Why You Should Power Wash Your Home

Power Washing Service

Do you remember when you first purchased your home, and it looked shiny and brand new?

Perhaps after living in your home for a long time you’ve noticed your cement pathway looks faded, or there is moss and algae growing on your home’s vinyl siding. After all, it’s your home’s job to weather the elements on your behalf. But while your home is sheltering you, it’s bearing the brunt of weather, build-up and pollution that causes discoloration and stains.

It can seem daunting to consider trying to clean off these stains and build-up. However, by hiring a professional to power wash certain areas of your property you can give your home a new lease on life.

Power washing your house can make it look as fresh and beautiful as the first day you moved in—without the back-breaking work of trying to scrub vinyl siding, brick or cement by hand.

Read on to discover the many benefits of power washing your home and why you should entrust this task to the professionals atMr. Handyman Northern Virginia.

What is the Difference Between Power Washing and Pressure Washing?

You may be familiar with the terms “power washing” and “pressure washing,” and you likely have heard these terms used interchangeably. However, there is a small difference between the two that is worth pointing out.

The main difference between power washing and pressure washing is that the jet wash in a power washing machine uses heated water. Comparatively, the jet wash in a pressure washer is not heated.

Essentially, the heat in a power washer adds an extra edge when tackling tough-to-clean surfaces riddled with build up like discoloration, salt and grease. It’s no different than when you are washing your dishes—hot water cuts through grime more effectively than cold water.

Why Should You Power Wash Your House?

As a homeowner, you take pride in your place. You’ve taken care over the years to truly make it your own; from planting trees and flowers to freshening up the paint on your fence. You love your home, and like anything you love, you take good care of it.

Power washing your property is another way to invest care into your home. Not only does it give your house a new lease on life by making stained surfaces look like new, but there are also many other benefits to hiring a professional power washing service.

Prevent Damage

There are many ways your home may become damaged over time—through no fault of your own. Simply by virtue of being exposed to the elements, typical wear and tear on your house can make it look worn. If left alone for long periods of time, the damage that makes your place look weathered can become permanent.

Common types of damage due to the elements include:

Discoloration: During the Virginia winters, the presence of moisture can result in unwanted spots of black growth. Such discoloration can plague concrete or even painted surfaces if left unchecked.
Dirt: It may seem obvious, but your home—much like your car—will get dirty over time. Rainfall also includes dirt and pollution, so hardly from cleaning your house, rainfall actually contributes more grime to your home’s exterior.
Algae: This unwanted growth props up with the right conditions of sunlight and moisture. While most algae is green, it can also be red.

Maintenance Protects Your Investment

You have put a lot of care and time into your home—it truly is an investment in more ways than one. Taking time to look after your home protects this investment both figuratively and literally. Maintenance costs are always mitigated when compared to the cost of having to renovate your home due to extensive damage. It’s much simpler to power wash your home from time to time rather than have to replace your home’s siding, garage door or deck.

Likewise, you love your home. Give it the care it deserves with regular power washing services. Not only will your place look good, but that refreshed aesthetic will make you feel good too.

Power Washing Primes Surfaces

Perhaps you want to give your home a true makeover by applying new paint. One of the best ways to prepare your walls for fresh paint is by power washing. By hiring a professional power washing service, your home’s surfaces will be free of dirt and grime—ensuring you have a spotless canvas to paint over.

This same school of thought applies to staining your deck and/or fence. Power washing ensures that new finishes will stick better to the surfaces in your property.

Protect You and Your Family’s Health

Algae, fungus, dirt and bacteria all negatively impact your family’s health. Your home should be a safe, clean and comfortable place for you and your loved ones. Investing in professional power washing services from the skillful team at Mr. Handyman Northern Virginia ensures your house remains a healthy home.

Save Precious Time

While it’s possible to scrub away build up from your home’s siding, this is an incredibly time-consuming and labor-intensive process. Additionally, some surfaces like cement are exceptionally difficult to clean by hand—so much so that it’s almost not worth it.

Rather, invest in professional power washing services. Avoid having to manually scrub, climb up ladders to get to tough-to-reach places and waste hours on what could be completed in minutes by a power washer.

Restore Curb Appeal

Whether you are looking to sell your home or simply spruce it up a bit, power washing is the most effective way to restore your home’s curb appeal without investing in time-consuming renovations. Not only does power washing your home make it look as good as new, but it also illustrates to your family and neighbors that you care about doing your part to upkeep your community.

