How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick solution once your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from most home improvement stores, or you can hire a Carmel pressure washing service. It might be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t have to deal with returning rented equipment or run the risk of harming your house due to 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 really need to be careful how often you pressure wash your house 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 house is and weather factors around that location.
Most professionals encourage having your house pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing company that tries to tell you that 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 after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house multiple times each year.
By touching the wood or siding of your house, you will be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you might have to change from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it often enough can leave your house looking dirtier far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your house between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you do not have to climb up and down a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling ahose. Power washing can be accomplished from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and find their way into your house. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for them to grow into colonies on your house, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
Plus, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below factors can impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that need to be considered before you decide to call a professional pressure washer or try to do the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have powerful wind and a lot of rain splashing mud on the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be more of a threat in some areas of Carmel than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what type of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it might be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do any more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
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 technician will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. And, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the optimal time to have your house pressure washed is almost as important as deciding how often the service has to be performed. There are times during the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing could help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on pressure washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll end up with muddy splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is the most impactful at the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t plan to have your house pressure washed the same time you are having other projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding might not be fastened into place during a repair like it would normally be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the ongoing work and trapping water underneath 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 sunny day, but not one that is very hot. This is the best condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there might be requirements 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 service. You might only be under HOA guidelines regarding how your house looks, but it’s really up to you to keep it looking good.
Power washing is one of the fastest and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for a multitude of surfaces and can get rid of years of built up dirt and stains.