How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution when your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at most home improvement stores, or you can call a Lake Forest pressure washing service. It can be costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with returning rented equipment or the risk of harming your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as fast as it can clean it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you really have to be careful about 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 a lot on where your house is located and weather factors based on that location.
Most pros will recommend having your house pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you more frequent services are necessary is just 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 power wash your house several times a year.
By just touching the exterior of your house, you should be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you might have to change from a planned schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it enough will leave your house looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s important to note that modern building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials help to protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you don’t need to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be done 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 easy to get rid of, yet it is very easy for them to grow into colonies on your home, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
And, power washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below factors can impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that must be considered before you hire a professional pressure washer or try to do the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you may also have powerful wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a problem in some areas than in others. Having a home in a rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what type of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it might be a good idea to have chipped siding replaced 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 company will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the right time to have your house pressure washed is almost as important as deciding how often the service needs to be performed. There are times throughout the year when power washing would be a total 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 any money on professional power washing during a rainy time of year. 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 of year. 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 plan to have your house pressure washed the same time you are having other work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding might not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it should normally be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the ongoing work and trapping water under 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 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 perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s surfaces.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there might be guidelines about how often you have your house power washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the simplest 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 get rid of years of dirt and stains.