Before a buyer walks through your front door, they've already seen the outside. It's in the listing photos, it's what they see from the car, and it's what they walk past on the way into the first open.
If the shady side of the house has gone green, the eaves have black streaks and the driveway is stained, buyers notice. They might not think "mould". They think "what else hasn't been looked after?"
A full exterior clean deals with that without renovating anything. Here's what to clean, when to book it, and what DSK's house wash covers if you'd rather hand it over.
Why the outside does so much of the work
Most buyers meet your home online first. The outside shots are taken in daylight, and daylight shows everything: the green film on rendered walls, the dark streaks under the eaves, the oil patch on the driveway.
Grime reads as a maintenance problem. Mould on render or lichen on a roof usually isn't structural, but a buyer can't tell that from a photo. It looks like a job they'll inherit. A clean house lets them judge the house, not the dirt.
A clean is honest. It shows the surfaces as they really are. It won't hide a crack or fix damaged render, and it shouldn't. What it removes is the build-up that makes a well-kept home look tired.
Soft wash for walls, pressure for hard ground
The method matters, because the wrong one can do damage.
- Walls and eaves get a soft wash. That means low pressure and a cleaning solution, with the surface pre-treated for mould and algae, then rinsed. It's safe on render, painted brick, weatherboard and Hardies. High pressure on those surfaces can strip paint and force water behind cladding.
- Driveways, paths and paving get a pressure wash. Concrete and pavers can take it, and ground-in dirt needs it.
If you want the longer version, read soft washing vs pressure washing.
What to clean before the listing photos
Walk around the outside with this list, ideally at the time of day your photographer will shoot.
- Shaded and south-facing walls. They stay damp over winter, so mould and lichen show there first.
- Eaves. Cobwebs and dark streaks sit right at the top of every front-on photo.
- Driveway. Oil spots, tyre marks and general darkening.
- Front path and entry. Every buyer at every open walks up it.
- External windows. Clean glass reflects light; dirty glass looks grey in photos.
- Decks and pool surrounds. These are often the backyard shots.
- Downpipes and anything else visible from the street or the yard.
- Roof and gutters. Worth checking if the roof shows from the street, or if your agent is planning drone shots.
- Fences, sandstone and other stonework. Stone can be cleaned and then sealed.
- Your own jobs on photo day: bins out of sight, hoses rolled up, cars off the driveway, lawn mowed, garden tidied.
For the inside of the house as well, our pre-sale cleaning checklist covers room by room.
When to book: before the photographer, not after
The photos are taken once and used for the whole campaign. If the clean happens after them, the listing shows the house as it was. So the order is:
- Repairs, painting touch-ups and big garden work first. Trades and garden clean-ups drop dirt and debris on paths and drives.
- Then the exterior clean.
- Then styling and photos, before the first open.
Leave yourself a buffer. Outdoor work depends on the weather, so don't book the clean for the day before the photographer arrives. The easiest way to get the timing right is to ask for a quote as soon as you have a rough listing date. There's more on getting ready in how to prepare your home for a pre-sale exterior clean.
Agents: if you're advising a vendor, text us a photo of the front of the property with the listing date and we'll work back from there.
What DSK's Full External House Wash covers
Included: - Soft wash of external walls and eaves, cobwebs included, pre-treated for mould and algae - Pressure wash of the driveway, paths, decks and pool surrounds - External window glass cleaned in place - Downpipes and the visible exterior
Price, inc GST, for a typical-size home with standard access (driveway parking and walkable side passages) and in standard condition:
| Home | Price |
|---|---|
| Single storey | $999 |
| Double storey | $1,299 |
| Triple storey | $1,599 |
Large homes, very large decks or pool surrounds, acreage, heavy mould or render damage, and rope or scaffold access are quoted first, usually from a photo.
Extras, quoted and optional: fences, stonework clean and seal, roof soft wash and gutter clearing, solar panels, flyscreen removal and pre-paint prep. Timber decks are washed, but sanding and oiling are extra.
Want the inside done for the sale too? That's a pre-sale clean, quoted from photos within 24 hours.
Whichever you book, the price is agreed before we start. Peter quotes every job himself and is on site doing it, and DSK carries $20M public liability insurance. At the end he walks around the house with you. Anything you're not happy with, he fixes before he leaves, or comes back and redoes at no charge.
"House looks like it's been freshly painted and paving areas like new." Samantha M., Google review
You can see more real jobs on our before and after page.
Get a quote this week
Text a photo of the front of your house to 0423 668 766 and tell us roughly when you're listing. You'll have a quote within 24 hours.
We work across the Northern Beaches, North Shore, Eastern Suburbs and the Hills District. Prices and full details are on the house wash page.
Questions sellers ask
Will an exterior clean increase my sale price? Nobody can honestly promise a figure, and we won't. What a clean does is remove the mould, streaks and stains that make a home look neglected in photos and at opens, so buyers judge the house rather than the grime.
How far ahead of listing should I book? Book it to finish before the photographer, with a buffer for the weather. Ask for a quote as soon as you know your listing date, so the clean can be fitted in before the photos.
Will soft washing damage my render or paint? Soft washing uses low pressure and a cleaning solution, and it's safe on render, painted brick, weatherboard and Hardies. It won't repair render that's already cracked or flaking; that needs fixing, not cleaning, and we'll tell you if we see it.
Is the roof included in the house wash? No. Roof soft wash and gutter clearing are extras, quoted from photos. If the roof shows in your listing photos, it's worth adding.