How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick solution when your house starts looking drab and dated. Within just a few hours, your house can be returned to its beautiful appearance from nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at many home improvement stores, or you can enlist the help of Oklahoma City pressure washing service. It might be costly upfront, but you don’t have to deal with bringing back rented equipment or the risk of harming your house due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home just as quickly as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you need to be careful about how often you power 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 on where your house is and weather factors based on that location.
Most professionals recommend having your house pressure washed once a year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing technician that tells you that more frequent cleanings are necessary is probably trying to squeeze more money out of you. However, it’s your house, and if you love how it looks right after a cleaning, you can power wash your house several times a year.
By touching the wood or siding of your house, you should be able to tell if it’s time for a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t washed off from time to time, so you could have to deviate from a set schedule if you start to see excess buildup between cleanings.
Power washing often can be harmful, but not doing it enough can leave your house looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary to note that building materials, especially vinyl siding, are very resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your house between power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is a lot safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you do not have to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while dragging ahose. Power washing can be done from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are organic organisms that eat away at exterior surfaces and eventually find their way into your house. They are not very easy to get rid of, yet it is really easy for these organisms to create colonies on your house, particularly on the north side of a home where it usually doesn’t get as much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
And, power washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below items can negatively impact the appearance. All are factors that have to be considered before you hire a professional pressure washer or attempt the job on your own.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events create a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have powerful wind and a lot of rain splashing mud onto the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are bigger threat in some areas of Oklahoma City than in others. Having a home in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what type of environmental factors affect your house more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your house pressure washed, it could be a good idea to have chipped siding repaired so the high water pressure won’t do any more damage. Power washing can also expedite a peeling paint problem.
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 opposed to power washing to protect the roof shingles. Additionally, the results can vary widely.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the optimal time to have your house pressure washed is as important as determining how often the service has to be performed. There are certain times throughout the year when power washing would be a real waste of time and money. Different times, however, a professional pressure washing service could help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste any money on power washing in a rainy season. You’ll just end up with muddy splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is the most impactful near 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 other work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be tightened into place during a renovation or repair like it should typically be, which means you run the risk of ruining the area, disrupting the other project and even trapping water below building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a cost-effective way to increase your home’s curb appeal. It’s the simple solution 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 don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the perfect condition for the surfaces to dry quickly without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s surfaces.
If you are in an HOA, there could be guidelines about how often you have your house power washed or whether you can do it by yourself or if you have to hire a professional. You may only be under HOA rules regarding how your house appears, but it’s really 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 surfaces and can remove years of dirt and stains.