How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick fix after your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at home improvement stores, or you can hire a Fremont pressure washing service. It might be costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back equipment or the risk of harming your house because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure 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 have to be careful how often you pressure wash your house 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 a lot on where your house is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most pros will encourage having your house pressure washed each year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you more frequent services are necessary is just trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love how it looks after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house multiple times a 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 dirt, mud and grime can stain the outside of your house permanently if it isn’t removed periodically, so you could have to change from a planned schedule if you start to see a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your house looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary 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 safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you do not have to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Power washing can be accomplished from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that can 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 extremely easy for these things to grow into colonies on your home, especially on the north side of a home where it doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
Plus, pressure washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can impact the appearance. They are all factors that have to be considered before you call a nearby pressure washer or attempt the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be more of a threat in some areas than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what type of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it could be a good idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high water pressure doesn’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
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 opposed to pressure washing to protect the shingles. Also, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the correct time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as determining how often the service has to be completed. There are times during the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service could help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on 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. 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 while you are having different work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be tightened into place during a repair like it will normally be, which means you run the risk of damaging the area, disrupting the other project and even trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the simple 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 don’t choose one that is blazing hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s surfaces.
If you are in an HOA, there could be requirements about how regularly you have your house pressure washed or whether you can do it on your own or if you have to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your house looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the most common and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for a multitude of home surfaces and can eliminate months of dirt and stains.