There is an entire genre of pressure washing/power washing videos on Youtube and I find it even more enjoyable than the Restoration and Carpet Cleaning genres. The problem is: the videos produced aren't as good.
Pressure washing videos tick all the boxes of the previous two genres: both the "things going from disorder to order" and the "oddly satisfying" boxes as well as also claiming to be ASMR - I'll address that later. There are also a few channels that add "charity" to the list - they do work for free and then sometimes get the owner's reaction and thanks. Look at the above video for one example.
The dirt peeling off the concrete in a clean line is something I could watch for hours, like I said, it's potentially my favorite genre so far. But it's also not a mature genre and that's the major downside. When you look at Restoration videos, they've discovered a strict set of rules that they all adhere to in order to maximize the pleasure of the viewer (and therefore their own profit). Carpet Cleaning, as I addressed in that post, is less well defined but there's at least one good channel out there. Pressure Washing is the least defined and it is to the point that there isn't even a single great channel. The video lengths range from 4 minutes to 1 hour, there are different types of audio, different styles of editing and different goals.
The #1 thing no one agrees on is audio. What should the audio of a pressure washing video be? Some people label it ASMR and strictly give the sound of the Pressure Washer. The sound of the tools works for Restoration Videos but I don't think it works here; I find the sound of the machinery to be irritating. Some channels seem to agree with me because they mute it all, then just overlay some music - but then it depends on whether you like the music. I've seen one channel that talks over the whole thing, explaining his job and basically turning it into a podcast with pleasing visuals. That's fine, as long as you're looking for a podcast all about pressure washing.
There's also a great diversity in style. Some people (most people?) talk into the camera at the beginning and end to explain the job. Some people intermix the pressure washing footage with lawn care footage (fixing the lawn often goes hand-in-hand with cleaning the walkways). That's unacceptable dilution. One of the best channels I've found (just above) starts his videos with footage of him driving to the site. For me, that's one of the worst things a person could do to ruin the experience - British traffic at 5x speed is a nightmare while I'm trying to relax. And, as previously mentioned, some people end with an "owner's response" which are sometimes sweet but generally underwhelming. It also breaks the people/object separation I explained previously.
Here's my final analysis and my recommendation for a new standard. First, as a viewer, the audio doesn't really matter. Turn on a pressure washing video, mute it and listen to something else that you enjoy - music or a podcast or whatever... then lie down and go into a happy place like it's an Opium Den in the 1800s. Now, for creators, here's the formula that wins the day (except if you're doing charity; in that case, keep doing what you're doing). Minimize addressing the camera (or don't do it at all), minimize talking (or not at all), have before/after footage if you want but keep it short. In short, maximize the percentage of pressure washing footage at all costs and minimize anything else you want to add. Speed up the footage so that it's faster than real time. Compile several jobs together to make videos that are 40 minutes to an hour (or more). That's it. That's the game.
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