How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast fix if your house starts to look drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at most home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Pomona pressure washing service. It could be expensive upfront, but you won’t need to deal with returning rented equipment or run the risk of damaging your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home as quickly as it can clean it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful about how often you power 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 heavily on where your house is located and weather factors based on that location.
Most professionals will recommend having your house pressure washed every year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you that more frequent services are necessary is probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love how it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house many times a year.
By touching the exterior of your house, you should be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain the outside of your house permanently if it isn’t washed off periodically, so you could have to change from a planned schedule if you start to see a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it often enough can leave your house looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, especially vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much 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 ahose. Pressure washing can be done from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that can 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 create colonies on your house, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
And, power washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that must be considered before you hire a professional pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have wind and rain splashing mud on the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be bigger threat in some areas of Pomona than in others. Living in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors impact your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it could be a smart idea to have damaged siding repaired so the high pressure water doesn’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen a peeling paint problem.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are specific 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 opposed to power washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the right time to have your house pressure washed is almost as important as choosing how often the service should be performed. There are different times throughout the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing might help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on professional power washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll 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 most impactful at the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t plan to have your house pressure washed the same time you are having other projects done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be fastened into place during a renovation or repair like it should normally be, so you run the risk of damaging the area, prolonging the other project and trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer 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 don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the optimal condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning products onto your home’s exterior.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there could be rules about how often you have your house power washed or whether you can do it by yourself or if you are required to hire a local service. You might only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house looks, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the fastest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for most home surfaces and can eliminate months of dirt and stains.