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Is it
really necessary to wash my house? |
Yes, even though
vinyl siding is considered low maintenance, it still needs attention from time
to time. Mildew, mold and carbon can take years off the life of your siding, and
to mention, dirty siding takes away from the appearance of your home.
Most of our
customers have stated that they "didn't realize just how dirty their home was
until we washed it".
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Isn't it
better to use heated water when washing my house? |
Not necessarily.
Heat does clean better in many applications and although we are capable of
cleaning with heated water, we do not recommend it because most vinyl siding
begins to distort and discolor at temperatures around 160-165 F. Most pressure
washing machines heat water to 195-210 F which would damage the siding.
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Is it safe
to pressure wash vinyl siding? I heard it would damage my siding or cause
damage to the surface behind it. |
Yes. It is safe to
use a pressure washer on vinyl siding. Don't be mislead by the word "pressure".
Even though we use "pressure" or "power" washers, we use low pressure to clean
with. In most instances, it is not more than what would come from a typical
garden hose except for the fact that our pumps allow us to deliver the stream of
water in a more precise pattern and direction.
We do however
caution you that, in the hands of someone not trained in using high pressure
capable machines, there is always the possibility of damage to occur. You should
always ask how the house will be cleaned and inquire about insurance in the case
that something were to happen.
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Will the
chemicals damage my plants or lawn? |
No. We use
biodegradable chemicals that will not harm plants and like we mentioned above,
we do not use heat which will damage plants and leave burn marks on your lawn
where the pressure hoses lay for an extended period. Although, most damage is
not permanent and the grass will grow back, these are things that some
contractors will not tell you until after the damage is done.
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How often
should I clean my home? |
That depends on
several variables such as the type of siding, the vegetation surrounding the
home, manufacturers recommendations and personal preference. Mildew tends to
return quicker in areas with dense vegetation and homes surrounding industrial
and construction areas will get dirtier quicker. In most cases bi-yearly is
sufficient. Rarely will you need to clean your home more than once each
year.
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Can you get
the all the stains out of my driveway? |
Honestly, no, and
any contractor that tells you they can is not being truthful. There are
products available to cover oil spots and do an excellent job at making the
concrete look bright and new again, however these products are not permanent and
wear away with time to reveal the oil spots once again, as well as being very
expensive to apply. We can lighten the spots to a certain degree depending on
how old the stains are. The older a stain is, the deeper it penetrates the
concrete and the harder it is to remove.
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Can you
remove the leaf stains from my driveway? |
Yes. In fact, this
is something you can do yourself. While it is much better to clean the entire
driveway, once we get it clean, the leaves continue to fall and re-stain the
concrete. When this happens, you can simply take a pump-up type garden sprayer
available at any home center, fill it with 4 parts water and 1 part bleach and
spray the leaf stains. They will "magically" disappear within a few minutes.
