Should You Pressure Wash Your House?

Jun 30, 2023

As a homeowner, it’s your task to maintain your home in good condition. That means everything from replacing failing systems to keeping your home’s exterior in good condition. You’ll have loads of questions to answer and so many different variables to consider as a good homeowner. One thing that many don’t think about is how to keep their siding, roofing, and other exterior surfaces in good condition. If you don’t clean your home’s exterior regularly, it will accumulate mold, mildew, bird droppings, dirt, and all sorts of other nasty contaminants. Rainfall will wash away some of this, but some will linger and cause your home to age prematurely. The answer to this problem is pressure washing. If you’re wondering, “Should you pressure wash your house?” the answer is yes; it will help you maintain and protect your home.

Should You Pressure Wash Your House?

You should pressure wash your house if you want to maintain it as effectively as possible. Pressure washing your home is the most effective way to remove grease, bird droppings, mold and mildew, and everything else that builds up over time. Having your home pressure washed once or twice annually will leave you with a nice-looking exterior that ages well. Without taking the time to wash your home fully, you allow contaminants to build up, make your home look dinghy, and cause your siding and roofing to age prematurely.

The cost to pressure wash a house is reasonable when you consider how much it costs to skip the procedure. Your home will wear prematurely, and you’ll find yourself replacing the siding, putting on new roofing, and more as a result. This is significantly more expensive than the $400 to $750 that you’re likely to spend cleaning your home on average.

Should I Pressure Wash My House Before Painting?

If you’re planning to paint your home’s exterior, you should already be looking for house washing near me. It’s essential to pressure wash your home fully before having it painted. A clean surface is necessary for the new paint to bond to your home, and without fully cleaning your siding and the other exterior surfaces of your home, your paint won’t adhere fully. You’ll end up with patches of your paint that fail and an unimpressive finish.

How Often To Wash Your House Exterior?

It’s best to wash the exterior of your home two times a year for optimal protection. If you only have the funds to pay to wash your home once, have it washed in the spring? If you can afford to wash it twice, clean it at the beginning of fall and the beginning of spring. These seasons are optimal for cleaning your home, and cleaning then will prevent the maximum amount of weathering over time.

Benefits of Pressure Washing Your Home

There are significant benefits to enjoy when you pressure wash your home once or twice a year. The most obvious benefit is that your home looks clean, maintained, and more valuable because you have it cleaned often. You’ll feel proud of your house, and others will see that you care about it. A nice-looking exterior is just the start of the many benefits offered to you, though. The most valuable benefit is extending the lifespan of your roofing, gutters, siding, driveway, and other exterior surfaces of your home. You’ll slow the growth of mold and mildew and reduce the wear caused by acidic contaminants accumulated on the many surfaces around your home. By keeping your home’s exterior cleaner, you help it last far longer overall. Paying for pressure washing is a small investment that will keep your home in good condition for longer, so you can spend less on significant repairs. Think of it like a car wash for your home. It’s a small investment that keeps your home looking fresh and performing well for far longer.

What Are the Pressure Washing Pros and Cons

Before you go out and look for pressure washing near me, you should take the time to consider the pros and cons of pressure washing. There are many positives, but if you don’t ask yourself about the negatives, you won’t have a realistic idea to base your decision.

The Pros of Pressure Washing

Increase the curb appeal
Remove cobwebs, grease, dirt, and other contaminants
Manage mildew, mold, and plant life
Prime surfaces of painting
Clean surfaces faster than scrubbing
Minimizes external wear

What are the Cons of Pressure Washing?

May damage home surfaces if used improperly
Can leave your home exterior wet longer than hand-washing – causing longer wait times before painting
Not a substitute for hand scraping paint – will still need other hand removal techniques when painting home
Pressure washing can cause minor damage to softer roofing materials and may lead to premature wear when applied improperly

How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Siding?

Your home’s siding should be cleaned annually to keep your house looking fresh and to prevent fading and premature wear. It’s ideal to have your siding cleaned two times a year, and you should always have it cleaned once a year for a minimum level of protection and maintenance.

How Often Should You Pressure Wash Your Roof?

Unlike the siding of your home, your roofing should not be cleaned each time you clean your home. Instead, you can have your roofing cleaned once every three years. Keep your roofing cleaned off this regularly, and you’ll minimize the wear to your roofing from high-powered cleaning while still keeping contaminants under control. You’ll also minimize your cleaning costs by only washing your roof once every three years or so.

What PSI Pressure Washer Is Best for Home Use?

The best pressure washer PSI for home use varies based on the surfaces you’re having cleaned. The best self-priming pressure washer that can handle all the surfaces you clean will offer up to 3,500 PSI of pressure and will be gas-powered. A professional will use different pressure levels and nozzle types for different material types.

For vinyl, steel, and other rugged siding surfaces, a pressure of approximately 3,000 PSI is optimal to fully clean the surfaces. When your home has aluminum, stucco, or wooden siding, you’ll have to rely on a pressure of between 1,250 and 1,500 PSI instead to avoid doing serious damage to the surfaces.

