How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution after your house starts to look drab and dated. Within hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from many home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a El Cajon pressure washing service. It will be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t need to deal with returning 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 fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you really have 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 weather factors based on that location.
Most professionals will recommend having your house pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you more frequent services are needed is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house many times each year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your house, you will be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t removed periodically, so you might have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Power washing can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your house looking dirtier far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials help to protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you won’t need to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Power washing can be completed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your house. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is really easy for these organisms to form colonies on your house, especially on the north side where it usually doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
And, power washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below factors can negatively impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that need to be considered before you call a professional pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have wind and rain splashing mud onto the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be more of a threat in some areas of El Cajon than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or near an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it might be a smart idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The equipment used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing company will use soft washing opposed to power washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the right time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as choosing how often the service needs to be completed. There are different times throughout the year when power washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service could help 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 muddy splatter and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is the most impactful 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 might not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it should typically be, which means you run the risk of damaging the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a smart way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer for all your home’s outside 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 surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, there might be requirements about how regularly you have your house power washed or if you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You might only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house appears, but it’s really up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for several surfaces and can get rid of years of dirt and stains.