How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Home?
Pressure washing is a quick option after your house starts to look drab and outdated. Within just a couple of hours, your house can be renewed to its beautiful appearance with nothing more than high pressure water.
You can rent pressure washing equipment from most home improvement stores, or you can hire a Federal Way pressure washing service. It could be costly upfront, but you don’t need to deal with bringing back equipment or the risk of harming your house because of lack of training or experience.
However, pressure washing can damage your home just as fast as it can beautify it. The pressurized water can break windows, damage siding and ruin roof shingles. Therefore, you have to be careful about how often you pressure 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 and environmental factors around that location.
Most pros encourage having your house pressure washed every year or, at least every 2 years.
Any pressure washing service that tries to tell you more frequent cleanings 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 pressure wash your house multiple times each year.
By simply touching the exterior of your house, you should be able to tell if it needs a cleaning. The presence of dirt, mud and grime can stain your house permanently if it isn’t washed off periodically, so you could have to deviate from a set schedule if you start to see too much buildup between cleanings.
Pressure washing often can be detrimental, but not doing it enough can leave your house looking dirtier more than it should. It’s necessary to note that modern building materials, particularly vinyl siding, are resistant to stains, mold and mildew. These types of materials help to protect your house between pressure washings.
Why Pressure Washing is the Preferred Method
Pressure washing is much safer than scrubbing the exterior of your house because you won’t need to climb a ladder with a brush and a bucket while pulling a hose. Pressure washing can be performed from the ground in most 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 easy to get rid of, yet it is extremely easy for them to grow into colonies on your house, particularly on the north side where it usually doesn’t get much sunlight or wind as the other sides of your house.
And, pressure washing eliminates more dirt and grime than hand washing.
Factors that Affect Your Home’s Exterior
All of the following factors can impact the appearance. They are all factors that must be considered before you decide to call a professional pressure washer or think about doing the job yourself.
CLIMATE
Factors like humidity and weather events can create a perfect environment for mold and mildew. If your home is in a rainy area, you may also have powerful wind and rain splashing mud on the side of your house.
ENVIRONMENT
Pollen, pollution and mold are sometimes bigger problem in some areas of Federal Way than in others. Having a home in a more rural area or next to an unpaved road will determine 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 smart idea to have chipped siding replaced so the high pressure water won’t do any more damage. Pressure washing can also worsen 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 section of the home. For example, for roof cleaning, a pressure washing technician will use soft washing instead of pressure washing to protect the roof shingles. Also, the expected results can vary widely based on technique.
When to Pressure Wash Your Home
Choosing the best time to have your house pressure washed is just as important as deciding how often the service should 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 might help you in more ways than just appearance.
WEATHER
Don’t waste money on professional pressure washing during a rainy time of year. You’ll just end up with mud splatter and mildew by the end of the season regardless. Winter, as an example, isn’t the best time of year. 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 plan to have your house pressure washed while you are having different work done on your house. Rock, brick or siding could not be fastened into place during a repair like it would 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 great 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
Choose a sunny day, but don’t choose one that is very hot. This is the optimal condition for the surfaces to dry fast without baking cleaning chemicals onto your home’s siding or brick.
If you are in an HOA, there could be guidelines about how often you have your house pressure washed or if you can do it yourself or if you are required to hire a local service. You may only be under HOA guidelines regarding how your house looks, but it’s really up to you to have it looking maintained.
Pressure 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 a multitude of home surfaces and can eliminate years of dirt and stains.