to the cost of the job. My most chill customers are also the ones with the largest bill. Had you had a minimum like I’m suggesting, you may not have ended up with this particular unreasonable customer. And if you did, at least you could break even on the job.
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duck tape on all exterior outlets is part of house wash and will help or have customer turn off all exterior power if possible
Hit test buttons on all gfci outlets, we still cover those too
$3 investment
3M makes a red vinyl tape that’s $9 roll. We tape all outside outlets, door locks etc. I usually leave it on if customer no there so they can see that we’re not like most. Set yourself apart from the $90 guys. That’s crazy. I wouldn’t drive to their house for that, I don’t care how small. You can’t give the home, no matter how small the right attention and do a good job and make money at $90.
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I am an electrician and i can say that swapping out a gfi is as easy as it gets. Save yourself some money and do it yourself. Hook the new one up exactly how the old one was, regardless of wire color.
I have been pressure washing homes since 2004. I have blown a breaker, or GFI receptacle 2 times in all those years. Both times, I took a hair dryer, on high and aimed at the receptacles plug in opening. Both dried out and stopped blowing the breaker out within 7 - 10 minutes of heat being applied to dry it out.
Just an idea I thought I would share.
John
Affordable Pressure Washing and Painting
Wilmington, NC
