May 14, 2026 | Mark Luis Foster

What’s the old saying? Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

That’s a bit how I felt during an onsite interview that I conducted with Gabe Wagner, owner of Aqua Blast Minnesota, one of our great sponsors. He runs a power washing business and does a lot of cleaning for HOAs. I was onsite in St. Paul with him on a nice sunny day, and like a little kid I was fascinated by all the equipment and water pressure that was hitting siding at the customer’s HOA property.

HOAs are finally realizing that power washing is an essential part of maintenance. It can also positively affect insurance coverage when professionals are the ones doing the cleaning. If your HOA allows residents to do their own power washing, you should think again. Excessive pressure and the wrong chemicals can negatively impact the surface of siding, stucco and other areas that may negate important product guarantees or even insurance claims.

I did this brief interview with him and took some shots of his crew at work. Those guys make power washing look so easy.