How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option after your home starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be returned to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can hire a Lewisville pressure washing service. It can be expensive upfront, but you don’t have to deal with returning equipment or the risk of harming your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as quickly as it can renew it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful 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 heavily on where your home is located and weather factors based on that location.
Most pros encourage having your home pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing company that tries to tell you more frequent cleanings are necessary is probably trying to squeeze 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 home many times each year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your home, you should be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain 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 notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing can be detrimental, but not doing it enough can leave your home looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary to note that 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 safer than scrubbing the outside of your home because you won’t have to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Power washing can be done from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that can eat away at exterior surfaces and find their way into your home. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is really easy for them to form colonies on your home, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
Plus, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that need to be considered before you call a nearby pressure washer or try to do the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in a rainy area, you may also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud on the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a threat in some areas than in others. Living in a rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors affect your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your home pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have chipped siding repaired so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes 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 service will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. Also, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the right time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as deciding how often the service needs to be performed. There are certain times throughout 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 your money on professional pressure washing in a rainy season. You’ll end up with mud splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, for 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 plan to have your home pressure washed while you are having other work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it should normally be, which means you run the risk of damaging the area, disrupting the other project and 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 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 very hot. This is the optimal condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, there may be rules about how often you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it yourself or if you have to hire a local service. You may only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your home appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Power washing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for several surfaces and can remove years of built up dirt and stains.