When is the best season for soft washing?

Spring post-pollen, roughly mid-April through late June, is the biggest single window of the year for soft washing. Pollen has settled out of the air, mildew from winter humidity is visible, and homeowners are in spring-cleaning mode. Most cleaning operators do 35-45% of their annual revenue in this window. The second window is September through November — pre-holiday cleaning, mostly windows + driveway + light siding refresh. Together those two windows hold 70-80% of seasonal demand.

Should I run a cleaning campaign in winter?

Mail in Q1 (Jan-Feb), don't run the crews. Q1 mailings land 6-10 weeks before the post-pollen surge starts, which means homeowners book early at the spring rate while your competitors are still inactive. Actually running cleaning jobs in deep winter is rough — chemicals freeze, soft-wash adherence drops below 40°F, and roof work is dangerous on ice. Sunbelt operators (FL, AZ, TX) run year-round; Northeast and Midwest operators should mail in winter and bill in spring.

When should I mail postcards for pre-holiday cleaning?

Mid-August through mid-September. Homeowners start thinking about pre-holiday cleaning when the days get shorter; the postcard needs to land 4-6 weeks before they would normally call. Pre-holiday demand is windows-heavy (Thanksgiving, Christmas photos) and driveway-heavy (rain washes off summer grime). Roof and full siding wash demand drops in Q4 because cold weather hurts SH adherence. Bundle the postcard around 'windows + driveway' for the fall flight specifically.

How do I keep crews busy in slow months?

Three plays. (1) Recurring annual book — schedule recurring customers across the slow shoulders, not just peak weeks, so the calendar smooths out. (2) Commercial accounts — strip plazas, restaurants, dental offices clean year-round on contract. (3) Adjacent services in your slowest months — gutter cleaning in late fall, holiday-light install through December (some cleaning ops add a light install crew Nov-Jan as a Light Launch side business). The mistake is laying off crew in slow months and having nobody to rehire in March.

Best Time of Year for Exterior Cleaning

The short answer: Spring post-pollen is the biggest window — April through June — typically 35-45% of annual revenue. Pre-holiday Sep-Nov is the second window, windows and driveway heavy. Mail in Q1 and Q3 to land both. Avoid deep winter (chemicals freeze) and peak humidity (mold reblooms fast).

The seasonal curve

Month	Demand	What's hot
Jan-Feb	Low (mailing window)	Mail Q1 postcards for spring bookings
Mar	Building	Early-spring driveway, post-winter house
Apr-Jun	Peak (35-45% of annual revenue)	Full 4-service bundles, post-pollen siding wash, roof algae
Jul-Aug	Steady, humidity-limited	Driveway power wash, recurring annual deliveries
Sep-Nov	Second surge (25-35% of annual revenue)	Pre-holiday windows, driveway, light siding refresh
Dec	Low	Commercial accounts, recurring catch-up

Why post-pollen is the biggest window

Visible dirt. Pollen has settled out of the air leaving yellow film on every horizontal surface.
Visible mildew. Winter humidity blooms green and black on siding by late April.
Spring-cleaning psychology. Homeowners are looking at their houses critically. Mailed renders convert at 2-3x the rate they do mid-summer.
Outdoor entertaining starts. Memorial Day, graduations, summer parties. The driveway and patio become front-of-mind.

Why pre-holiday is the second window

Holiday photo prep. Thanksgiving and Christmas family photos drive window cleaning specifically.
Curb appeal for guests. Driveway scrub before relatives roll in.
Light installs. Many cleaning operators also do holiday light installs (Light Launch sister product). The light crew is already on site — adding a window clean takes 45 minutes.

What to avoid

Deep winter (Dec-Feb) job runs in cold climates. SH adherence drops below 40°F, hoses freeze, roof work is dangerous on ice. Mail in winter, bill in spring.
Peak humidity weeks (Jul-Aug in the South). Mold and algae rebloom within 2-3 weeks. Set expectations or you'll get callbacks.
Mailing in late November. Postcards land between Thanksgiving and Christmas — homeowners are distracted. Hold the Q3 flight at mid-August through mid-September.
Trying to run a full spring promo with no recurring book. Spring books up in 10 days; if you don't have a recurring base, all your spring capacity is one-shot cold acquisition with no scheduling cushion.

The mailing calendar

January 15 - February 28: Q1 spring flight. Land 6-10 weeks ahead of post-pollen. Highest-ROI window of the year.
August 15 - September 15: Q3 fall flight. Land 4-6 weeks ahead of pre-holiday demand.
Year-round (recurring book): Auto-scheduled, no postcard required. Schedule across slow shoulders to smooth the calendar.

Sunbelt vs Northeast/Midwest

Florida, Arizona, Texas, Southern California run year-round. The curve flattens — no deep-winter shutdown, no spring surge as sharp. Most Sunbelt operators mail steadily every month at lower volume. Northeast and Midwest operators concentrate spending into the two big windows and let the off-months run on recurring and commercial accounts.

Land the spring surge with a Q1 mailing flight.

Free account, free rendering, $1 per mailed postcard. Mail Jan 15 - Feb 28 to be in homeowners' hands 6-10 weeks ahead of pollen drop. Dave refunds your campaign spend personally if it doesn't work.

Start free →