How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option when your home starts looking drab and outdated. Within hours, your home can be restored to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can call a Aurora pressure washing service. It could be a little more costly upfront, but you won’t need to deal with bringing back equipment or the risk of damaging your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful how often you power wash your home 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 a lot on where your home is located and weather factors based on that location.
Most professionals will recommend having your home pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tries to tell 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 shortly after a cleaning, you can power wash your home many times a year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your home, you should be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain the outside of your home permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you could have to change from a planned schedule if you notice excess buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your home looking lackluster more than it should. It’s necessary to note that home building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your home between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you won’t need to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be performed from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your home. They are not very easy to remove, yet it is very easy for these things to create colonies on your house, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
Plus, power washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that need to be considered before you decide to hire a local pressure washer or attempt the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you may also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud on the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes more of a threat in some areas than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what type of environmental factors impact your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your home pressure washed, it could be a smart idea to have damaged siding repaired so the high pressure water won’t do more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The techniques used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or paint) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing opposed to power washing to protect the roof shingles. Additionally, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the best time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as determining how often the service needs to be performed. There are different times throughout the year when power washing would be a real waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing can benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on professional power washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with mud stains and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is most useful at the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t plan to have your home pressure washed the same time you are having other projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding could not be tightened into place during a repair like it would typically be, which means you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the simple solution for all your home’s exterior 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 best condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s surfaces.
If you are in an HOA, there could be rules about how regularly you have your home power washed or if you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA guidelines regarding how your home looks, but it’s really up to you to have it looking a certain way.
Power washing is one of the fastest and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for a multitude of surfaces and can get rid of years of built up dirt and stains.