How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option once your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at many home improvement stores, or you can call a Brandon pressure washing service. It will be a little more expensive upfront, but you won’t have to deal with returning equipment or run the risk of damaging your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home just as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful about how often you pressure 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 located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most professionals 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 services are needed is probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love the way it looks after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house many times each year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your house, you should be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you could have to deviate 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 can leave your house 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 help to protect your house between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you don’t have to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and make their way into your house. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for these organisms to form colonies on your home, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
And, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can impact the appearance. They are all factors that need to be considered before you decide to hire a nearby pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in a rainy area, you might also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a problem in some areas of Brandon than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it could be a good idea to have damaged siding repaired 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 paint) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing service will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. Also, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the optimal time to have your house pressure washed is as important as determining how often the service should be performed. There are times throughout the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service can help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on professional pressure washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with muddy splatter and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is the most useful near the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t have your house pressure washed while you are having other projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be sealed into place during a repair like it should typically be, which means you run the risk of damaging the area, prolonging the other project and even trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your home’s 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 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 home owner’s association, there could be rules about how often you have your house pressure washed or whether you can do it by yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You might only be under HOA rules regarding how your house appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to have it looking a certain way.
Pressure washing is one of the fastest and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for several home surfaces and can eliminate years of built up dirt and stains.