Living in northeast Ohio has its benefits. The cost of living is low, the people are friendly, and all four seasons happen here. The clear change of seasons is part of what many Northeast Ohio homeowners enjoy most about living here. What don’t they enjoy? The havoc that the extreme shifts in weather wreak on their homes. Freezing winter temperatures and hot, humid summers take their toll on exterior surfaces. Add to that the dust, dirt, algae (and even the occasional bird dropping) that naturally collects on your home over time, and suddenly your beautiful home looks a lot less so.

How can you keep your home looking beautiful (and your exterior surfaces healthy)? Enter power washing. Hiring a professional power washer is an excellent, low-cost way to immediately improve your home’s curb appeal – and the life of its exterior surfaces; however, hiring professional power washing services can be a bit daunting. What surfaces can be scheduled for washing? Will they wash it safely? What types of surfaces won’t they wash?

Power Washing and Your Home’s Curb Appeal

Power washing is a great way to keep your home looking fresh and feeling clean. For less than a new coat of paint, your home’s beauty is restored and, if done correctly, that clean, new sheen lasts longer, too.

When scheduling your professional pressure washing services, be sure you’re clear about what surfaces you’d like washed. If the professionals you’re speaking with don’t ask specifics about the surfaces you’re requesting they clean, tell them! Not every surface can – or should – be power washed. Plus, not every surface that is suitable for pressure washing should be handled the same way.

What Can I Have Power Washed?

“Anything that’s a permanent structure, that’s vertically built on a foundation: brick, block, masonry, stone, siding, roofs, concrete. Also, wood, aluminum, and vinyl siding, etc. Those are surfaces we commonly power wash at Trotta’s,” says Justin Trotta, owner of Trotta’s Power Washing and decades-long veteran of the power washing industry.

There are a variety of pressure washing techniques. Each type of surface may need a different style or process when being washed. “There are very few things that we wash where multiple steps aren’t involved,” says Justin. These can include stripping, resurfacing, sealing, and more.

Different outdoor surfaces call for different degrees of pressure. Not every surface should be washed with the same pressure setting. Wood homes and log homes especially need so much more attention, time, and additional stripping and sealing that a lot of professional pressure washing services won’t work on them. Fortunately, Trotta’s Power Washing will. “One of our specialties is log homes. Homes with that oil finish, they need a little more than just the splash and dash that other companies like to do.”

What Surfaces Cannot or Should Not be Power Washed?

It’s also important to know what surfaces around your home cannot or should not be power washed to avoid causing damage to them.

If your home is peeling paint or has a lot of concrete surfaces, you should think twice about power washing. “At that point, you don’t know how bad it is going to get. I think you are better off just re-siding that. You really don’t want to power wash it,” cautions Justin.

“Concrete, too. That’s another one. You know, every time you wash a concrete surface, you take a little bit of the sand out of the finish of the concrete. Now it’s not drastic, it’s not like the concrete is ever going to go anywhere, but you don’t want to be pressure washing your concrete every other day,” he continues. “You will start exposing the aggregate, reducing the life of the concrete.”

Asphalt roof shingles are another type of surface to be careful of when using high-pressure washing. In fact, you absolutely should not use any pressure at all with asphalt shingles. Instead, Justin suggests using a different style of wash. “Trotta’s Soft Wash service is what we use for more fragile surfaces. We use a 5 soap proprietary blend to kill the lichen at its roots keeping it off your roof and siding longer. ”

When Can I DIY and When Should I Hire Professionals?

If it’s a standard, resilient surface, you may want to clean it yourself. Often people use pressure washers themselves when their home is vinyl-sided or if they want to clean up a deck or patio for the summer; however, there is some risk in doing this yourself.

“You have to know what pressures to use and when; the same thing with chemicals and cleaning solutions. You gotta know how to use them, when to use them, where they can go, where they can’t go. You’ve also got to know if chemicals are going to go somewhere, what to do to prevent those areas nearby from getting hurt or damaged.” When you hire a professional, they become responsible for ensuring things are done right. The homeowner doesn’t have to worry about that liability or risk.  For that reason, many choose to hire professionals, even for the smallest home pressure washing projects.

Are you looking to have your home or outdoor space power washed? Trotta’s Power Washing has a variety of services to get your home looking clean and refreshed. Learn more at https://www.trottaspowerwashing.com.