How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
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Pressure washing is a fast fix if your home starts to look drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be renewed to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at many home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Elk Grove pressure washing service. It can be costly 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 just as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful about how often you pressure 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 and environmental factors around that location.
Most pros 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 probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home multiple times a year.
By simply touching the exterior of your home, you will be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dirt, 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 change from a planned schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Power washing often can be harmful, but not doing it often enough will leave your home looking dirtier far more than it should. It’s important to note that home building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials 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 don’t have to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be completed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your home. They are not very easy to remove, yet it is really easy for these things to form colonies on your exterior, especially on the north side of a home where it doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below factors can impact the appearance. All are factors that have to be considered before you call a nearby pressure washer or attempt the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in a rainy area, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud onto the side 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 type 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 replaced so the high water pressure won’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint problem.
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 technician 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
Determining the correct time to have your home pressure washed is just as important as determining how often the service needs to be completed. There are different times throughout the year when pressure washing would be a real waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing might help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on pressure washing during a rainy season. You’ll just end up with muddy stains and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time. 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 have your home pressure washed while you are having other projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it would normally be, so you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the ongoing work and even trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great way to increase your home’s 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
Pick a bright, sunny day, but not one that is extremely hot. This is the optimal condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s exterior.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there may be requirements about how often you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you have 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 a certain way.
Power washing is one of the quickest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for most surfaces and can get rid of years of built up dirt and stains.