3 Ways To Care For Your Home Exterior

If you're a homeowner it's important for your curb appeal and your home value to keep the exterior looking great - we tell you 3 ways to care for your home exterior below:

Ways To Care For Your Home Exterior: Pressure Washing

Pressure washing is a versatile and excellent way to keep your home clean and polished.  There are multiple uses for a pressure washer. WindowGenie.com explains the benefits of pressure washing:

"Pressure washing is easy for everyone.

Conventional cleaning tasks typically require a lot of time, energy, and elbow grease. With pressure washing, there is no need to scrub and strain to unsettle stubborn debris. Save your back and joints the effort. Pressure washers let you maintain a strong upright posture and direct the force of the water towards unwelcome stains. The set-up required for a pressure washing treatmentis also quite simple, involving about as many steps as it would require to find soap, sponges, and fill a bucket. Simply affix a water hose to the pressure washer unit, and either plug it in or add fuel to its power source to begin.

Pressure washing saves serious time.

Compared to regular cleaning methods, pressure-washing is an anti-bacteria blitzkrieg. When you invest in a professional pressure washing, you are cutting out the need to gather materials, prepare a cleaning solution of appropriate strength, and undergo a rigorous half-day or more of scrubbing. Pressure washing eliminates the need for time-consuming ladder work, allowing you to simply point the nozzle towards hard-to-reach areas.

Pressure washing keeps your family safe.

Your home houses more than family. On decks, exterior walls, and sidewalks you will find a number of unique contaminants, varying in severity from dirt to harmful mold. Pressure washing blasts these potentially harmful substances away, keeping your family breathing the purest air possible. Pressure washing away algae or other slippery substances also minimizes your family’s risk of slips or falls at home. Furthermore, regular pressure washing treatments are considered part of an overall preventative maintenance effort that can keep your home safe and in-shape. Keeping your home clean hinders the premature decay of your porch, driveway, or deck, improving safety outcomes.

Pressure washing boosts curb appeal.

When realty agents are asked by motivated sellers how they can distinguish their homes from countless other listing competitors, they often reply that increasing curb value is an effort well-invested. Curb appeal allows your home to stand out from other home listings, and will draw in many more interested buyers when it comes time to host a viewing. Many of the actions taken to improve curb appeal can be completed faster and more thoroughly using a pressure washer. Boosting curb appeal is often done by shaping up the condition of the driveway and bordering sidewalks, or by cleaning unattractive mildew off of the home’s exterior. Pressure washing can take care of all of these tasks in a breeze, preserving your time and energy for more pressing issues faced when entering in to an unruly realty market!

Pressure washing is easy on the environment.

Heavy-duty cleaning is commonly associated with the application of harmful chemical cleaners. These cleaning solutions can be very effective, but typically enact a heavy toll on the environment. Pressure washing does not introduce any harmful chemicals into the environment. Pressure washers work by blasting water at high velocity, and the power of this water stream is often sufficient to lift stains and mildew without the need for harmful chemicals.

Pressure washers also use less water when compared to the amount used by a garden hose tackling the same kind of job. The amount of force applied by pressure washers means that much less water will be needed overall, with some estimates suggesting that as much as 75% of water is saved using pressure washing. This is because a pressure washer expels water at roughly 50 times the force of a garden hose. This allows the smallest amount of water to be granted the greatest amount of cleaning power."

Ways To Care For Your Home Exterior: Windows

Exterior windows can be annoying to clean.  Luckily, Bobvila.com details a great guide on how to clean outdoor windows like a pro:

"How to clean windows outside:

• Outside windows typically have more dirt and stains. Start by rinsing the windows with the hose, then fill a bucket with clean, cool water and add a few drops of liquid dish soap.

• Using a soft microfiber cloth, go over the surface of the window. For higher windows, use a sponge mop (or a soft cotton or microfiber mop) on a pole.

• Rinse thoroughly with the hose.

• Spray or mop with the vinegar and water solution or with a commercial cleanser.

• Wipe the window dry using a clean, rubber-bladed squeegee. Angle the squeegee towards the bottom of the window and work from top to bottom. Wipe the squeegee with a clean, dry towel at the bottom of each pass. Alternatively, you can use a clean, lint-free towel or newspaper pages to dry the windows.

• For stubborn dirt and stains, including bird droppings, saturate thoroughly with vinegar and water and let stand for several minutes before drying. You can also try rubbing with a soft “scrubbie” sponge, but do not use steel wool or harsh scrubbing cloths; these will scratch the window.

• Don’t neglect the window screens. Rinse with plain water, spray with a vinegar and water solution, then rinse again with plain water. Let dry thoroughly before replacing the screens on the windows.

Sometimes windows will be stained with mineral deposits, particularly in areas with hard water. There are several methods for how to clean windows like these. For instance, commercial cleansers can be used on these stains, including CLR, which removes calcium, lime, and rust stains. Follow the manufacturer directions when using these products."

Ways To Care For Your Home Exterior: Paint

One way to keep your exterior looking fresh and classy is great paint. You may not plan on painting your home for awhile if it's a new home.  However, How Stuff Works says it may be even sooner than you think:

"Some professionals will tell you you'll need to repaint the exterior of your home in as little as 4 to 6 years to keep it looking good; others will give you as many as 15 years before the work needs to be done. Painting your home can cost a pretty penny, so just how accurate are those estimates? Low or high, they may all be true. While many homes may not need to be repainted more than once a decade, you're (probably) not being given bunk advice if yours seems to need it in half that time. So what gives?

How often you need to repaint the exterior of your home depends on a few variables: where you live, the type of materials your house is made with, and the quality of the materials you use for the project. Let's talk about that all-important location first.

Depending on where in the world you live, the exterior paint on your home will have different needs. Coastal homes, for instance, endure intense sun, salty sea air and sand, and exposure to those elements means you'll probably need a lot more exterior upkeep on your home. A home on the beach may need to be repainted as often as every year. But homes in Massachusetts, for instance, don't have to contend with the environment. New England and mid-Atlantic homes sweat out the humid summers but also endure cold winters, and with that kind of climate a home will probably need repainting about every five to seven years [source: Amazing Painting Company]."

We hope these 3 ways to care for your home exterior come in handy as you maintain and improve your property! 

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