How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick fix once your home starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be renewed to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can hire a Oakland pressure washing service. It will be a little more costly upfront, but you won’t have to deal with bringing back equipment or run the risk of harming your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as quickly as it can clean it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful how often you pressure 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 heavily on where your home is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most professionals will recommend having your home pressure washed once a year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you that more frequent cleanings are needed is just trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home many times a year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your home, you should be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your home permanently if it isn’t washed off periodically, so you may have to change from a planned schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing can be detrimental, but not doing it enough can leave your home looking dirtier more than it should. It’s important to note that modern building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you won’t have to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and make their way into your home. They are not easy to remove, yet it is really easy for these organisms to create colonies on your exterior, especially on the north side where it doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance. They are all factors that have to be considered before you hire a nearby 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 powerful wind and rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes bigger threat in some areas than in others. Living in a rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what type of environmental factors affect your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. And, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service has to be performed. There are times throughout the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service can help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste money on professional pressure washing during a rainy season. You’ll end up with mud splatter and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is most impactful 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 sealed 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 underneath 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
Pick a sunny day, but not one that is extremely hot. This is the best condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s exterior.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You might only be under HOA guidelines regarding how your home appears, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the simplest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for several surfaces and can remove years of dirt and stains.