How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option when your house starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from many home improvement stores, or you can call a Jacksonville pressure washing service. It can be costly upfront, but you won’t have to deal with returning equipment or the risk of damaging your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can renew it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you really 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 encourage having your house pressure washed once a year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing company that tries to tell you that more frequent services are needed is just trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love the way it looks shortly after a cleaning, you can pressure wash your house many times a year.
By touching the exterior of your house, you should be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dust, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you may have to deviate from a planned schedule if you notice excess buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it often enough can leave your house looking lackluster more than it should. It’s necessary to note that home building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very 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 outside of your house because you won’t have to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be completed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at home exterior surfaces and find their way into your house. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is very easy for these things to create colonies on your home, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as other sides of your house.
And, pressure washing removes more dirt and grime than manual hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that must be considered before you decide to hire a local 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 to grow. If you live in an area that is rainy, you might also have wind and rain splashing mud on the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes bigger problem in some areas of Jacksonville than in others. Having a home in a rural area or near an unpaved road will determine what type of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you think it is time to have your house pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high water pressure won’t do more damage. Power washing can also worsen a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods used for pressure washing are specific to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or paint) and the section 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 results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the best time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as choosing how often the service has to be performed. There are times during the year when pressure washing would be a real waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service might help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste your money on professional pressure washing in 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 most impactful near 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 while you are having other work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding may not be tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it will normally be, so you run the risk of ruining the area, prolonging the other project and trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a great way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the simple answer for all your home’s outside surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Choose a bright, sunny day, but not one that is blazing hot. This is the perfect condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning products onto your home’s surfaces.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there may be guidelines about how regularly you have your house pressure washed or if you can do it on your own or if you are required to hire a professional. You might only be under HOA guidelines regarding how your house looks, but it’s usually up to you to keep it looking good.
Power washing is one of the most common and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done right, it is safe for several home surfaces and can remove years of built up dirt and stains.