How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option when your home starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a few hours, your home can be returned to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can call a Pasadena pressure washing service. It might be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of damaging your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can renew it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful about how often you power 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 weather factors around that location.
Most pros encourage having your home pressure washed each year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you that more frequent services are needed is probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can power wash your home several times a year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your home, you will be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain the outside of your home permanently if it isn’t removed periodically, so you may have to change from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough can leave your home looking lackluster more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your home between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot 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 ahose. Pressure washing can be completed from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and find their way into your home. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for these organisms to create colonies on your home, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
Plus, power washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a professional pressure washer or attempt the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is 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 can be bigger threat in some areas than in others. Living in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors affect your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have chipped siding repaired so the high water pressure doesn’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or paint) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing service will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the shingles. Also, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the best time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service has to be completed. There are times during the year when power washing would be a real waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service can benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on power washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. 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 have your home pressure washed while you are having other projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it should typically be, which means you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the other project and trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective 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 extremely hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning products onto your home’s surfaces.
If you have an HOA, there may be guidelines about how often you have your home power washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a local service. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your home appears, but it’s really 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 several home surfaces and can get rid of years of built up dirt and stains.