How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick fix once your house starts looking drab and dated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be restored to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment from home improvement stores, or you can hire a Kent pressure washing service. It will be costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with returning equipment or run the risk of damaging your house 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 ruin shingles. Therefore, you really have to be careful how often you power wash your house 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 a lot on where your house is located and weather factors around that location.
Most professionals will encourage having your house pressure washed each year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tells you more frequent services are necessary is probably trying to squeeze a little more money out of you. However, it’s your home, and if you love the way it looks after a cleaning, you can power wash your house multiple times a year.
By just touching the wood or siding of your house, you should be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain the outside of your house permanently if it isn’t washed off periodically, so you might have to change from a planned schedule if you notice excess buildup between cleanings.
Power washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your house looking dirtier more than it should. It’s important to note that home building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you won’t need to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be done from the ground in almost all residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that can eat away at home exterior surfaces and find their way into your house. They are not very easy to remove, yet it is extremely easy for them to grow into colonies on your home, especially on the north side where it usually doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
And, power 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 decide to call a local pressure washer or think about doing the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in an area that is rainy, you might also have wind and rain splashing mud on the exterior of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be more of a problem in some areas of Kent than in others. Living in a rural area or next to 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 might be a good idea to have chipped siding repaired so the high water pressure won’t do more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The equipment used for pressure washing are unique to your home’s exterior (brick, siding or wood) and the area of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the best time to have your house pressure washed is almost as important as determining how often the service needs to be completed. There are different times throughout the year when power washing would be a total waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service could benefit you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste your money on professional power washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is the most beneficial at the end of a season, whether it’s spring, summer, fall or winter.
BEFORE/AFTER HOME PROJECTS
Don’t have your house pressure washed while you are having different work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding might not be tightened into place during a repair like it would normally be, so you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the other project and even trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a smart way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest answer for all your home’s exterior surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Pick a sunny day, but not one that is very hot. This is the optimal condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning solutions onto your home’s surfaces.
If you are in an home owner’s association, there might be guidelines about how regularly you have your house power washed or if you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a local service. You might only be under HOA guidelines concerning how your house looks, but it’s ultimately up to you to keep it looking maintained.
Power washing is one of the most common and most effective methods to clean your entire home exterior. As long as it’s done correctly, it is safe for a multitude of home surfaces and can eliminate years of dirt and stains.