If your house is looking drab these days, you may be wondering what the best solution is. How do you know when your house needs to be repainted? Or maybe there’s a way to get it looking great again without painting. Pressure washing might be the solution you are looking for.

Pressure washing cleans the exterior of the house and restores the look of siding. By removing mildew and mold, regular cleaning also works to maintain and extend the life of the siding. You might be surprised to find that you don’t actually need a paint job.

Is It Time to Repaint the Exterior of My House?

The extreme temperatures in Ohio, combined with humidity and precipitation, can wear heavily on your home’s exterior. The other main determining factor in the durability of paint is the siding material:

• Wood siding – should be repainted every 3 – 7 years
• Aluminum siding – paint lasts for about 10 -15 years
• Painted Brick – should be redone every 15 – 20 years
• Fiber cement – needs to be repainted after 10 – 15 years
• Vinyl – doesn’t usually require repainting, but should be replaced after 20 – 30 years.

Signs that Your House Needs to be Repainted

Look out for these signs that the exterior paint needs to be redone. Depending on the extent of damage, some of these symptoms may also indicate the need for a more invasive intervention of wood restoration or siding replacement.

• Cracking,
• Bubbling,
• Flaking,
• Peeling,
• Discoloration,
• Fading.

Paint acts as a safeguarding layer. With time and exposure to UV light, rain and temperature changes, this surface protection breaks down. It’s important to address paint damage of this sort because it leaves the exterior of the house vulnerable to the elements. Exposed siding can lead to water damage, wood rot, dry rot, termite and other insect damage.

Is It Better to Pressure Wash My Home’s Exterior?

The good news is that repainting isn’t always necessary. Pressure washing can really transform the look of your siding, brick, stone, stucco, or fiber cement exterior. Plus, regular maintenance can actually help the paint job and siding to last longer.

Signs that Your House Needs to be Pressure Washed

Your house will greatly benefit from power washing if you see signs of:

• Dirt and grime,
• Mold growth,
• Mildew,
• Pollen or tree material.

Regular pressure washing is recommended, particularly for homes that are surrounded by trees and situated in shady areas or which have a north face that gets little direct sunlight. It can also be beneficial for those that are close to the road where they collect a lot of grime kicked up by passing traffic. Houses next to construction sites may collect dirt and debris quickly. Plus, some seasonal changes cause plant material to accumulate on the surface of a residential structure.

These are all good reasons to schedule professional power washing this spring. Trying to spray the siding with a regular garden hose is ineffective for this tough kind of buildup. And balancing on a ladder to do it can be dangerous, especially for homes that are two or three stories tall. For this type of job, it’s best to rely on a professional power washing crew.

Find more information here: How to Clean Different Types of Home Exteriors.

Is It Possible to Strip Paint Using a Pressure Washer?

If repainting is the right solution to get your exterior looking great again, you’ll want to find the easiest way to remove the old peeling and damaged paint off brick or wood siding. It’s easy to prepare existing painted surfaces using a high-powered pressure washer.

This home improvement project requires at least 3,000 and 4,000 PSI to power the paint off the surface. Remember to wear safety glasses or goggles before getting started. An effective technique is to keep the spray nozzle at an angle and moving in a continuous motion in the same direction of the wood grain.

Check out this video for more tips on removing paint with a pressure washer.

EASY RESIDENTIAL PRESSURE WASHING AND PAINTING SERVICES

Home maintenance doesn’t have to be a time-consuming pain in the back. Let our professional power washing crew make spring cleaning easy for you this year. We specialize in exterior cleanup projects, as well as interior and exterior painting.

Trotta’s Power Washing is proud to serve residents in the greater Peninsula, Ohio area. Contact us at (330) 940-3705 or request a free quote online today.