How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option after your house starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be restored 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 Downey pressure washing service. It will be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back rented 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 clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you really have to be careful 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 a lot on where your house is and environmental factors around that location.
Most professionals encourage having your house pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you more frequent services are needed is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks right after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house multiple times a year.
By touching the exterior 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 washed off periodically, so you may have to change from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it enough will leave your house looking lackluster more than it should. It’s important to note that building materials, especially vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your house between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you do not need to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Pressure washing can be done from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that can eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your house. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is very easy for these organisms to create colonies on your house, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
Plus, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that must be considered before you hire a local pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in a rainy area, you might also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud on the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes bigger threat in some areas of Downey than in others. Living in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what types 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 damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The equipment used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) 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 roof shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as determining how often the service should be performed. There are different times during the year when pressure washing would be a real waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service might benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste money on pressure washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with muddy stains and mildew at the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. 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 have your house pressure washed the same time you are having other work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a repair like it would typically be, which means you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer for all your home’s outside surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Choose a bright, sunny day, but not one that is very hot. This is the optimal condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s surfaces.
If you are in an HOA, there may be rules about how regularly 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 concerning how your house appears, but it’s really up to you to have it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the quickest and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for a multitude of surfaces and can eliminate months of dirt and stains.