How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution if your house starts looking drab and outdated.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 Arvada pressure washing service. It might be a little more costly upfront, but you won’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of harming your house because of lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you really 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 located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most professionals will recommend having your house pressure washed each year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tells you more frequent cleanings are necessary is probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love how it looks after a cleaning, you can power wash your house several times each year.
By just 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 periodically, so you could have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your house looking lackluster more than it should. It’s important to note that modern building materials, especially vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of 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 outside of your house because you don’t need to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Power washing can be accomplished 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 really easy for these organisms to grow into colonies on your home, especially on the north side where it usually doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
Plus, power washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can impact the appearance. All are factors that must be considered before you hire a local pressure washer or try to do the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. 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 house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes more of a problem in some areas than in others. Living in a rural area or near an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it could be a smart idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high water pressure won’t do more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes 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 opposed to power washing to protect the 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 almost as important as deciding how often the service should be completed. There are different times during the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing could benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any 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 regardless. Winter, for 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 have your house pressure washed the same time you are having other projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it will typically be, so you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great 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
Choose a sunny day, but don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the perfect condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning products onto your home’s surfaces.
If you have an HOA, there could be guidelines about how often you have your house power washed or whether you can do it on your own or if you are required to hire a local company. You may only be under HOA rules regarding how your house appears, but it’s usually up to you to have it looking good.
Power washing is one of the most common and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for most surfaces and can remove months of built up dirt and stains.