4 Reasons to Have Your House Power Washed by a Professional

First let me begin by saying that I am as frugal as you can get. Cheap would be the term my husband and sons would say. It doesn’t matter what they say because I want more bang for my buck and I want great service and results. I have not paid anyone to power wash my house because I had a bad experience so I had it in the back of my mind that I was not going to waste money again.

So a few years ago at a garage sale I bought an electric pressure washer for $20 and I was thrilled. I could wash the deck and the 1st story of my 2nd story house but that was it. Every time I looked up I could see how dirty my house really was. Sure I bought all that deck and house wash but none of it worked well. Plus I have a 2 story and it is impossible to get to the dentil molding and the gutters and so I kept telling my husband “one day you will have to help me on the ladder pressure wash the 2nd story”. That day never came…

I am embarrassed to say this and by the pictures you can see it was pretty bad. I would drive up and sigh as the house looked dull and dirty. Money has been tight but it should not have been an excuse because when you let mold, mildew, and dirt sit on the paint it can deteriorate your home’s exterior.

So here are the 4 reasons you should have your house professionally power washed:

Your house will look amazing and have so much more curb appeal.
A clean home is a happy home because the mold, mildew, and dirt will not be destroying your home. I also want to add that if your neighbor regularly power washes their house you (and other neighbors who do not wash their houses) inadvertently cause the mold and mildew to float back to the clean neighbor’s house.
Power washing will show you what home repairs and painting you need to do so you can repair any rotted wood and siding before simple repairs turn into major repairs
and this is important-a professional uses low pressure but high volume system with some pretty powerful stuff to get your house clean. A pressure washer can literally rip the paint, siding, and rotted wood right off your house. I know because my little electric one destroyed a windowsill that was rotting.

Hiring a professional is not cheap but it really is not expensive either. If you think of it as a year investment, it will be about $15-20 a month (more or less depending upon your area). I know many people who spend that a week on coffee or wine. I had to think about that too because like I stated earlier- I am a tightwad and I like things to be on sale or clearance. It was not easy to paying $165 but now I tell my husband “what in the hell was I thinking waiting so long?”

You can see from the pictures the difference- I am showing you the flaws and peeling paint and you can see that power washing your home is important so you can see what is hiding under all the dirt, mold, and mildew. When the guy was washing my house and I was at my desk writing, all I could think about is paint flying off and boards disintegrating because that was happening when I used my pressure washer to clean the windows. I also had painted the 2nd coat of paint on the front and side garage door and the 1st coat of DeckOver on the trim so I was nervous. All I could do was imagine the orange paint from the front door in a puddle on the front stoop or that the rest of the windowsill that my power washer had started to rip apart would have fallen off the house. I was making myself sick worrying so after an hour I went outside to peek.

Oh my I was so shocked!

Unlike what I did with my pressure washer, he was gentle and did not rip off any wood and minimal paint flakes. For the next hour I kept going in and out peeking around the corners checking his work. I was amazed and in awe of what my house looked like. Now I want shout to the neighborhood “PLEASE wash your house because that mold and mildew is going to travel back to my house and make it yucky again”. There are places where a silhouette of the green mold on the north side of my house lightly shows. This is why it is important to wash your house at least once a year.

I cannot believe how amazing my house looks. Seriously, my house looks like it was painted (in some spots just do not look at the trim that is peeling off!) Next week with the temps reaching in the 60s and 70s again, I will be painting the trim with Behr’s Deck Over. It is a temporary fix until we can replace all the trim on the house. Anyhow, the neighbors who walk by cannot believe how nice the house looks and they love my new orange door. Lesson learned for me (and I hope for you) that paying a professional can save you time (because you are not spending a day washing your house) and money (because you are not buying all the stuff necessary to do it yourself).

Let me know if you have had any good or bad experiences. I am going to highly recommend A1 Pressure Washing in my area and word of mouth is still the best form of advertising! So make sure to let me know who you trust (or don’t trust) in your area. I cannot stress enough how amazing the house looks and I have not painted it in 8 years!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you check out more on my blog.