How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option after your house starts looking drab and outdated. Within hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from most home improvement stores, or you can hire a Alhambra pressure washing service. It will be costly 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 as quickly as it can renew it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you really need 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 on where your house is located and weather factors around that location.
Most pros will encourage having your house pressure washed each year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tries to tell you that more frequent cleanings are needed is probably 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 pressure wash your house many times a year.
By just 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 your house permanently if it isn’t removed periodically, so you may have to change from a planned schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing can be detrimental, but not doing it enough can leave your house looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These 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 exterior of your house because you do not need to climb up and down a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living 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 these organisms to grow into colonies on your exterior, particularly on the north side of a home where it doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
And, pressure washing eliminates more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below factors can negatively impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that must be considered before you decide to 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. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud onto the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a threat in some areas of Alhambra 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 may be a smart idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen 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 company will use soft washing opposed to pressure washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your house pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service should be completed. There are certain times during the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing might benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste money on professional pressure washing in a rainy season. You’ll end up with mud splatter and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. 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 have your house pressure washed the same time you are having other work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding may not be fastened into place during a repair like it would typically be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the other project and trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your home’s 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
Choose a bright, sunny day, but not one that is very hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there may be guidelines about how often you have your house pressure washed or whether you can do it on your own or if you have to hire a local company. You might only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to have it looking a certain way.
Pressure washing is one of the fastest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for most home surfaces and can remove years of built up dirt and stains.