How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution after your house starts looking drab and dated. Within just a few hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from many home improvement stores, or you can hire a Columbus pressure washing service. It can be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back equipment or run the risk of harming your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you need 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, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tells you that more frequent services are necessary is just trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house multiple times each year.
By simply touching the wood or siding of your house, you will 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 from time to time, so you might have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your house looking lackluster more than it should. It’s important to note that building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the outside of your house because you don’t have to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while pulling ahose. Pressure washing can be done from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic 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 very easy for them to create colonies on your home, especially on the north side where it usually doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
And, power washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that have 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 extreme weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are bigger problem in some areas than in others. Having a home in a rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it might be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The techniques 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 service will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the optimal time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as choosing how often the service needs to be completed. There are different times during the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service might benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on power washing in a rainy season. You’ll just end up with muddy stains and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an 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 house pressure washed while you are having other projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding might not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it would normally be, so you run the risk of damaging the area, disrupting the other project and even trapping water below 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 outside 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 blazing hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s exterior.
If you are in an HOA, there might be guidelines about how often you have your house power washed or if you can do it yourself or if you have to hire a professional. You might only be under HOA rules regarding how your house appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Pressure washing is one of the quickest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for a multitude of home surfaces and can eliminate months of built up dirt and stains.