How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick solution after your home starts to look drab and dated. Within hours, your home can be renewed 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 Denton pressure washing service. It can be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back rented equipment or the risk of damaging your home due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home as fast as it can clean it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful about how often you power 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 a lot on where your home is and weather factors based on that location.
Most pros encourage having your home pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell 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 how it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can power wash your home several times each year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your home, you will be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your home permanently if it isn’t washed off periodically, so you may have to change from a planned schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your home looking dirtier far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials help to protect your home between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you do not have to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Power washing can be done from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your home. They are not very easy to remove, yet it is very easy for these organisms to form colonies on your house, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
Plus, power washing eliminates more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that have to be considered before you call a local pressure washer or think about doing the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in a rainy area, you may also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a problem in some areas of Denton than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors impact 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 damaged siding repaired so the high pressure water doesn’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The techniques used for pressure washing are unique 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 instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the optimal time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as deciding 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 can benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste money on professional power washing during a rainy season. You’ll end up with mud stains and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. 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 have your home pressure washed the same time you are having different projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it should normally be, so you run the risk of damaging the area, prolonging the other project and trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great way to increase your 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 sunny day, but don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the best condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you have an HOA, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your home power washed or whether 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 appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to have it looking a certain way.
Power washing is one of the simplest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for most home surfaces and can remove months of dirt and stains.