How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution if your home starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a few 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 enlist the help of a Gilbert pressure washing service. It will be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with returning rented equipment or run 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 renew it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful about how often you power wash your home and who you let do it.
Is it Time to Pressure Wash Your Home?
The question of how often to pressure wash your home is one that depends heavily on where your home is located and weather 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 tries to tell you that more frequent cleanings are necessary is just trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can power wash your home several times each year.
By simply touching the wood or siding 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 washed off from time to time, so you may have to change from a planned schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it enough will leave your home looking dirtier far 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 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 have to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Power washing can be accomplished from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that can eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your home. They are not easy to remove, yet it is very easy for these organisms to form colonies on your house, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, power washing removes 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 hire a nearby pressure washer or try to do the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in a rainy area, 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 of Gilbert than in others. Living in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors impact your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the shingles. Additionally, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the correct time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service needs to be completed. There are different times throughout the year when power washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service might help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste any money on professional power washing in a rainy season. You’ll just end up with muddy stains and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. 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 work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be fastened into place during a repair like it will normally be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the other project and even trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer 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 don’t choose one that is extremely hot. This is the best condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning products onto your home’s surfaces.
If you have an home owner’s association, there may be rules about how regularly you have your home power 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 guidelines regarding how your home looks, but it’s usually up to you to have it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for most surfaces and can remove years of built up dirt and stains.