How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast fix once your house starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Whittier pressure washing service. It could be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of harming your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home as quickly as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful how often you power wash your house 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 on where your house is and environmental factors based on that location.
Most pros will encourage having your house pressure washed once a year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing company that tells you that more frequent cleanings are needed is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love the way it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house multiple times each year.
By simply touching the exterior of your house, you should be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain the outside of your house permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you may have to change from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your house looking lackluster more than it should. It’s important to note that home building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you don’t have to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be done from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your house. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is very easy for them to create colonies on your home, particularly on the north side where it doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
Plus, power washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can negatively impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that have to be considered before you decide to hire a professional pressure washer or try to do the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in a rainy area, you might also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be more of a threat in some areas of Whittier than in others. Living in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have chipped siding repaired so the high pressure water doesn’t do any more damage. Power 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 area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the shingles. And, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the correct time to have your house pressure washed is as important as deciding how often the service should be performed. There are certain times throughout the year when power washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing might benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on power washing in a rainy season. You’ll end up with muddy splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, for 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 plan to have your house pressure washed the same time you are having different projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding may not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it would normally 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 helpful way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the simple solution for all your home’s outside surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Pick a bright, sunny day, but not one that is blazing hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s exterior.
If you are in an HOA, there may be requirements about how regularly you have your house power washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a local service. You might only be under HOA rules regarding how your house appears, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Power washing is one of the most common and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for a multitude of home surfaces and can remove years of built up dirt and stains.