Increase Property Value

If your property’s exteriors are dull, faded, stained and covered in discolored build-up, it will affect your home’s resale value. Power washing is one of the easiest ways to prevent losing out on your return of investment when selling your home. Additionally, prospective buyers will be much more interested in buying your house if it looks as good as new—rather than worn-out and old.

What Can You Power Wash?

While most outdoor surfaces on your property are safe to power wash, there are some common areas that need regular maintenance:

Brick, Cement Stairs and Patios

Areas of heavy foot traffic, places that are close to gardens and exteriors that may be subject to pollutants from heavy rainfall benefit greatly from power washing. By applying the right amount of water pressure, dirt, dust, grime and discoloration are removed easily from these surfaces without causing damage.

Vinyl Siding and Garage Doors

Did you know that the south-facing and west-facing sides of your house typically receive the least sunlight? This lack of sunshine makes these surfaces problem areas for black growth and moss. All of this build up can be easily removed from your home’s siding and/or garage doors with the help of a professional technician from Mr. Handyman Northern Virginia.

Decks and Fences

Decks and fences are common areas where foot traffic, sunlight and grime build-up can cause premature aging and wear and tear. The best way to make your deck and fence look brand new is by first power washing these surfaces to give them a deep-clean. Then, follow up with a coat or two of stain and these wooden outdoor surfaces will look as if you just renovated.

Rent a Power Washer VS. Hire Pressure Washing Services

While reading this blog post, you may have noticed we emphasize professional power washing services. While the team at Mr. Handyman Northern Virginia understands there are many members of our community who are DIYers at heart, power washing truly is better left to the professionals. Power washing by inexperienced individuals can lead to damaging your home or personal injury.

Common Mistakes DIYers Make

For someone who is not trained on how to correctly use a power washer for specific surfaces, there are many ways this efficient and effective power tool can cause quite a bit of damage to your home:

When the pressure in your power washer is too high, the water can get into your walls and house. This can cause soggy carpets and wet attics.
When used improperly, power washing can damage siding—even knocking it off your home entirely.
Likewise, if you aren’t a professional power washing technician, you could wash away the mortar on your brick home.
Power washers can destroy window screens if used incorrectly, causing leaking window sills and damaging the interior of your home.
Power washing on too high a PSI can also cause paint to be blasted off the surface of your home.
Power washing lead paint causes toxic dust to spread throughout your home, which can make you and your family seriously ill.

Common Injuries

A power washer is very much a power tool, and like all power tools, if misused can cause very serious injuries in untrained hands:

Power washers operate at a very high PSI. If the water comes into contact with skin, it can seriously harm your body.
Since power washers are so strong, the force of the water can actually push your body back. This may cause you to fall off a ladder or trip backwards into the road.
Likewise, the strength of the water coming out of a power washer can throw stray objects. These objects can hit people nearby. Professionals like at Mr. Handyman Northern Virginia know to ensure an area is clear of objects before proceeding to use the power washer.
If professional safety measures are not followed, electric shock may also occur.

Don’t risk hurting yourself or others and hire a professional power washing technician instead.

How Often Should You Power Wash Your Home?

Typically, we suggest booking annual power washing appointments to ensure your home is always putting its best façade forward. Generally, booking these appointments in the springtime is wisest, as moisture from the winter is starting to dry and any build-up caused from the winter can be washed away.

Additionally, it’s best to have your home power washed on a warm, sunny day—when possible. This will help the water dry quickly and thoroughly.

That said, there are other factors to consider when deciding upon the frequency of your power washing appointments:

If your home is next to a dirt road, you may want to have your house power washed every few months.
If your home is located next to many trees, sap may start to build-up on your home’s siding. Consider scheduling power washing appointments every few months.
Storms can make your home look dirtier by imparting more dirt and debris onto your property.
Heat and humidity can make your house more susceptible to discoloration spots and algae growth. In this case, you may also want to schedule a power washing service after the summer ends.

Book an Appointment with Mr. Handyman Northern Virginia

The expert and professional team at Mr. Handyman Northern Virginia is skillfully trained on how to correctly use power washers and in power washing safety protocols.

We have the industry insights to take care of all your power washing needs. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online today.