It’s true that some folks are worried about the damage pressure washing might do to the exterior of their home. We have plenty of customers in Long Island that said something similar before working with us, but the truth is, a pressure washer is only going to do damage in the wrong hands or when used incorrectly. And you could say exactly the same about a regular office stapler.
We’re obviously big advocates for the benefits that professional pressure washing provides, but even so, we always like to keep an open mind and encourage our customers to do the same. For that reason, we wanted to put together this article to outline some of the alternative methods that can be used to clean the exterior of the house, and talk about how they stack up vs. pressure washing.
Alternative Methods of Washing Outside the House
Washing the exterior of a home – even a “small home” – is a time-intensive task. Not something that is going to be done in an hour or two. But it is something that needs to be done periodically and can have a BIG impact on the appearance of your home and its curb appeal.
Here are a few ways it can be cleaned other than by pressure washing.
Hose Pipe
While many homeowners don’t have access to a pressure washer, most with outside space will own a hose pipe. And you can buy an attachment that will direct the water at exterior surfaces in a more concentrated jet.
This will do a decent enough job for any loose dirt, but for any baked-on stains, it’s not going to cut it. Those will be able to weather the storm and will have to be removed via an alternative method. Higher water pressure is needed to have success with those kinds of stains. Pressure washing is able to remove them, but a regular garden hose won’t be able to.
Scrubbing Brush and Bucket
Ahhhh the good old-fashioned scrubbing brush. It’s been around for such a long time as it genuinely works. When those bristles are passed over the target surface vigorously enough, it’ll remove most dirt and stains. The problem here is not the success rate, but the time and effort required.
Cleaning an entire home’s exterior in this way is tough. It’ll take you hours and hours – in fact, you probably won’t finish it in a day – and it’s extremely tiring. Most people don’t realize just how tiring a cleaning job like this is until they do it.
Pressure washing on the other hand takes a lot of the manual part out of the process. The concentrated jets of water do a lot of the work for you and can remove pretty much any kind of dirt or stain you’re likely to encounter.
Cleaning Wand Attachment
This is essentially a combination of the first two methods that we’ve talked about. It’s an attachment that connects to your hose pipe and has a scrubbing brush integrated into its design on the end of the wand. The main benefit of this is that it allows you to reach parts of your home’s exterior that are above head height, without the need for ladders.
But the issues we talked about for each of these options individually do not go away when they are combined. The water pressure is still not high enough to remove tougher dirt and grime, and it’s very physically tiring to clean an entire exterior in this manner.
Why Pressure Washing Helps to Protect Your Home
As we’ve already discussed, pressure washing is by far the most efficient and effective way to clean the exterior of your home. But what else can it do?
- Protect Your Home’s Structure – If you let the dirt and grime build-up and accumulate it will eventually cause irreversible damage and some very unsightly strains. Mold will feed on exterior coatings and eventually remove them, leaving your home exposed to Mother Nature year-round.
- Saves You Money in the Long Term – Repairing permanent damage can get costly. Preventing this damage from occurring in the first place is a drop in the ocean by comparison. Your home is the biggest single investment you’ll likely make, and you need to protect it. Pressure washing can do just that, and very effectively.
- Protects Your Family’s Health – Letting dirt, grime and mold thrive on the outside of your home won’t just lead to it doing your home harm, but also potentially your health. Mold is well known to have negative impacts on health, and built-up dirt and grime can trigger reactions in those that suffer from allergies.
- Your Home Could Be Worth More – Pressure washing could even be an investment that pays you back financially. Research has been done that shows that by improving the appearance of the exterior of your home, you can raise its value by between 2 and 5%.
Call Our Experienced Long Island Power Washing Pros Today
Power washing offers an amazing number of benefits. If you want to experience them and give your home a facelift, give our team a call today. We have over two decades of experience and know exactly how to get the best results on every type of surface, from exterior walls to decking and paving.
Contact our pressure washing team today on (631) 421-2295 to get an estimate and arrange an appointment.