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How To Pressure Wash/Clean The Exterior of Your Home
Whether your home exterior is covered with bricks, stones, hardi plank, wood or vinyl siding, at some point it will require maintenance of some kind. And it will also require a good cleaning at some point as well. It really doesn't matter if your home is relatively new or not, you can be sure that it will be ready for a good cleaning sooner or later...and probably sooner than later.
And when that time arrive you will be faced with a choice, either to hire a professional pressure washer/pressure cleaning contractor, or you can think about doing it yourself. To be quite frank with you, the price of hiring a contract cleaner to professionally wash the exterior of your home has never been cheaper than now and with winter just around the corner prices may continue to fall. But for the brave heart who feels that a dollar saved...well, is a dollar saved, this article is for you.
I'm going to walk you through a step by step guide to pressure washing/cleaning the exterior of your home. It's really not a difficult thing to do but you must be ever vigilant and by all means pay total attention to what you are doing. It is definitely within most homeowners' ability to pressure wash/clean the exterior of their home, however, danger lurks around every corner; so you must devote complete attention to the task you're performing.
I have been pressure washing/cleaning homes, buildings and even some industrial plants since 1984 and I have gained some valuable knowledge along the way and I'm going to share it with you in this article. So come aboard and let's go.
TAKING INVENTORY OF THE EXTERIOR OF YOUR HOME
Before you begin actually pressure washing/cleaning the exterior of your home take a few moments to walk around your home to see if there are any missing boards, broken windows, insulation that needs replacing, to avoid spraying water into your home. Water damage can prove to be catastrophic even at low pressure spraying (1000-1500 psi), not to mention pressure washers that can produce water pressure up to 3000 psi (pounds per square inch). So before you begin make sure every thing is in place and there are not any openings that could be a passage way for water to enter into your home.
Protect all plants and green life from water damage and especially from any chemicals that you might be using as well. Not to sound a bit silly, but be sure that all the pets are out of harms way and in a safe, dry and secure place until you finish the job...and of course the kids and any one else that might be in the vicinity. Safety is always the most important thing when you are pressure washing the exterior of your home. Although pressure washing your house can be a fun experience when it is done safely and properly, but by the same token when done unsafely and improperly, a pressure washer can become a lethal weapon that can maim and destroy life, so please be extremely careful when operating one.
EXTERIOR CLEANING 101
Now that every thing is in order and you're ready to begin cleaning the exterior of your house, once again, safety is the operative word and caution is the yellow light that you should keep in your head at all times. Okay? Alright. So let the show begin. As I stated earlier, I have been pressure washing homes for almost a quarter of a century and I have cleaned a lot of homes in my time, and I still thoroughly enjoy doing so...except in winter. But hopefully that's not a problem for you. First, remember to follow all of the directions and instructions that the manufacturer of the pressure washer has recommended. In other words follow their guidelines on how to operate the equipment to a letter. Never deviate for a second from the way the equipment is intended to be used. And for goodness sake make sure you do not sit the fuel can remotely close to the pressure washer when it is running!
Personally, when it comes to cleaning the exterior of a home or commecial building for that matter, I use what I like to refer to as a one--two punch combination to knock the dirt clean out. I don't employ a once over system like some pressure washer contractors have been known to do, instead, I initially start out with a mixture of water and sodium hypochlorite or as it is more commonly known "bleach". In the region of the country that I live in mildew and mold are formidable foes that weilds a destructive hand throughout the year. I'm talking about black mold and mildew that's blackish/greenish in color as well. And they are relentless in their quest for food, turning beautiful homes into unsightly structures.
But after a good thorough application of bleach and water on the house, I allow about ten to fifteen minutes to pass before I begin the next phase of my one--two punch knock out treatment. Sometimes, where the fungus is terribly bad I will use a pump-up sprayer and apply bleach undiluted directly onto the house surfaces. And if need be I will apply another application, it just depends on how bad the situation is. And again, I allow the bleach time to do its stuff before I proceed to the next phase. You really can see how the fungus is affected by the bleach because the mildew will usually begin to change from a dark color to a very light color, but note, mold is not affected by bleach one bit! You must apply a seperate treatment and a product that is formulated to kill mold in order to destroy it; so keep that in mind if you have to deal with a similar situation.
After allowing the bleach time enough to kill the mildew I then apply a citrus base cleaner that has a ph level of about twelve. Now the so called ph level is just a rating system from 1-12 that labels the strength of a cleaning solution, with 12 being the strongest of all. I prefer using a product called limonene because it has proven to be a very effective and cost efficient product for me for over a decade. This product is part of my one--two punch that I prefer and recommend highly. It has never failed me...not even once! So make sure you choose a quality cleaning solution when you are doing your cleaning and don't rely on water pressure alone, but select a good cleaning solution and allow it to go to work for you.
Pressure Washing your house is not a science and you really don't have to be some kind of genius to get the job done, but you do need to use common sense and practical application to achieve a safe ending and a beautiful cleaning job that you can be please with and proud of. So take your time and do a real good job and rememember, safety is the operative word. Good luck and I wish you well.
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Tools of the trade!Brushes
of the finest quality on the market."Ladders  for
proper
safety.Tools  ...an
industry mainstay.Airless Sprayers - Dependable and Reliable. Pressure Washers that stand the test of time. Sanders 
and Tools- tools you can count on.Scaffolding a sure foundation that you can stand on. Generators  :
your power source when all else fails.Spot and stain sealer that never fails. Tools 
to make your project easier.Nail Guns/Staplers  ...trouble free and long lasting. Saws  :
straight
cuts each and every time.Workboots: for safety and pain free comfort all day long. |
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