House washing on the North Shore

What does a house wash include?

A standard house wash covers every painted or clad wall from the ground up to the roofline: weatherboards, plaster or brick, the soffits under the eaves, window and door frames, and the outside faces of the spouting and fascia. The roof, the inside of the gutters, window glass and the paths are separate jobs, though many people book them on the same visit.

The soffits are where a lot of the grime hides. They sit out of the rain, so dust, cobwebs, salt and mould build up there with nothing to rinse them away. The same goes for the sheltered corners of a deck or porch. A good wash pays attention to those spots rather than just the open walls you see from the street.

• Included: cladding, soffits and eaves, window and door frames, spouting and fascia faces, garage doors, downpipes.
• Usually extra: roof cleaning or moss treatment, clearing out the gutters, exterior window cleaning, and water blasting of driveways, paths and patios.

Tell us about anything else outside that needs attention, such as a fence line or a sleepout, when you ask for a quote and we’ll price it in.

Soft wash or water blast: which does a house need?

Almost every house wall needs a soft wash, not a water blast. A soft wash relies on a cleaning solution and low pressure, so it kills mould and lichen without stripping paint, scarring timber or forcing water behind the cladding. High-pressure water blasting is the right tool for concrete and pavers, and the wrong one for painted weatherboards, plaster and roofs.

The difference is where the cleaning power comes from. With a soft wash it’s the chemistry: the solution does the work while it sits on the wall, and the rinse just carries it away. With a water blaster it’s force, and force on a painted surface tends to lift the paint along with the dirt. Our guide to soft washing vs water blasting goes through when each one makes sense and what can go wrong.

How often should a house be washed on the North Shore?

Once a year suits most North Shore homes. A New Zealand paint manufacturer’s own care advice is to wash painted surfaces gently at least yearly, and twice a year for houses within about 300 m of the sea. Shaded sites, bush sections and south-facing walls often show green again sooner, while open, sunny houses can stretch a little longer.

The Shore has a bit of everything. Houses along the East Coast Bays, Takapuna and Devonport catch salt spray off the Hauraki Gulf and the harbour, and salt left on paint dulls it and holds moisture. Homes backing onto bush gullies in places like Glenfield, Birkenhead and Albany sit in shade for much of the winter, which is when mould and lichen get going.

Regular washing also matters for the paint itself. The paint maker’s maintenance advice links yearly washing to a longer paint life, and some cladding systems set a washing interval as a condition of their warranty, so check the paperwork if your house is fairly new.

When is the best time of year to wash a house?

Spring is the most popular time, because a wash in September to November clears the winter mould before summer and has the house looking sharp for the holidays. Any dry, mild spell works, though. What matters most is the forecast: the solution needs time to work, and it shouldn’t be applied when rain is due to wash it off.

That forecast rule isn’t just about results. Auckland Council asks that moss and mould removers aren’t applied when rain is forecast, because rain carries them off the walls and into the stormwater drains. Very hot, still afternoons aren’t ideal either, as the solution can dry on the wall before it’s rinsed. The crew tends to start early and work around the sun.

Autumn is the second busy season, often paired with a gutter clean before the leaves come down. A winter wash is possible on fine days, but short days and slow drying mean it’s easier to book in spring.

Weatherboard, plaster and brick: what changes?

The method stays low pressure for every cladding, but the details change. Painted weatherboards need care around laps and joints so water isn’t driven upwards behind them. Plaster and EIFS-style systems are the most delicate and get the gentlest rinse. Brick and block tolerate a bit more, but mortar and any painted surfaces nearby still rule out a high-pressure blast.

• Timber weatherboards: the classic Shore villa and bungalow cladding. The rinse is directed downwards, with the overlap, so water runs off rather than up under each board.
• Plaster and EIFS: textured and polystyrene-backed plaster finishes can be marked or cracked by pressure, and a breach in the coating lets water in. These get a solution, a soft brush where needed, and a light rinse.
• Brick and concrete block: efflorescence (the white powdery bloom) and black mould both show up. Soft washing deals with the mould; old mortar is left alone.
• Fibre-cement and newer sheet claddings: washed the same gentle way, and worth checking the maker’s maintenance notes for washing frequency.

Older painted weatherboards need one more check. Health New Zealand advises presuming that a building from the 1980s or earlier has lead-based paint somewhere in its layers. A soft wash cleans the surface and isn’t meant to remove paint, but if your paint is already flaking, tell us when you book so loose flakes can be dealt with properly and not sprayed around the garden. Repainting and paint removal are separate jobs with their own precautions.

Keeping wash water out of the stormwater drains

Wash water has to stay out of the stormwater system, because those drains run straight to the streams, harbour and beaches. Under the Resource Management Act, Auckland Council treats even biodegradable detergents as pollutants if they reach a stormwater drain. In practice that means planning containment as part of the job, not an afterthought, and holding off when rain is forecast.

Auckland Council’s guidance on pressure washing and water blasting lists the usual controls: disconnecting or diverting downpipes onto unsealed ground such as lawn or garden, blocking or covering drains, and collecting wash water rather than letting it run down the driveway. A soft wash uses far less water than a blast, which makes this much easier to manage.

The council is also clear that responsibility is shared. Landowners are responsible for work done on their land, and contractors can be held liable for uncontrolled run-off, with infringement fines of up to $2,000 for an individual and $4,000 for a company. It’s fair to ask anyone quoting your house wash how they’ll keep the run-off out of the drains, and we’re happy to answer that when we price the job.

What a house wash costs on the North Shore

Most single-storey North Shore homes cost somewhere between $300 and $520 to soft wash, going by the prices Auckland operators publish. Small units sit lower, and two-storey or five-bedroom homes can reach $800 to $1,200 because of height, access and the extra cladding. Heavy mould, lots of joinery or a steep section add time. We confirm your price once we’ve seen the house.

A guide only, built from prices Auckland house washing operators publish (checked October 2026; figures quoted plus GST were converted). Height, access, how much mould there is and the cladding all move the price. We confirm yours after seeing the house.

How a house wash runs

1. We talk through the house, its size and cladding, and anything you’re worried about, then confirm a price once we’ve seen it.
2. On the day the crew closes windows and doors, wets and covers delicate plants, and sets up controls, such as diverting downpipes onto lawn or covering nearby drains, so run-off stays out of the stormwater.
3. A cleaning solution is applied at low pressure from the bottom up, so it doesn’t streak, with extra attention on soffits and shaded walls.
4. The solution is left to dwell for several minutes to kill mould, lichen and algae, and kept from drying on glass and aluminium.
5. Everything is rinsed from the top down at low pressure, including joinery, glass the solution has touched and the plants underneath.
6. The crew checks every wall for missed patches, touches them up, and removes the drain controls once the run-off has been dealt with.