Every home needs consistent commercial power washing of its exterior surfaces. However, it’s not unusual for a homeowner to rent a power washer and clean the outside of their house and property themselves, assuming that they can wash walls, windows, porches, driveways, and walkways on their own. This isn’t the case, as commercial power washing services can be more difficult than you might realize
The best commercial power washers will offer a variety of services for your property’s exterior, while also ensuring that pressure washing doesn’t damage a home’s roof, windows, or other surfaces. The right local pressure washing company will suggest that you clean all exterior surfaces of your home at once, to keep in looking good and in good repair!
Note a few considerations to keep in mind about commercial pressure washing so you can better understand why it’s good to leave this work to a pressure washing pro, and how to choose the best service provider as well.
Detergent or Plain Water?
Not all exterior surfaces of your property can be cleaned with water alone, as a detergent or surfactant may be needed to break down thick dirt, grime, soot, and oil stains on concrete or asphalt. Not all power washing cleansers are alike, however! The type of surfactant required will depend on the dirt or stain you’re cleaning, as well as the surface material itself.
On the other hand, it’s not always good to use a cleanser when cleaning a home’s exterior surfaces. Some detergents used during power washing can dry out certain materials, and certain solvents can stick to glass, vinyl siding, and other such materials.
If you were to use the wrong detergent on various surfaces of your home’s exterior or fail to rinse those cleansers properly, your house might then be left with dirty streaks, water marks, and other such stains. In some cases, using the wrong detergents can make your home’s exterior look worse than before you washed it!
Damage Done By Too Much Pressure
In some cases, using even very low pressure when washing a home’s exterior can cause damage to various materials around your property. This is especially true if those materials are already aged and somewhat fragile or brittle.
As an example, old window glass is often weak and thin because of long-term exposure to corrosive acid rain residue and hot sunlight. Using even the lightest pressure on the center of those windows can cause them to shatter or crack. Also, using too much pressure around the outside edges of window screens can cause them to shred.
High-pressure washing can also chip paint and cause it to peel away from concrete driveways, patios, and porches. High-pressure power washing also results in lots of splattering and splashing, leaving dirty streaks on windows and glass patio doors. All that splashing can also wash away the mulch or topsoil around landscaping features and flower beds.
Commercial Power Washing Services to Schedule
Note the benefits of various commercial power washing services that every homeowner should schedule, and how often this work should be done:
- Washing exterior walls will remove dirt, dust, soot, and grime so that the home looks clean and attractive. Annual commercial pressure washing service of the house can also reveal areas of chipped brick, dented aluminum siding, or other damage that needs repairing.
- A homeowner should consider having the home’s roof washed at least every few years. Soot, acid rain residue, bird droppings, and other such grime can dry out roofing tiles and cause them to crumble away, while consistent pressure washing will keep that roof clean and free of damage.
- Window washing is best done every few years at most. It’s especially good to have this work done after a rainy spring or summer season so that the windows are clear of soot, acid rain residue, and all debris that gets splashed onto windows with every rainfall.
- A home’s wood deck should be power washed every year, as timber easily absorbs dirt, mud, soot, grime, chemicals from lawn care materials, and moisture from rainfall and surrounding humidity. All of these substances are very damaging to that wood and can cause it to dry out, and then splinter, cup, bow, and crack. Power washing will also remove growing mold and mildew, protecting your home’s wood deck.
- Never overlook the need to have your home’s driveway and walkways cleaned every few years, if not annually! Snow-clearing salt and motor oil will break down asphalt and concrete. Chemicals in fertilizers and other landscaping materials can also cause concrete and patio stones to crack and spall. A thorough washing of these surfaces is recommended every year, after the snow has stopped falling and after you’ve applied all springtime treatments to your lawn.
- Pressure washing a home’s gutters will remove mud and other grime that tends to build up in those gutters and cause clogs. When gutters are clogged, rainwater washes over their sides and runs down the home’s exterior walls, leaving dirty streaks and marks. That rainwater can also pool around a home’s foundation, softening the concrete and creating cracks in its surface. A thorough gutter cleaning will then protect all areas of your home’s exterior.
Differences in Commercial Pressure Washing Services
Every surface of your home will need specialized cleaning, to remove the particular type of dirt and grime coating that surface, and to ensure the materials themselves are not damaged. This is why there are different types of exterior washing services available with different commercial pressure washing prices, each meant to address various areas of your property or different types of dirt and grime:
- Power washing refers to using hot water during the washing process, with or without detergents and cleansers. Hot water is often needed to break down oily or greasy stains, such as motor oil or other lubricants. Power washing is also used to clean various hand tools that are coated in grease or to clean a garage floor covered with layers of oil and household lubricants.
- Pressure washing, as the name implies, uses very high pressure to help clean dirt embedded in porous concrete or patio pavers. High pressure is also used to thoroughly wash mold and mildew from the surface of timber decking. Pressure washing is also a good choice for cleaning surfaces before they’re repainted or given a fresh coat of stain, as higher water pressure will remove chipped and flaking paint, so the surface is then ready for a new coat.
- Soft wash cleaning uses specialty detergents and surfactants that are applied to dirt, mud, and other such grime, and then allowed to sit for several minutes. These surfactants break down and loosen all that dirt and grime. This residue is then rinsed away with very low water pressure, typically just a slight bit stronger than a garden hose.
Soft wash cleaning is often recommended for exterior surfaces that are covered in thick layers of dirt and grime, as the surfactants used for this type of cleaning will loosen that debris without damaging brick, concrete, and other such materials. Soft wash cleaning is also good for older homes; high-pressure cleaning of an old roof, for example, can loosen older shingles and cause them to fall away.
Keeping Your Property Clean Between Power Washing Services
While a thorough commercial power washing of your home’s exterior is the best way to keep your property clean and in good repair, you might note a few additional tips for maintaining the outside of your house and its overall curb appeal:
- Invest in a bagged lawnmower. Grass clippings hold moisture and chemicals from fertilizers and other treatments you add to your lawn; when you cut your grass with a chute lawnmower and allow the clippings to land on your house, that debris can then damage exterior brick or siding. A bagged mower will contain those clippings and protect your home from potential damage.
- Place a leaf guard in your home’s gutters. A leaf guard, as the name implies, helps keep leaves, twigs, seeds, and other debris out of the home’s gutters, so they are less likely to clog. Leaf guards come in a variety of styles, from a rounded brush to simple screens that you cut to size. Whatever your choice, leaf guards are very affordable and easy for any homeowner to install themselves.
- Keep tree branches trimmed, and consider the variety or types of trees you have on your property. If you allow tree branches to overlap your home’s roof, this can result in seeds, twigs, leaves, and bird droppings building up on its shingles. Some varieties of trees may also lose more leaves and seeds than others or drip corrosive sap onto your home, so think about replacing these trees with another species that is safer for your property overall.
Consider all these tips for keeping your home’s exterior, and all outside surfaces of your property, clean and in good repair between your regularly scheduled commercial power washing.