Pressure washing costs in Milwaukee

Wisconsin is stricter than the federal rules about water and old paint. The state runs its own lead-safe renovation program in place of EPA's, and it bans some practices EPA doesn't. One is high-pressure water blasting. During regulated renovation work in Wisconsin, it's prohibited unless the work area is fully contained, with HEPA-filtered exhaust control and the water collected.

The state's lead rule also sets terms for power washing paint during lead abatement. The certified worker has to use a containment system so the waste doesn't get into the soil or nearby water or blow around in the air. Paint chips and other solids have to be separated from the water and handled properly. A note in the rule adds that some local governments prohibit power washing outright, and that OSHA and the state DNR have their own rules on it.

Those rules are about taking paint off, not a gentle rinse of sound siding. If a crew talks about blasting the loose paint off an older Milwaukee porch before a repaint, ask whether they work under a Wisconsin-certified Lead Company, because every regulated job needs a certified Lead-Safe Renovator on it.

A lot of those houses hold two households. In the city of Milwaukee, about one home in five is in a two-unit building, and fewer than four in ten are detached houses, Census estimates show.