How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick solution once 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 pressure washing equipment from most home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Round Rock pressure washing service. It could be a little more expensive upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back equipment or run the risk of damaging your house because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful about 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 a lot on where your house is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most pros will encourage having your house pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tells you more frequent cleanings are necessary is just trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house several times each year.
By touching the exterior of your house, you will 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 washed off periodically, so you may have to deviate from a set schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing can be detrimental, but not doing it enough will leave your house looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s important to note that building materials, especially vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials 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 don’t need to climb a ladder with a rag and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that can eat away at home exterior surfaces and eventually 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 home, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
And, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can impact the appearance. All are factors that need to be considered before you decide to hire a nearby pressure washer or try to do the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in a rainy area, you may also have powerful wind and a lot of rain splashing mud on the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are more of a problem in some areas of Round Rock than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine what types of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it may be a good idea to have damaged siding repaired so the high water pressure doesn’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen 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 technician will use soft washing opposed to pressure washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the correct time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as deciding how often the service has to be performed. There are times during the year when pressure washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing could help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on pressure washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is the most beneficial 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 may not be tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it should normally be, so you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water under 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
Choose a sunny day, but not one that is blazing hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s surfaces.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there may be rules about how regularly you have your house pressure washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you are required to hire a local company. You may only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Pressure 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 several home surfaces and can eliminate months of dirt and stains.