How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option when your home starts to look drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be restored to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from most home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of Auburn pressure washing service. It could be costly upfront, but you won’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or the risk of damaging your home because of 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 really 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 on where your home is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most pros encourage having your home pressure washed each year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing company that tries to tell you that more frequent cleanings are needed is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your home several times a year.
By just touching the exterior of your home, you will be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your home permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you may have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it enough will leave your home looking dirtier far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that home building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials protect your home between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the outside of your home because you don’t need to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Pressure washing can be done from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that can eat away at home exterior surfaces and find their way into your home. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is really easy for these organisms to create colonies on your house, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
Plus, power washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can negatively impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that need to be considered before you call a professional pressure washer or try to do the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in a rainy area, you may also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud on the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes more of a problem in some areas of Auburn 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 replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods 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 technician will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. Additionally, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the right time to have your home pressure washed is as important as determining how often the service should be performed. There are different times during the year when power washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing can help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on professional power washing in a rainy season. You’ll end up with muddy splatter 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 impactful at the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t plan to have your home pressure washed while you are having other projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a repair like it will normally be, so you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the other project and trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great 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 don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the optimal 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 HOA, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your home 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 home appears, but it’s really up to you to have it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the easiest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for a multitude of home surfaces and can remove years of dirt and stains.