Fence cleaning, and the side you do not own

What is fence cleaning?

Fence cleaning removes algae, mildew, mud splash and general weathering film from a boundary or garden fence, usually as preparation before staining or simply to stop the run of it looking derelict. Two things separate it from any other exterior cleaning job: it is quoted by linear foot rather than area, and it has two faces - one of which frequently stands on ground belonging to somebody else. Both facts should be settled before anybody quotes.

Signs you need fence cleaning

• One face of the fence has gone green and the opposite face is still clean - the shaded side has grown algae the sunny side has not
• A dark tide-line of soil splash and grass staining runs along the bottom rail and the base of every picket
• The vinyl panels have developed a dull, chalky film that wipes off grey on your hand
• Rust bloom is spreading from the fixings, the post caps or the base of metal panels and railings
• Black spotting is concentrated where a shrub, hedge or climbing plant presses against the boards
• You are about to stain, paint or sell, and the fence is the single most visibly tired thing on the property line

Seeing something not on this list? Browse pressure washing problems by symptom →

How fence cleaning actually works

1. 1

   Walk the run and settle access on both faces

   The crew walks the full length, notes the material and condition panel by panel, and - critically - establishes whether the far side can be reached. Cleaning one face of a fence and leaving the other is a legitimate scope decision, but it has to be a decision, not a surprise.

   Watch forA price quoted for "the fence" without anyone saying how many faces it covers. This is the defining ambiguity of the job, and it is where almost every fence-cleaning dispute starts.

2. 2

   Cut back and pull off what is touching the panels

   Climbing plants, leaning shrubs, trellis, ivy and anything screwed to the boards come away from the fence before work starts. Growth pressed against a panel is exactly why that panel is the worst on the run, and cleaning around it achieves nothing.

   Watch forIvy simply washed over. The board underneath stays wet, stays green and is often already rotting behind the growth - which you want to find out about now.

3. 3

   Clean by material, not by run

   Timber is chemical and gentle, the same discipline any soft substrate needs. Vinyl and coated aluminium take a cleaner and a rinse. Bare or rusting metal needs the rust addressed separately, because water alone accelerates it. Mixed fences - timber panels between masonry piers, say - get treated as two jobs.

   Watch forOne setting walked down the whole line regardless of what it hits. On a fence this is unusually visible, because you end up with a hundred feet of consistent finish and a few feet of damage in plain view.

4. 4

   Work the details and the ground line deliberately

   Pickets, rails, lattice, post caps and gate hardware are where the hours are. The bottom few inches, where soil splash and mower throw accumulate, usually need the most attention and are the most commonly skipped.

   Watch forWater driven into the ground at the base of the posts. Softening the soil around a post that is already borderline is a real way to end a cleaning visit with a leaning fence.

5. 5

   Rinse both faces and check the gates

   Residue is rinsed off the panels and off whatever is planted along the line. Gates are opened, closed and checked - hinges, latches and drop bolts collect grit during the work and are the part of a fence you notice immediately if it stops working.

   Watch forA crew that never opens the gate. It is the one moving part of the whole structure and the one most likely to have been knocked out of adjustment.

What does fence cleaning cost?

Fences are usually quoted per linear foot, and the number of faces cleaned is the biggest single variable in that price. Height, picket and lattice detail, gates and how much vegetation has to be pulled clear all move it. The Cost Guide explains how the pieces are counted.

See the full fence cleaning cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →

Exterior cleaning tools → Measure the run, the height and the number of gates before you take quotes.