How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution once your home starts looking drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be returned to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at most home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Warwick pressure washing service. It could be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back equipment or the risk of damaging your home due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home as quickly as it can clean it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful 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 located and weather factors based on that location.
Most pros encourage having your home pressure washed each year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you more frequent services are necessary is probably 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 power wash your home multiple times each year.
By touching the wood or siding 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 periodically, so you may have to deviate from a planned schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing can be detrimental, but not doing it enough will leave your home looking lackluster 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 materials help to protect your home between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you don’t have to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Pressure washing can be completed 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 remove, yet it is really easy for these things to grow into colonies on your home, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
And, power washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that must be considered before you decide to call a nearby pressure washer or try to do the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live 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 bigger problem in some areas of Warwick than in others. Living in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what type 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 good 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 equipment used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing company will use soft washing opposed to power washing to protect the shingles. Additionally, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the right time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service should be completed. There are certain times during the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service could benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on power washing during a rainy season. You’ll end up with muddy stains and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is the 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 home pressure washed while you are having other work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a renovation or repair like it would typically be, which means you run the risk of damaging the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a smart 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
Pick a sunny day, but don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the best condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your home power washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules regarding how your home looks, but it’s usually up to you to have it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the most common and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for most home surfaces and can get rid of years of dirt and stains.