How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option if your house starts to look drab and dated. Within just a few hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at most home improvement stores, or you can call a Gastonia pressure washing service. It might be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back rented equipment or the risk of harming your house because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as fast as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you really have to be careful how often you pressure 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 a lot on where your house is and environmental factors based on that location.
Most pros will recommend having your house pressure washed every year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tells you more frequent cleanings are needed is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love the way it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house several times each year.
By just touching the exterior of your house, you will be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t removed periodically, so you could have to change from a planned schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your house looking dirtier far more than it should. It’s important to note that home building materials, especially vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials protect your house between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you won’t have to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Pressure washing can be done from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your house. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for these things to grow into colonies on your exterior, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
And, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that have to be considered before you call a professional pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in a rainy area, you might also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud on the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are bigger threat in some areas than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it could be a smart idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high water pressure won’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The equipment 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 company will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. Also, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your house pressure washed is as important as choosing how often the service has to be performed. There are different times throughout the year when pressure washing would be a real waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service can benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on pressure washing in a rainy season. You’ll end up with mud stains and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is most beneficial near the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t have your house pressure washed while you are having different projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be fastened into place during a repair like it should normally be, which means you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the ongoing work and trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a smart 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
Pick a bright, sunny day, but not one that is blazing hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s exterior.
If you have an home owner’s association, there could be guidelines about how often you have your house pressure washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you are required to hire a local company. You might only be under HOA rules regarding how your house appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to have it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the fastest and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for several home surfaces and can eliminate months of built up dirt and stains.