How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution after your home starts to look drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be returned to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at most home improvement stores, or you can hire a Largo pressure washing service. It could be expensive upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of damaging your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you really have to be careful how often you pressure 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 based on that location.
Most professionals recommend having your home pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you that more frequent services are needed is just trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home multiple times a year.
By just 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 removed periodically, so you may have to change from a set schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Power washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it enough will leave your home looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s important to note that home building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you won’t need to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living 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 really easy for them to form colonies on your house, particularly on the north side where it doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
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. All are factors that have to be considered before you decide to call a local pressure washer or try to do 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 may also have wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be bigger problem 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 affect your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your home pressure washed, it may be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high water pressure won’t do 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 company will use soft washing opposed to pressure washing to protect the shingles. Additionally, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the right time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service needs to be performed. There are certain times throughout the year when pressure washing would be a total waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service might benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste money on professional pressure washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll end up with muddy stains and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is most useful 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 the same time you are having different work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a renovation or repair like it should normally be, so you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water below 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 bright, sunny day, but don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the best condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s surfaces.
If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, there may be guidelines about how often you have your home pressure washed or whether you can do it yourself or if you have to hire a local company. You may only be under HOA guidelines regarding how your home appears, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Power washing is one of the most common 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 built up dirt and stains.