How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast option when your home starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be returned to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a Marietta pressure washing service. It might be expensive upfront, but you won’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, power washing can damage your home just as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you really need to be careful how often you power wash your home 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 home is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most professionals encourage having your home pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tells 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 after a cleaning, you can power wash your home many times each year.
By simply touching the wood or siding of your home, you will be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain the outside of your home permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you may have to change from a set schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing can be detrimental, but not doing it often enough can leave your home looking dirtier more than it should. It’s important to note that building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials protect your home between power 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 almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your home. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is very easy for these things to create colonies on your house, especially on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
Plus, power washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can impact the appearance. They are all factors that have 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 weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud onto the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes bigger problem in some areas of Marietta than in others. Living in a rural area or near an unpaved road will determine 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 smart idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high water pressure won’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The equipment used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing company will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. Additionally, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the correct time to have your home pressure washed is as important as determining how often the service should be completed. There are times during the year when power washing would be an ultimate waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service can help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on power washing in a rainy season. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. 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 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 tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it should normally be, which means you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the ongoing work and trapping water underneath building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a helpful way to increase your 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
Choose a bright, sunny day, but not one that is extremely hot. This is the optimal condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s exterior.
If you have an HOA, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your home power washed or whether you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a local company. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your home appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to have it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the easiest and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for a multitude of surfaces and can get rid of years of dirt and stains.