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Apartment community courtyard with clean walkways, exterior stairs and a pool deck

Guide

Planning an HOA or apartment washing calendar residents can follow.

Residents notice shared spaces every day, and prospects notice them on the first tour. Here’s how to keep a community looking cared for.

Request a quoteCall (408) 560-2012

Why shared spaces matter so much.

In an apartment community or HOA, the common areas are the part of home everyone shares. Residents walk the same breezeways, stairs and paths every day, and they notice when the concrete darkens, the stair treads get grimy or the trash enclosure starts to smell. Prospective renters and buyers form their opinion on the walk from the leasing office to the model unit.

Clean common areas make a community feel well managed. They also give boards and managers one less thing to field complaints about.

What to put on the list.

Start with the surfaces residents use most: walkways, breezeways and exterior stairs. Pool decks and amenity patios come next, since they’re where people spend time and where spills, sunscreen and leaves collect. Carports and parking areas pick up oil drips under every assigned space. Trash enclosures shared by many households fill and spill fast.

Building walls, fences and entry monuments round out the list. Shaded walls near planting beds often hold a dark film, and the entry monument is the first thing visitors see from the street.

Working building by building.

Residents live on site, so the work has to flow around them. Raincrest washes one building or section at a time, coning off only the area being cleaned so everyone always has a clear path to their door. Breezeways and stairs are washed early in the morning, before most people head out, and pool decks are cleaned while the pool is closed.

Carports and parking areas need cars moved, so they’re usually scheduled on a set morning per building. Residents plan around one specific date instead of an open-ended week.

Notices residents will actually read.

A clear, short notice makes wash day easy. Tell residents which buildings or areas will be washed, on what date and at what time, what to move from balconies and patios near the work, and where to park if their carport is on the list. Post it on doors and in the mailroom, and send it through the community’s usual app or email.

Our guide to preparing a property for an early-morning wash has more on access and staging.

Setting a calendar the board can share.

HOA boards and property managers often want a calendar they can publish for the year. During the walkthrough we look at each common area, how quickly it wears and which spots draw complaints, then write each area into the quote with its own frequency. Walkways and trash enclosures usually come around more often than building walls, and pool decks are timed for the start of swim season.

Larger communities often split the property into zones and rotate through them, so the whole community stays fresh through the year. Our seasonal exterior-cleaning calendar helps with the timing.

Before a repaint, a sale or a leasing push.

A one-time wash pays off before big moments. Painters get a clean surface to work on before a repaint. A community getting ready for a sale or a leasing push looks its sharpest in listing photos and on tours. Spring and early summer suit it best, once the rains have passed and before the pool opens.

See our apartment and HOA services for everything we clean in residential communities.

A few useful answers

Quick answers.

Do residents need to be home while their building is washed?

Residents don’t need to be home. They just move items away from the areas on the notice, and the crew works around their doors and patios.

Can pool decks be washed before the swim season opens?

Yes. A spring wash is timed so the pool deck and amenity patios are clean on opening day.

Can an HOA keep different areas on different schedules?

Yes. Walkways, enclosures, pool decks and walls each get their own place on the calendar, so the busiest areas come around most often.

Services

Services this guide covers

Communities usually combine walkways, building walls and trash areas on one calendar.

Cleaner concrete and brighter entrances start with one call.

Get a quoteCall (408) 560-2012