How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option after your home starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be restored to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can hire a Clearwater pressure washing service. It will be a little more costly upfront, but you won’t have to deal with bringing back rented equipment or the risk of harming your home because of 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 destroy shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful about how often you power wash your home 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 home is located and environmental factors around that location.
Most pros encourage having your home pressure washed each year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tries to tell you that more frequent services are needed is probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks after a cleaning, you can power wash your home multiple times each year.
By simply touching the exterior of your home, you should 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 periodically, so you may have to change from a set schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough will leave your home looking dirtier 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 home between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you don’t have to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Power washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually make their way into your home. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for these things to grow into colonies on your home, particularly on the north side where it doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
Plus, power washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a local pressure washer or try to do the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in a rainy area, you might also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud on the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are bigger threat in some areas than in others. Living in a more rural area or near an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors impact your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have chipped siding repaired so the high pressure water doesn’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods 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 power washing to protect the shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your home pressure washed is as important as choosing how often the service needs to be performed. There are certain times during the year when power 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 just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste your money on professional power washing during a rainy season. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is the most impactful at the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t have your home pressure washed while you are having different projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a renovation or repair like it would normally be, so you run the risk of harming the area, disrupting the ongoing work and trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the simple 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 not one that is extremely hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s exterior.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there may be requirements about how regularly you have your home power washed or if you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a local company. You might only be under HOA rules regarding how your home looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the most common and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for a multitude of surfaces and can remove years of built up dirt and stains.