We recently became aware of Helmski Pressure Washing, that has found a novel way to clean the face of a digital billboard.  Since sometimes pictures are worth more than words, lets start with the video.

Mike Helm, who has been in the OOH industry for over 20 years working for YESCO Outdoor Media, and other billboard companies, founded Helmski Pressure Washing. Last week, Mike and I caught up to talk about the business.

Mike, you have a productive career in OOH. What led you to starting Helmski Pressure Washing? 

I have a family member that is in the business of cleaning with high pressure water and over lunch he suggested that I ought to get into the business. I had been looking for a business to create with my son, Rayce, who was 18 at the time, and thought this would be a great thing for us to do together.  Based on my limited experience I assumed pressure washing was not rocket science, so we kind of jumped in with both feet, doing little jobs.

When you started, sounds like you weren’t thinking about cleaning billboards. What got you interested?

As we got going in the business I started thinking, how can I bring these two things together? I have a good friend and mentor who texted me and asked if I could clean a digital billboard? I thought about it for a bit, because the one thing that I want to emphasize is, I don’t use high pressure to wash a digital billboard. Before we started the business, I watched someone do it once and they didn’t really know what to do, so they kind of made it worse than before. Ending up creating black lines all over the digital face because there’s no good way to do it with high pressure. You are just going to cause damage.

So we spent a lot of time talking with all the major digital manufacturers as well as the pressure washing manufacturers to make sure we were on the right side of their capabilities.

Mike, why go to all the trouble? 

Every digital manufacturer highly recommends frequent cleaning as a point of maintenance to achieve the display’s expected useful life (roughly 10 years),  Typically, most OOH employees are busy doing things that bring in revenue such as installs and repairs. Often at only 7 to 8 years, the sign’s image quality is failing due to residue and dirt accumulation on the display face and because of heat build up from unmaintained filters. Owners and managers may prematurely  replace digital faces due to complaints about image quality.

Professional cleaning restores image clarity, enhances brightness, and helps extend the life of the display. Operators often ask me, “Isn’t rain enough to keep the signs clean?” My response is simple: “Do you skip cleaning your windshield after it rains?” Rainwater doesn’t actually clean—it just moves dirt and minerals around. Over time, that buildup leaves streaks, water spots, and a cloudy film that reduces visibility. Just like you wouldn’t drive for years without ever washing your windshield, a digital sign won’t perform at its best without proper cleaning.

So how did you solve the problem? 

We developed a proprietary system specifically for digital displays, designed to clean effectively while protecting the technology. It requires specialized equipment and methods that ensure sign owners can trust us with their assets. Our approach is thorough, using a detailed checklist on every job to maintain consistency and quality. The results speak for themselves—we’ve seen brightness improvements of 25–27% in some cases, all without any damage to the displays.

Mike, for each job, do you always use drones or does it just depend on the boards?

We’ve done it both ways. Sometimes we use a lift with soft manufacturer-recommended brushes, being very gentle—no hard pressure, no hard scrubbing on the display. Digitals are built to withstand the elements, but they need careful handling.

Drone cleaning is usually more affordable and delivers excellent results, so most clients are moving in that direction.

 That surprises me, that using a drone would be less expensive than cleaning with brushes?

The drone cleaning is less expensive for an operator because the cost of the lift used for brush cleaning is expensive. (Not to mention it is much safer to have personnel on the ground)

So how did you come to use drones? 

We did a lot of homework to determine which drone would be the best fit for our work. Key considerations included overall lift capacity, stability, and how it handles while carrying water and equipment. Operators must hold a commercial drone license, and we follow all regulations for safe and compliant operations. The drone allows us to reach the heights needed to clean most billboards, like the 120’ Clear Channel structure shown in the video (above).

What is the cost of a drone cleaning?

Lower than the cost of a full operations crew and equipment for a day.

So how wide a territory are you currently servicing?

We’re based in Utah and have already cleaned digital faces here as well as in Washington and California. That said, we’re flexible and open to traveling wherever our services are needed.

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