How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution if your home starts to look drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be restored 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 hire Arlington pressure washing service. It might be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back rented equipment or the risk of damaging your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as fast as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you really have to be careful how often you pressure wash your home 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 on where your home is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most pros will encourage having your home pressure washed every year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tells you that more frequent services are necessary is just trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love how it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home many 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 dirt, mud and grime can stain your home permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you could have to change from a set schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your home looking dirtier more than it should. It’s important to note that home building materials, especially 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 have to climb up and down a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Pressure washing can be done from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that can eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your home. They are not easy to remove, yet it is really easy for them to create colonies on your home, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing eliminates more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance. They are all factors that have to be considered before you decide to hire a nearby pressure washer or think about doing the job yourself.
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 onto the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a threat in some areas than in others. Living in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors impact your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it could 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 problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the correct time to have your home pressure washed is as important as deciding how often the service should be completed. There are certain times throughout the year when pressure washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service can help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on professional pressure washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll end up with mud stains and mildew at the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is the most beneficial 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 different projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding could not be tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it would typically be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the ongoing work and trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest solution 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 not one that is extremely hot. This is the best condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you are in an HOA, there could be requirements about how often you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it on your own or if you are required to hire a local company. You may only be under HOA guidelines regarding how your home appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Pressure washing is one of the most common and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for several surfaces and can eliminate months of dirt and stains.