Operator guide
Already Run a Pressure Washing Business? Here Is How Drones Fit.
If you already run a pressure washing, soft wash, or window cleaning company, you are most of the way there. You keep your truck, ground rig, water, chemicals, insurance, and customers. What you add is a commercial cleaning drone, a Part 107 pilot, training on flying the job, and a way to sell the mid-rise and high-rise exterior work you cannot reach from the ground today. Plan on about $45k to $75k in year one on top of what you already have, and most of that is the $3k a month program.
$13,500
average commercial job
A manufacturer reported this average across 189 commercial jobs in Q3 2025. Market context, not Operator earnings.
[01]
What you already have
The expensive part of building a cleaning company from nothing is already paid for.
- Truck or trailer and a pressure or soft wash skid
- Water supply, containment, and recovery
- Chemicals and protective equipment
- General liability and commercial auto already in force
- A crew that reads a surface before it touches it
- Customers who already trust your work
What you are short is height, not a business.
[02]
What you add
SkyPSI supplies the Apellix Power Wash B2 with the program. The manufacturer publishes reach up to 195 feet, about 16 stories, and up to 5,000 square feet an hour. Manufacturer figures, not a production guarantee.
Your side is a Part 107 remote pilot certificate, aviation coverage on top of the policy you carry, three training days in Dallas on flying the job, and a sales motion aimed at property managers.
[03]
What changes on the job
The drone rides on the rig. It does not replace it. Water and chemical still come up the hose from your ground system. What changes is where that nozzle can go: elevations that needed a lift, a swing stage, or a rope crew.
The chemistry question is the one you answer now: which chemical, what mix, what pressure, what surface. Licenses, permits, and wash water rules apply as they do today.
[04]
The money
Adding drones to a company you already run costs about $45k to $75k in year one on top of what you own, and most of that is the $3k a month program. Starting cold, the same build is about $90k to the first job. Planning figures for a DFW build, not quotes.
Evidence [5]
[05]
Where to start
Start the Part 107 now. It is the longest lead item you control. Call your broker in parallel about aviation coverage on your current policy.
Then talk to SkyPSI. Qualification, the flight kit, and the training days are our half.
With Guaranteed Work