How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast fix when your house starts to look drab and dated. 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 most home improvement stores, or you can call a Vancouver pressure washing service. It could be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back equipment or the risk of harming your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as fast as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful how often you power 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 and weather factors based on that location.
Most pros encourage having your house pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tells you that more frequent cleanings are needed is just trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love how it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house multiple times each year.
By just touching the exterior of your house, you will 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 washed off from time to time, so you may have to deviate from a planned schedule if you start to see a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it often enough will leave your house looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary to note that 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 exterior of your house because you don’t need to climb up and down a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling ahose. Power washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and find their way into your house. They are not easy to remove, yet it is extremely easy for them to grow into colonies on your exterior, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
And, power washing eliminates more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that must be considered before you hire a nearby pressure washer or think about doing the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud onto the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes more of a threat in some areas than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or near an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high water pressure doesn’t do more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The techniques used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing company will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. Also, 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 choosing how often the service needs to be performed. There are times throughout the year when power washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service can benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on power 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, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is most beneficial at 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 other projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding may not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it will normally be, so you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the other project and even trapping water below 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 sunny day, but don’t choose one that is extremely hot. This is the best condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there may be rules about how often you have your house power washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules regarding how your house appears, but it’s really up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for most home surfaces and can eliminate months of built up dirt and stains.