How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option when your home starts to look drab and outdated. Within hours, your home can be renewed to its beautiful appearance by nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent power washing equipment at many home improvement stores, or you can hire a West Palm Beach pressure washing service. It could be expensive upfront, but you won’t need to deal with returning rented equipment or the risk of harming your home due to lack of training or experience.
However, power washing can damage your home as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water is powerful enough to break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful about how often you power 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 a lot on where your home is located and environmental factors based on that location.
Most professionals will encourage having your home pressure washed every year or, no longer than every 2 years.
Any pressure washing pro that tries to tell you that more frequent services are needed 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 home multiple times each 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 dirt, mud and grime can stain the outside of your home permanently if it isn’t removed periodically, so you may have to deviate from a set schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing sometimes can be harmful, but not doing it often enough can leave your home looking dirtier 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 power washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is safer than scrubbing the exterior of your home because you won’t need to climb up and down a ladder with a rag and a bucket while pulling a garden hose. Pressure washing can be completed from the ground in most residential situations.
Mold and mildew are living organisms that can eat away at home exterior surfaces and make their way into your home. They are not easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for these organisms to create colonies on your house, especially on the north side where it doesn’t get as much direct sunlight or wind as the other sides of your home.
And, power washing removes more dirt and grime than hand scrubbing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the below factors can impact the appearance of a home. They are all factors that need to be considered before you call a nearby pressure washer or attempt the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and extreme weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If you live in an area that is rainy, you may also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud on the exterior of your home.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold can be bigger threat in some areas than in others. Living in a rural area or next to an unpaved road will factor into what types of environmental factors affect your home more.
HOME CONDITION
If you do decide to have your home pressure washed, it may be a good idea to have damaged siding replaced so the high water pressure won’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also expedite a peeling paint issue.
EXTERIOR FINISH
The methods 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 technician will use soft washing instead of power washing to protect the roof shingles. And, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Determining the correct time to have your home pressure washed is just as important as choosing how often the service needs to be performed. There are times during the year when power washing would be a real waste of time and money. Other times, however, a professional pressure washing service might benefit you in more ways than appearance.
WEATHER
Do not waste money on power washing in a rainy time of year. You’ll end up with mud stains and mildew by the end of the season anyway. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time. Pressure washing is the most beneficial near 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 while you are having different projects done on your home. Rock, brick or siding may not be tightened into place during a repair like it should normally be, so you run the risk of harming the area, prolonging the ongoing work and even trapping water under building materials.
BEFORE SELLING
Pressure washing is a smart way to increase your curb appeal. It’s the easiest solution for all your home’s exterior surfaces, including sidewalks, porches, driveways, patio furniture and wood and composite decks.
SUNNY DAYS
Choose a bright, sunny day, but don’t choose one that is blazing hot. This is the optimal condition for the exterior surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s exterior.
If you have an HOA, there may be requirements about how often you have your home power washed or if you can do it yourself or if you have to hire a local service. You may only be under HOA rules regarding how your home appears, but it’s ultimately up to you to have it looking good.
Pressure washing is one of the quickest and most effective methods to clean your entire home. As long as it’s done the right way, it is safe for most home surfaces and can remove years of built up dirt and stains.