Pressure washing in San Antonio

The SAWS power washer registration

Under a City of San Antonio ordinance, any person who uses a power washer commercially or for compensation must register with SAWS and get a certificate. Registration is online, so ask for the certificate with the quote.

SAWS also runs a Power Wash Program for local businesses that rewards best practices, such as sending wastewater to the sanitary sewer through a pretreatment system instead of the storm drain. A company in the program can explain where your wash water goes.

San Antonio drought stages and hard surfaces

During SAWS drought stages, washing impervious cover (driveways, sidewalks, parking lots and streets) is prohibited, with health and safety exceptions requested from SAWS. Stages follow the Edwards Aquifer's 10-day average at the J-17 well, with Stage 1 at 660 feet and Stage 3 at 640. Whatever the surface, runoff counts as water waste, which SAWS bans at all times. A first charge for a single-family site is $137.

So the practical task: check the stage on the SAWS drought page before you book driveway work, and if a company offers to wash the driveway during a drought stage, ask whether SAWS has granted an exception.

San Antonio companies set their own prices; HomeGuide's national figures give a benchmark:

Hourly pricing runs $50 to $200, with most homeowners paying $130 to $160. By area, cold-water pressure washing runs $0.08 to $0.20 a square foot and hot-water power washing $0.35 to $0.77. A one-story house costs about $1 per linear foot and a two-story about $2.

Oil, rust and mold stain treatments add $25 to $100 or more. Texas taxes pressure washing of buildings, sidewalks and parking lots as building or grounds cleaning, so sales tax should appear on a residential invoice too.

If you rent a machine yourself, the SAWS drought and water-waste rules still apply to you. The Texas guide is on our pressure washing hub.

• Registration. Ask for the SAWS power washer certificate and check the name on it matches the company.
• Stage check. Confirm the current SAWS stage and whether the job includes impervious cover.
• Wash water. Ask where soapy water goes; the Power Wash Program rewards sending it to the sanitary sewer through pretreatment.
• Scope and tax. Get the square footage, any sealing and the sales tax on a written quote. A business doing grounds cleaning must hold a Texas sales tax permit, and washing personal property such as a boat or trailer is taxable too.

If you're also booking an inside clean, see cleaning services in San Antonio. The city's other rules are on the San Antonio guide, and you can compare pressure washing in New Braunfels.