How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option if your home starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a few hours, your home can be renewed to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from many home improvement stores, or you can hire a Charlotte pressure washing service. It could be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t need to deal with returning equipment or run 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 clean it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you really have to be careful 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 located and environmental factors around that location.
Most professionals will recommend having your home pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you that more frequent services are necessary 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 right after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home several times each year.
By touching the exterior of your home, you should 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 periodically, so you could have to change from a set schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing sometimes can be detrimental, but not doing it enough can leave your home looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, particularly 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 won’t need to climb up and down a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Pressure washing can be performed 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 very easy for these things to form colonies on your home, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing eliminates more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a nearby pressure washer or try to do the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be bigger threat in some areas than in others. Having a home in a rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors affect your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it could be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water won’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The equipment 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 service will use soft washing opposed to pressure washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the optimal time to have your home pressure washed is as important as determining how often the service has to be completed. There are certain times during the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing might benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on professional pressure washing during a rainy season. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew at the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is most impactful 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 while you are having other work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding could not be tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it will normally be, so you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the other project and trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the simple solution 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 don’t choose one that is extremely hot. This is the perfect condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s exterior.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there could be rules about how regularly you have your home pressure washed or whether you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a local service. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your home appears, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Pressure washing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for a multitude of surfaces and can eliminate years of dirt and stains.