How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option once your house starts to look drab and dated. Within just a few hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at many home improvement stores, or you can call a Richmond pressure washing service. It will be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back equipment or run the risk of harming your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you have 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 located and weather factors around that location.
Most pros will recommend having your house pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tries to tell you that more frequent services are necessary is just trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks after a cleaning, you can power wash your house multiple times a year.
By simply touching the wood or siding of your house, 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 house permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you could have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice excess buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing sometimes 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 home 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 a lot safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you don’t need to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling ahose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your house. They are not easy to remove, yet it is extremely easy for them to create colonies on your house, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
Plus, power washing eliminates more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a local pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather 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 onto the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes more of a threat in some areas than in others. Living in a more rural area or near 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 could be a good idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. Additionally, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the right time to have your house pressure washed is as important as choosing how often the service has to be completed. There are certain times throughout the year when power washing would be a real waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service might benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste your money on power washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with muddy stains and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is the most useful 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 different projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be tightened into place during a repair like it should typically be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the simple solution for all your home’s exterior surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Choose a bright, sunny day, but don’t choose one that is extremely hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s exterior.
If you have an HOA, there could be rules about how regularly you have your house power washed or whether you can do it on your own or if you have to hire a local service. You may only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house looks, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Pressure washing is one of the most common and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for most surfaces and can get rid of years of dirt and stains.