How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick solution if your home starts to look drab and dated. Within just a few hours, your home can be renewed to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Lakeland pressure washing service. It can be costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of harming your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful about how often you pressure 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 and environmental factors around that location.
Most professionals encourage having your home pressure washed each year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you that more frequent cleanings are needed is just trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks right after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home several times each year.
By touching the exterior of your home, you will be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain the outside of your home permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you may have to deviate from a planned schedule if you start to see excess buildup between cleanings.
Power washing can be harmful, but not doing it often enough can leave your home looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that home building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the outside of your home because you don’t need to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Power washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that can 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 them to form colonies on your house, particularly on the north side where it doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can impact the appearance. They are all factors that must be considered before you call a professional pressure washer or attempt the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud on the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be more of a problem in some areas than in others. Living in a rural area or near an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors affect your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may be a good idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or paint) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing service will use soft washing opposed to pressure washing to protect the shingles. And, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the optimal time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as determining how often the service should be completed. There are different times during the year when pressure washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service might benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on pressure washing in a rainy season. You’ll end up with mud splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is most useful near the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t have your home pressure washed the same time you are having different projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a repair like it should typically be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the ongoing work and even trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the simple 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 don’t choose one that is extremely hot. This is the best condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s exterior.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there may be requirements about how regularly you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it on your own or if you are required to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your home appears, but it’s usually up to you to have it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the easiest and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for most surfaces and can get rid of months of built up dirt and stains.