How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a fast fix once your home starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a few hours, your home can be restored to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at home improvement stores, or you can call a Hawthorne pressure washing service. It might be costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run the risk of harming your home due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home as quickly as it can renew it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and destroy shingles. Therefore, you 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 heavily on where your home is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most pros will recommend having your home pressure washed each year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you 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 power wash your home many times a year.
By just touching the exterior 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 could have to change from a set schedule if you start to see excess buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your home looking dirtier 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 help to protect your home between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the outside of your home because you don’t need to climb up and down a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling ahose. Pressure washing can be accomplished from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your home. They are not easy to remove, yet it is really easy for them to create colonies on your exterior, especially on the north side where it doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
Plus, power washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that must be considered before you decide to call a nearby pressure washer or think about doing the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud on the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes more of a threat in some areas than in others. Having a home in a rural area or near an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors impact your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it could be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high pressure water doesn’t do more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes 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 service will use soft washing opposed to power washing to protect the shingles. Also, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your home pressure washed is just as important as choosing how often the service should be completed. There are different times during the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service could help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on power washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll end up with muddy stains and mildew at the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is most beneficial 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 while you are having other work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding could not be fastened into place during a repair like it should typically be, so you run the risk of harming the area, disrupting the ongoing work 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 outside 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 optimal condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you have an home owner’s association, there could be guidelines about how often you have your home power 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 regarding how your home looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking a certain way.
Pressure washing is one of the fastest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for most home surfaces and can eliminate months of built up dirt and stains.