One of the largest responsibilities of your (homeowner) is ensuring that your home is well-maintained. That means having an efficient maintenance routine that would remove all the grime, dust, dirt, and bacteria present in your house. But when it comes to cleaning up wood, brick, and concrete, these exterior surfaces need another kind of cleaning- pressure washing. Rather than scrubbing away unwanted dirt on your home’s exterior, it’s faster and more effective to target hard-to-reach spaces with pressure washing. Keep reading to learn more!

Key Takeaways: 

• Pressure washing is the fastest way to blast away dirt from your home’s exterior surfaces.
• While pressure washing might seem pretty straightforward, you should know that it requires certain equipment, products, and techniques to ensure you do an excellent job in cleaning your home’s exterior- an aspect a professional pressure washing expert will do!
• It’s wise to pressure wash a home before painting, to remove as much dirt, dirt, and grime as possible. 

Why You Should Pressure Wash a Home

Pressure washing a home offers several benefits- it’s one of the fastest ways of blasting away dirt from exterior surfaces. 

• Increase Your Home’s Value 

When buyers look at a home, they take in the whole house holistically. Homes that stand out are the ones in pristine condition and exceptionally well-kept. Even if your house is in ideal working condition, an unclean appearance will typically lower its value in the eyes of potential homebuyers. Keep in mind that while buyers want an up-to-date home, the cleanliness of your home will also serve as a good overall indication of how well you maintain other things. 

• Prevent Damage to Your Home

Moss, mold, and algae growth can cause damage to your home if left unattended. Moreover, small cracks or other structural damages could be hidden under a layer of dirt. By pressure washing, you can remove the mold and algae growth, and hence prevent damage. Also, washing can help reveal the cracks, allowing you to fix them before they cause considerable damage. 

• Lower Allergies and Improve General Well Being

The general upkeep of your home also helps protect the health and well-being of the people living on the property. By removing health risks, including mildew or mold, you minimize allergies and enhance the air quality. That’s especially vital if there is anyone suffering from asthma living in the house. 

• Prepare Surfaces for Painting

When considering varnishing or repainting any surface, it’s crucial to ensure that the surface is clean and free of any dirt, dust, or residue. That entails those hard-to-reach areas, for instance, cracks and crevices. Pressure washing will prevent your beautifully repainted surfaces from being tarnished as a result of painting over particles of dirt and debris. 

Pressure Wash Vs. Power Wash: What’s the Difference?

Power washing and power washing are usually confused since most people assume they’re the same thing. And, for the most part, they are. Except for one vital difference- pressure washing uses cold water, while power washing uses heated water. 

But why the difference? Well, the heat used in power washing makes it an ideal solution for specific types of cleaning, including removing grime for commercial concrete patios and walkways. On the other hand, softer surfaces, like shingles and wood, can be easily damaged by the combination of high-pressure water and heat, and for those surfaces, pressure washing is the way to go. 

What Can You Power Wash?

Most exterior home surfaces are safe for cleaning with power washing, including aluminum or vinyl siding, brick, concrete, and asphalt, fences and wood decks, metal railings and banisters, and glass fencing. These are materials and surfaces that you should avoid power washing and should be left for a professional to clean. That’s because:

• The pressure from a power washer can outright shred aluminum door and window screens and bend thin aluminum frames.
• Power washing can shatter the exterior window glass, particularly older glass that has become brittle and thin with age. Pressure washing can also smear silt, abrasive grit, sand, and other coarse debris across the exterior grass, leaving microscopic but damaging scratches.
• High-pressure cleaning can dislodge flagstones, patio pavers, and other lightweight pieces. Too much pressure can also crack brittle or thin stones. 

Essential Note: Pressure washing can shred peeling paint or remove seal coating and other topcoats from asphalt, concrete, and the like. If any surface on your home isn’t in good condition, it’s wise to leave your cleaning work to the professionals, so that you don’t cause more damage with your pressure wash techniques. 

Should You Pressure Wash a Home Before Painting?

It’s wise to pressure wash your home before painting to remove as much dust and dirt as possible. Surface debris will eventually peel away from a home’s exterior surface, taking that fresh paint with it. Cobwebs, dried dust, and other such residues will also make the paint look uneven and bumpy. 

Flakes of paint, rust, and debris from a property’s exterior walls and surfaces will be removed with pressure cleaning. Algae and mold clinging to your home’s foundation or siding can be killed with the pressure washing that includes bleach and other such solutions. The surface will then be clean and dry and ready for new paint. 

Need to Pressure Wash Your Home? Call Experts!

It’s recommended to pressure wash your home at least once or twice a year. But while pressure washing equipment is available for hire, it’s typically cheaper and safer to hire a pressure cleaning service to take the hassle out of doing it yourself. Our pressure washing experts are highly trained and vastly experienced and will ensure your home’s exterior is sparkling clean. Call us today!