For fencing, you’re looking at pressures of 1,500 PSI for softwood, 2,500 for Cedar, and 3,000 for Vinyl or chain link. If your driveway and masonry are being cleaned, you’ll benefit from 3,000 PSI and the use of a surface cleaner, and as much as 4,000 PSI is required for paint-stripping surfaces around your home. Make sure to work with a professional that understands which settings to use when cleaning the different areas of your home.

What Is the Best Farm Pressure Washer?

If your home is a farm and you have industrial equipment, you need a unit that delivers 4,000 PSI of cleaning power to clean your tractors, dump trucks, and other rugged tools and equipment built for extreme performance. Hire a cleaning specialist with industrial experience if you’re relying on outside help to clean your equipment.

What Are the Top 5 Pressure Washers?

It’s nearly impossible to list the top pressure washers on the market today because there are so many different options to choose from. Instead, we’ll look at some of the top brands and what specifications you should be looking for.

When buying a pressure washer, only choose gas-powered models that deliver 3,500 PSI or more while using a triplex or belt drive water pump. If you select models based on those characteristics, you’ll get a unit that will serve you well for many years. Leading brands include Simpson Cleaning, Westinghouse, Champion, BLUBERY, WEN, and TEANDE, to name a few. Look closely at their specifications and choose a unit with care for reliable performance.

What Time of Year Should You Power Wash Your House?

Now that you understand the benefits of pressure washing or power washing your home, it’s time to think about when it should be cleaned. Like most other maintenance tasks around your home, there is the best time to care for your property. The quick answer is that you should power wash your house in spring or fall, but if you can only choose one spring is best. These seasons offer the ideal temperatures for cleaning your home’s exterior, and they enable you to prepare your home for winter or to remove winter’s grime. Finding experts to power wash your house near me can be challenging to do, but you should be searching for them in early spring or mid-fall to optimally clean your home.

Knowing the answers to questions like “How often should you power wash your house?” and “What is the best month to pressure wash a house?” is only good if you know when to have the work done as well. In northern climates where winter reaches freezing temperatures regularly, spring and fall months are best.

If you need help to power wash a house near Texas or power wash a house near California, you may be able to have the work done in winter as well without issue. Try to hire professionals to clean your home during mild weather, and have it cleaned once or twice a year, and you should enjoy a healthy home exterior for decades.

What Time Of Year Should You Not Use a Pressure Washer?

It’s helpful to know when the best time to pressure wash your home is, but it’s essential that you know when you should not use a pressure washer. For most people, that time is winter. You should avoid having your home pressure washed when temperatures drop below freezing. Your home is more likely to be harmed by leftover water in those conditions; professionals are more difficult to find and more costly during the winter as well. Instead, have work done when temperatures are comfortable, and you’ll enjoy superior results.

What Happens If You Don’t Power Wash Your House?

Pressure washing or power washing your house is essential for keeping it healthy over time. If you don’t have it cleaned fully on a yearly basis, you’ll enable grime to build up, your home will start looking dirty and worn, and eventually will suffer from excess fading, and the siding and roofing will fail. That’s why it’s essential to professionally clean your home annually. If you don’t have the equipment and the skills to do the work, you should hire professionals that do. Work with pros to care for your home properly, and your house will last longer and look better as a result.

Contact Cleaning Professionals To Deep Wash Your Home

Hiring amateurs or attempting to pressure wash your home yourself can lead to significant damage, injury, and poor finished results. Contact S&K Builders today and get a quote for professional-grade pressure washing today. Hire our team for access to seasoned pros with years of experience and the best pressure-cleaning equipment available.

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FAQs

How much should I charge to pressure wash a driveway?

You should charge between $200 and $400 to pressure wash an average-sized driveway. That’s a driveway of about 650 square feet. Most professionals use a rate of $0.20 to $0.80 for driveway pressure cleaning services.

How much should I charge a square foot for pressure washing?

You should charge between $0.20 and $1.00 per square foot for pressure washing services. Charge near the high end for roofing and other difficult surfaces and closer to the low end for home siding and driveways.

How much does it cost to pressure wash a house?

It costs an average of $250 to $750 to pressure wash a 1,500-square-foot house. A 2,500-square-foot house would cost $500 to $1500 on average. If you have an irregularly sized home, you can multiply by between $0.20 and $0.60 per square foot for a cost range estimate.

How much does it cost to pressure wash a driveway per square foot?

It costs approximately $0.20 to $0.80 to pressure wash a driveway per square foot. Only heavily soiled driveways will cost near the upper end of that price range normally.

How much does it cost to pressure wash a 2,500 sq ft house?

It costs between $500 and $1,500 to pressure wash a 2,500-square-foot house. This range varies depending on how dirty the home is, how tall it is, and what company you’re working with.

What are the risks of starting a pressure washing business?

When starting a pressure washing business, you risk investing in equipment that will break down and fail and cause harm to the properties you are working on. You must be careful to maintain your equipment properly and always have insurance before working on someone’s property.

What are the pros and cons of pressure washing?

Pressure washing offers a deep clean that can be achieved quickly. Pressure washing also has the potential to damage the surface being cleaned and can cause more harm than good when done by an amateur using the wrong equipment or technique.

How do you quote pressure washing?

To quote pressure washing, begin by measuring the length and width of the area to be cleaned and calculating a surface area in square feet. From there, you multiply your total area by an estimated pressure washing price per square foot to get the cleaning quote amount.