How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option once your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from many home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of Arlington Heights pressure washing service. It could be a little more expensive upfront, but you won’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of harming 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 have to be careful about 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 heavily on where your house is located and weather factors based on that location.
Most professionals will encourage having your house pressure washed each year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tries to tell you that more frequent services are needed is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house several times a year.
By 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 washed off from time to time, so you may have to change from a planned schedule if you start to see excess buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your house looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary to note that home building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials 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 don’t need to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while pulling ahose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and make their way into your house. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for them to create colonies on your exterior, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
Plus, pressure washing eliminates more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that need to be considered before you decide to hire a local pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have powerful wind and a lot of rain splashing mud on the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be more of a threat in some areas of Arlington Heights than in others. Living in a more rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it may be a smart 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 issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes 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 service will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. Also, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the correct time to have your house pressure washed is as important as choosing how often the service should be completed. There are different times throughout the year when pressure washing would be a real waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing can benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste money on pressure washing during a rainy season. You’ll just end up with mud stains and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is the most useful 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 while you are having other work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a renovation or repair like it would typically be, which means you run the risk of damaging the area, prolonging the other project and trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a smart way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest solution 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 don’t choose one that is extremely hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you have an home owner’s association, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your house pressure 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 concerning how your house appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Pressure washing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for several home surfaces and can eliminate years of dirt and stains.