Pressure washing your home can be risky if you fail to take the appropriate safety precautions as well as it can be very physically demanding. If it’s been a while since the last time, you pressure washed your home, you’re likely to face lots of scrubbing with your hand and hours of climbing up and down on a horizontal surface. If your house is higher than one story, and you’re not able to stand on a ladder, you may want to consider hiring a professional to do the job. For single-story homes, these steps will help you learn the process of pressure washing your home, and increase curb appeal.
Preparation to pressure wash a house
Pressure washers of different brands have different cleaning capabilities. Check the manual included with your machine prior to the beginning either pressure washing or power-washing and make sure you have the correct pressure washer to do the task. Learn how to set up your machine and choose the right spray pattern. The settings are based on whether or not you’re spraying detergent or performing high-pressure washing and the type of surface that you’re cleaning.
Cleaning with a pressure washer
Pressure Washing Siding General cleaning tips are provided below. Follow the directions included with the pressure washer. Making use of a pressure washer in the wrong way could cause damage to your home’s exterior and interior, so make sure to read the instruction manual for information about the settings for sprays and how far the tip of the spray must be away from the surface that you’re cleaning. Try the high-pressure jet on a small area prior to cleaning to ensure it doesn’t cause damage to the exterior of the surface.
Grease and dirt that accumulate on your exterior home might require a cleaning agent:
- Use a low-pressure spray pattern to apply detergents.
- When you’ve finished applying detergent, disengage the detergent supply. Set the pressure washer to the spray pattern appropriate for the surface you’re cleaning, and activate the spray to clear any residual detergent from the system.
- Let the detergent remain on the surface for several minutes before you rinse it off, but don’t let it dry. Wet the surface again as needed.
- To avoid streaking on vertical surfaces, apply the detergent from the bottom up. Work in small sections you can easily identify.
- Use only detergents intended for pressure washers.
Correct PSI for my home’s siding?
Is 1800 PSI enough? Actually, the amount of psi required for building materials is different. Wood siding that is painted, soft-grain stucco, aluminum, and sidings are best treated using 1200-1500 psi models. For stucco that’s delicate siding, it’s recommended to choose an angle of 25 to 30 degrees greater spray nozzle, which distributes the water over a larger area and uses less force, thus avoiding any damage or nicks. When cleaning vinyl siding or other tough unpainted surfaces like brick, stone, and steel, you should make use of a machine that is rated for up to 3,000 psi.
Pressure washing gutters
Your gutters could also require cleaning. Make sure your pressure washer is set to an extremely high-pressure pattern. Clean the surfaces of the gutters with clean water to eliminate the streaks that are caused by the water, detergent, and dirt that splashes off from different areas of the home.
