How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option after your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within hours, your house can be restored to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from most home improvement stores, or you can hire a Pembroke Pines pressure washing service. It could be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with returning rented equipment or run the risk of damaging your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can renew it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful how often you power 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 around that location.
Most professionals recommend having your house pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tries to tell you that more frequent services are needed is just trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love how it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house many times each year.
By just 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 washed off periodically, so you could have to deviate from a planned schedule if you start to see excess buildup between cleanings.
Power washing often 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, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you won’t have to climb up and down a ladder with a brush 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 home exterior surfaces and find their way into your house. They are not easy to remove, yet it is very easy for them to create colonies on your house, 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, power washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can negatively impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a local pressure washer or try to do the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in an area that is rainy, you might also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a problem in some areas than in others. Living in a rural area or near an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it could be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high water pressure won’t do more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes 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. And, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the optimal time to have your house pressure washed is as important as determining how often the service has to be completed. There are different times during the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service might help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste any money on professional power washing during a rainy season. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is most beneficial at 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 tightened into place during a repair like it will typically be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the other project and even trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer for all your home’s exterior surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Choose a bright, sunny day, but not one that is extremely hot. This is the optimal condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s exterior.
If you are in an HOA, there could be rules about how often you have your house power washed or whether you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a local service. You might only be under HOA rules concerning how your house appears, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the simplest and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for a multitude of home surfaces and can remove months of dirt and stains.