The Charleston Lowcountry and York County on the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metro, across Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Lancaster and York counties. Each town below has its own permit authority and its own housing stock, and both change what the work involves.
Pressure washing, house washing and the mildew that grows back every summer.
Charleston County · City of Charleston
Charleston County · Town of Mount Pleasant
Charleston County · City of North Charleston
Dorchester County · Town of Summerville
Berkeley County · City of Goose Creek
Charleston County · Charleston County
Charleston County · City of Charleston
Berkeley County · Town of Moncks Corner
Berkeley County · City of Hanahan
Berkeley County · Charleston / Berkeley / Dorchester
Charleston County · Charleston County
Colleton County · Colleton County
York County · City of Rock Hill
York County · Town of Fort Mill
York County · City of Tega Cay
York County · York County
York County · Town of Clover
York County · City of York
Lancaster County · Lancaster County
The single most useful thing to know is that most of a house should not be pressure washed. High pressure drives water behind siding and through seals, strips paint, and on a shingle roof removes the granules that protect it from UV — permanently.
What most surfaces need is a soft wash: low pressure and a solution that kills the growth rather than knocking it back. It stays clean longer because what is left behind is dead.
Almost everything sold as pressure washing should not be pressure washed. High pressure suits concrete, driveways, paths and sound masonry. It does not suit siding, paint, timber or roofs, where it drives water behind cladding, tears up softwood grain and strips the mineral granules that are an asphalt roof's ultraviolet protection. A roof washed that way can look excellent the same afternoon and have had years taken off it.
Soft washing is the alternative: low pressure, with a solution that kills the growth rather than blasting the visible part off. That is also the answer to why it comes back. The black streaking and the grey film are living organisms, and the humidity, shade and still air that grew them are still there afterwards — more aggressively in the Lowcountry towns than in Rock Hill or Clover, but in both markets. A wash that removes only what is visible leaves what it regrows from.
No town on this page requires a permit to wash a house, and exterior cleaning is not one of South Carolina's residential specialty classifications, so there is no state licence to look up either.
Between them, the towns above fall under 17 separate permit authorities.
In the Lowcountry, permits come from the City of Charleston for Charleston and West Ashley, the Town of Mount Pleasant for Mount Pleasant, the City of North Charleston for North Charleston, the Town of Summerville for Summerville, the City of Goose Creek for Goose Creek, Charleston County for James Island and Johns Island, the Town of Moncks Corner for Moncks Corner, the City of Hanahan for Hanahan, Ladson falling to Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester County depending on the address and Colleton County for Edisto Island.
In York and Lancaster counties, from the City of Rock Hill for Rock Hill, the Town of Fort Mill for Fort Mill, the City of Tega Cay for Tega Cay, York County for Lake Wylie, the Town of Clover for Clover, the City of York for York and Lancaster County for Indian Land.
It does not affect a wash. It is worth knowing anyway, because a wash that uncovers rot or failed flashing turns into work that does involve that office.
That makes insurance the real check — general liability, and workers' compensation for anybody going up a ladder or onto a roof — along with a written method statement saying which surfaces get pressure and which get a soft wash. Where washwater goes is a stormwater question worth asking about too.
Not for exterior cleaning. It is not a licensed construction trade in South Carolina, so insurance and method are what you verify instead.
On a roof, ask what the shingle manufacturer permits — cleaning the wrong way can affect a warranty.
Generally yes, because humidity, shade and still air are what feed it, and the Lowcountry supplies all three for most of the year.
It returns in the York County towns too, just more slowly.
No. High pressure strips the mineral granules off asphalt shingles, and those granules are the roof’s ultraviolet protection.
A roof cleaned that way can look excellent on the day and have had years taken off it.