How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast solution after your home starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a few hours, your home can be renewed to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can call a Killeen pressure washing service. It can be expensive upfront, but you don’t need to deal with returning equipment or the risk of damaging your home due to lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home just as fast as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful about 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 on where your home is and weather factors around that location.
Most pros recommend having your home pressure washed every year or, no longer than 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 pressure wash your home many times a year.
By touching the wood or siding of your home, you should be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain the outside of your home permanently if it isn’t removed periodically, so you may have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice excess buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your home looking lackluster more than it should. It’s necessary to note that home building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you won’t need to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging a garden hose. Pressure washing can be completed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your home. They are not very easy to remove, yet it is very easy for these things to form colonies on your home, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing eliminates more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can negatively impact the appearance of a home. 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 extreme weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in a rainy area, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud onto the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be bigger problem in some areas than in others. Living in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors impact 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 repaired so the high pressure water won’t do any 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 area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the roof shingles. Additionally, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the optimal time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as deciding how often the service should be completed. There are different times throughout the year when pressure washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service might benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on pressure washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with muddy stains and mildew at the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. 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 home pressure washed the same time you are having different projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be tightened into place during a repair like it would normally be, so you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the other project and even trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the simple answer 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 not one that is very hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s surfaces.
If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your home pressure washed or whether you can do it by yourself or if you are required to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your home looks, but it’s really up to you to have it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the most common and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for several surfaces and can eliminate months of dirt and stains.