How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick solution once your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within hours, your house can be restored to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Greensboro pressure washing service. It might be costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or the risk of harming your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful how often you power wash your house and who you hire to do it.
Is it Time to Pressure Wash Your Home?
The question of how often to pressure wash your home is one that depends on where your house is and environmental factors around that location.
Most pros recommend having your house pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you more frequent services are necessary is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house multiple times a year.
By just touching the exterior of your house, you will be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you might have to deviate from a planned schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing can be harmful, but not doing it enough will leave your house looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary to note that building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you do not need to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and find their way into your house. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is very easy for them to grow into colonies on your exterior, particularly on the north side of a home where it doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
Plus, power washing eliminates more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a nearby pressure washer or think about doing the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud on the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be bigger problem in some areas than in others. Having a home in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it might be a good idea to have damaged siding repaired so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The techniques used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or paint) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing company will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the shingles. Additionally, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the optimal time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as deciding how often the service should be completed. There are times during the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing might help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on power washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with muddy splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is the most impactful near the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t plan to have your house pressure washed while you are having other work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding might not be sealed into place during a repair like it will typically be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the other project and even trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer for all your home’s outside surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Choose a bright, sunny day, but not one that is extremely hot. This is the perfect condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s exterior.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there might be guidelines about how often you have your house power washed or if you can do it on your own or if you have to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Pressure washing is one of the quickest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for a multitude of home surfaces and can remove years of dirt and stains.