How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option after your house starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a few hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at most home improvement stores, or you can call a Thousand Oaks pressure washing service. It can be a little more expensive upfront, but you won’t need to deal with returning rented equipment or the risk of damaging your house because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home just as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful how often you pressure wash your house and who you hire to 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 and weather factors based on that location.
Most professionals encourage having your house pressure washed each year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you that more frequent cleanings are necessary is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house several times each year.
By touching the exterior of your house, you will be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you could have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing can be detrimental, but not doing it enough will leave your house looking dirtier far more than it should. It’s important to note that modern building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your house between pressure 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 up and down a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling ahose. Pressure washing can be accomplished from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that can eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your house. They are not very easy to remove, yet it is really easy for these things to grow into colonies on your exterior, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
Plus, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a nearby pressure washer or attempt the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in a rainy area, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud on the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a problem in some areas than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what type 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 chipped siding repaired so the high water pressure won’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The equipment used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or paint) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing company will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. Additionally, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the optimal time to have your house pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service has to be completed. There are times during the year when pressure washing would be a real waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing can benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste your money on professional pressure washing during a rainy season. You’ll just end up with muddy splatter and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is most beneficial 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 work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be tightened into place during a repair like it will 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 helpful way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the simple 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 blazing hot. This is the best condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s surfaces.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there could be requirements about how regularly you have your house pressure washed or whether you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your house appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Pressure washing is one of the quickest and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for most surfaces and can get rid of months of dirt and stains.