Power Washing in St. Clair Township, Michigan

River Lots, Woodlots and Gravel Roads

St. Clair Township sits between Kimball Township to the north, Marysville to the northeast, the City of St. Clair to the southeast, China Township to the south and Columbus Township to the west, and 7,085 people lived there at the 2020 census. Most of the land is Rural-zoned farm, forest and wetland, with houses set back on big parcels along section-line roads. The platted streets cluster on the east side near River Rd. A house on a section-line road and a house on River Rd rarely need the same treatment.

The interior is where growth starts. The township recreation plan names deciduous forest and freshwater forested and shrub wetland as its most significant natural resources, and most of the land drains to the Pine River, where FEMA maps floodplain along the banks. Trees block direct sun and slow the breeze, so a wall that faces them stays wet for hours after rain or dew has left an open wall. Algae needs exactly those wet hours, which is why one side of a rural house goes green while the others stay clean, as our guide on why one side of a house turns green explains.

The roads add dust and grime. OpenStreetMap shows unpaved stretches on S. Bartlett Rd, Yankee Rd and more than a dozen other township roads, while Wadhams Rd is paved. The fall 2026 township newsletter reports that the county road commission put down its first chloride in June and spread gravel on north and south roads. Between treatments, passing cars lift fine dust onto lower siding, glass and the apron. Near Gratiot Ave and I-⁠94 the film turns gray and oily instead, as covered in our guide to black film near busy roads.

From our shop at 21366 Hall Rd, the route runs M-⁠59 to I-⁠94 and exit 262 at Wadhams Rd, which lands inside the township, in about 35 minutes. Homes on the River Rd strip take about 40 by way of exit 257 and Fred W. Moore Hwy. The distance adds no fee. Within 24 hours you get a written quote that lists the road-dust side, the shaded side and any roof, gutter or concrete work as separate lines. Coverage is $2M general liability plus workers' compensation, and MPWS holds a 4.9-star rating across 177 Google reviews.

What the Township's Housing Calls For

The township has about 3,000 housing units, and about 83% are detached single-family homes. More homes went up in the 1990s than in any other decade: 881, about 29% of today's stock, and roughly 58% date from 1980 through 2009. A 1990s house has now been through about 30 leaf seasons and 30 salt winters. Its gutters, the shaded slope of its roof and the apron of its driveway usually show it first.

About 1,080 homes, a little over a third, were built before 1980, and 202 of them in 1939 or earlier. EPA says a house built before 1978 is more likely to have lead-based paint, and it names peeling, chipping, chalking and cracking as the signs of paint becoming a hazard. On a house that old, find those spots on trim and sills before any water goes on. A low-pressure wash cleans around them and leaves the coat in place. Repairing a failed patch is renovation, and our township house washing page gives EPA's limit.

The river lots are the exception to the inland pattern. They line River Rd (M-⁠29) in a narrow strip between Marysville and the City of St. Clair, and River Road Park, a 0.4-acre kayak launch just north of Yankee Rd, is the township's only public access to that shore. One of those houses has two faces: the street side takes film from M-⁠29 traffic, while the river side stands open to wind off the water. Expect each side to get its own treatment.