How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick fix if your home starts looking drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be returned to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at home improvement stores, or you can hire an O’Fallon pressure washing service. It can be a little more costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back equipment or the risk of harming your home due to lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as quickly as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful about how often you pressure wash your home 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 heavily on where your home is and weather factors based on that location.
Most pros encourage having your home pressure washed once a year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you that more frequent cleanings are needed is just 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 home many times a year.
By touching the exterior of your home, you will be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain your home permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you could have to change from a set schedule if you start to see excess buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough can leave your home looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary to note that building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the outside of your home because you won’t have to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be done from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that can eat away at home exterior surfaces and find their way into your home. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is very easy for these organisms to grow into colonies on your exterior, especially on the north side where it doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that have to be considered before you hire 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 powerful wind and rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes more of a threat in some areas than in others. Having a home in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what type of environmental factors impact your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it could be a good idea to have chipped siding repaired so the high water pressure doesn’t do any more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are unique 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 opposed to 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 home pressure washed is almost as important as determining how often the service has to be performed. There are times during the year when pressure washing would be a total waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service might help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste money on pressure washing during a rainy season. You’ll end up with muddy splatter and mildew by 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 home pressure washed while you are having different projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding could not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it will normally 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 great 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
Pick a bright, sunny day, but not one that is very hot. This is the best condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning products onto your home’s exterior.
If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, there could be requirements about how often you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it yourself or if you have to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your home appears, but it’s really up to you to have it looking a certain way.
Power washing is one of the simplest 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 home surfaces and can eliminate months of built up dirt and stains.