How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick fix after your home starts looking drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your home can be renewed to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment at many home improvement stores, or you can hire a Newton pressure washing service. It might be costly upfront, but you won’t need to deal with returning equipment or the risk of damaging your home because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home as quickly as it can renew it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful about how often you pressure 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 on where your home is and weather factors based on that location.
Most pros will encourage having your home pressure washed each year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing company that tries to tell you more frequent cleanings are necessary 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 home multiple times a year.
By simply touching the exterior of your home, you should be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain your home permanently if it isn’t removed from time to time, so you may have to change from a planned schedule if you notice a lot of buildup between cleanings.
Power washing can be harmful, but not doing it often enough will leave your home looking lackluster far more than it should. It’s important to note that home building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These materials help to protect your home between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you won’t need to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling ahose. Power washing can be accomplished from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and find their way into your home. They are not easy to remove, yet it is extremely easy for them to form colonies on your home, especially on the north side of a home where it doesn’t get much direct sunlight or wind as other sides of your home.
And, pressure washing gets rid of more dirt and grime than manual hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following items can negatively impact the appearance of a home. All are factors that need to be considered before you hire a nearby pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you may also have wind and rain splashing mud on the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be bigger problem in some areas of Newton 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 do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may be a smart idea to have damaged siding repaired so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The techniques 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 service will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the shingles. Additionally, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the right time to have your home pressure washed is as important as deciding how often the service should be performed. There are different times during the year when pressure washing would be a real waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing might help you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste your money on pressure washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll end up with mud stains and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, for example, isn’t the best time of year. Pressure washing is most useful 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 other work done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be tightened into place during a repair like it should typically be, so you run the risk of damaging the area, disrupting the ongoing work and even trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the simple answer for all your home’s exterior surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Pick a bright, sunny day, but not one that is extremely hot. This is the optimal condition for the exterior surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s surfaces.
If you live in a neighborhood with an home owner’s association, there may be rules about how regularly you have your home pressure washed or if you can do it on your own or if you have to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules concerning how your home appears, but it’s really up to you to have it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for most surfaces and can remove years of dirt and stains.