How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option after your house starts to look drab and outdated.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 power washing equipment from many home improvement stores, or you can call a Georgetown pressure washing service. It can be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with returning equipment or run the risk of damaging your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as fast as it can renew it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful how often you power 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 on where your house is and weather factors based on that location.
Most professionals will encourage having your house pressure washed every year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro 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 right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house multiple times a year.
By simply touching the exterior of your house, you will be able to tell if it’s time for 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 may have to deviate from a planned schedule if you start to see a lot of 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 building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you don’t have to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging ahose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that can eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your house. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for these organisms to create colonies on your home, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
And, power washing removes more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below factors can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that need to be considered before you decide to call a nearby pressure washer or think about doing the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather can 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 a lot of rain splashing mud on the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are bigger threat in some areas of Georgetown than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes 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 service will use soft washing opposed to power washing to protect the shingles. Also, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the best time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as choosing how often the service should be completed. There are certain times throughout the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service can benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste money on power washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with mud stains and mildew at the end of the season anyway. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is the most useful at 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 work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a renovation or repair like it should typically be, which means you run the risk of harming the area, disrupting the ongoing work and trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a smart way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer for all your home’s exterior surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Pick a bright, sunny day, but don’t choose one that is blazing hot. This is the optimal condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you have an home owner’s association, there may be rules about how regularly you have your house power washed or if you can do it yourself or if you have to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house appears, but it’s usually up to you to have it looking a certain way.
Pressure 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 most surfaces and can remove months of built up dirt and stains.