How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option when your home starts looking drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be restored to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of a San Marcos pressure washing service. It can be costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back rented equipment or run 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 beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and destroy roof shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful 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 heavily on where your home is and environmental factors around that location.
Most professionals will encourage having your home pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician 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 shortly after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your home multiple times a year.
By touching the wood or siding of your home, you should be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain the outside of your home permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you may have to change from a set schedule if you notice too much buildup between cleanings.
Power washing often can be harmful, but not doing it enough will leave your home looking lackluster more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, especially vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the outside of your home because you do not need to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be performed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organisms that can eat away at home exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your home. They are not easy to remove, yet it is very easy for these things to create colonies on your home, especially on the north side where it doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing gets rid of 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. They are all factors that must be considered before you decide to call a local pressure washer or try to do the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud on the side of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes bigger problem in some areas than in others. Living in a more rural area or near 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 chipped siding repaired so the high water pressure won’t do any more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The processes used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or paint) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing company will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the roof shingles. Additionally, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the optimal time to have your home pressure washed is almost as important as determining how often the service needs to be completed. There are certain times throughout the year when pressure washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing could benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on pressure washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with mud stains and mildew at the end of the season anyway. 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 the same time you are having different work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be sealed into place during a repair like it would normally be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the other project and even trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the simple solution 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 don’t choose one that is blazing hot. This is the best condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning products onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you are in an HOA, there may be requirements about how regularly you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a local service. You might only be under HOA rules regarding how your home looks, but it’s usually up to you to have it looking good.
Power washing is one of the most common and most effective ways to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for most home surfaces and can remove months of built up dirt and stains.