Pressure washing costs in Richmond

The median home in the city of Richmond was built in 1959, by the Census count. The federal government didn't ban selling lead-based paint for homes until 1978. So if you're hiring someone to blast loose paint off old siding or a porch before a repaint, the lead rule comes along.

EPA doesn't ban pressure washing on a pre-1978 house. When a paid crew's work disturbs that old paint, though, it has to seal off the work area so no dust or debris escapes, and EPA says that includes what rides out in the waste water. The ground gets plastic or another sheet water can't pass through. EPA has said landscaping fabric doesn't qualify, because it's not impermeable.

Inside the Old and Historic Districts, the city's Commission of Architectural Review doesn't permit abrasive cleaning like sandblasting, or chemical solvents that harm historic materials. If you want paint off brick there, it points owners to a contractor who knows nonabrasive cleaners.

Then there's the rest of the rinse. The city's Department of Public Utilities says plainly not to flush wash water into the storm drain. Stormwater in Richmond gets no treatment, it says, and the storm sewers carry it into the James River.