How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast fix after your home starts looking drab and dated. Within just a few hours, your home can be returned to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at many home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a San Bernardino pressure washing service. It could be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of harming your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as fast as it can renew it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful about how often you pressure 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 heavily on where your home is and weather factors around that location.
Most professionals recommend having your home pressure washed once a year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tells you more frequent cleanings are necessary is just trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love the way it looks after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home many times a year.
By 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 change from a planned schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your home looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you do not need to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that can eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your home. They are not easy to remove, yet it is very easy for them to form colonies on your house, particularly on the north side of a home where it doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
Plus, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following 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 try to do the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have powerful wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes bigger problem in some areas than in others. Living in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors impact your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may 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 processes used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing service will use soft washing opposed to pressure washing to protect the roof shingles. Also, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as determining how often the service has to be completed. There are certain times during the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing can benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste money on pressure washing in a rainy season. You’ll end up with muddy splatter and mildew at the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is most useful 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 the same time you are having different work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be tightened 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 even trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the simple answer for all your home’s exterior surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Pick a bright, sunny day, but don’t choose one that is extremely hot. This is the best condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s surfaces.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there may be requirements about how regularly you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a professional. You might only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your home looks, but it’s usually up to you to have it looking maintained.
Pressure washing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for a multitude of surfaces and can get rid of months of dirt and stains.