UNDER PRESSURE PROS AND CONS OF PRESSURE-WASHING YOUR HOME
Bolstering Your Curb Appeal
If you’ve ever used a pressure washer before, then you know that blasting away years of dirt, grime, and mildew from surfaces with highly pressurized streams of water is one of the most satisfying home projects of all time. Stains that would have taken hours, days, or even weeks of backbreaking scrubbing to remove disappear with ease when you have a pressure washer. Typically, 1,200–1,500 psi (pounds per square inch, the metric for pressure level) is a good setting for pressure-washing your home. Another method would be to “soft-wash” your home by spraying surfaces with a soapy solution before spraying them down with water at a much lower psi.
ON A BUDGET
As spring approaches, so does homebuying season. Homebuyers are most active in the month of May, so with the arrival of some warmer weather, now is the perfect time to update your home’s curb appeal if you plan on selling — or if you just want your home to look nice for the neighbors. That said, not everyone has a large budget for boosting their home’s curb appeal — but luckily, with these tips, a big budget won’t be necessary.
Clean up your lawn and flowerbeds.
Weeding, mowing, and planting might seem like no-brainers for sprucing up the front yard, but many people understandably avoid doing yard work in cold weather — which means by spring, there’s plenty to do beyond just a quick mow. Remember to clear any dead plants and leaves from the flower beds, edge the lawn, and maybe even spray some nontoxic grass paint on any dead patches in your yard.
Spruce up your front door.
Potential buyers and passersby will undoubtedly notice your front door more than any other part of your exterior. So, you should give it a fresh coat of paint, maybe in a color that tastefully contrasts with the color of the house to really make it pop. You can also garnish your front door with a fun knocker, seasonal wreath, or a nice potted plant with colorful flowers.
But beware: Pressure washers can be harmful in the wrong hands. Inexperienced users risk washing surfaces at too high a pressure, which can cause serious damage on some home surfaces. As fun and easy as it might seem to blast your home with 3,000 psi of water, it’s unlikely your siding, insulation, or even electrical components will like it as much. If the psi is too high on your pressure washer, water can leach into and behind wood siding — painted and unpainted — and cause insulation to mold, plaster to rot, and electric components to fail. Spraying a brick-and-mortar facade at too high a psi can also cause damage, especially on older homes. If the surface you’re spraying has peeling lead paint, using a pressure washer can turn into a health hazard. Aluminum siding and stucco could also be damaged by using too high of water pressure. When you pressure-wash your house, you also risk damaging windows and nearby plants. As a good rule of thumb, only use higher pressures (2,000–3,000 psi) on concrete, stone, and metal surfaces. You can always call a professional to pressure-wash your home the right way, but if you’re dead set on doing it yourself, remember to protect your eyes and any plants you’re fond of and keep your kids out of the way. Above all, don’t use too much pressure on your home to get rid of dirt, grime, and mildew. It might cause more problems than it fixes.
Touch up the exterior.
While your front door might be the focal point, making the rest of your exterior sparkle will definitely boost your curb appeal. While a fresh coat of paint can be costly, you can brighten it up by spraying off any dirt or dust with a hose instead! It also can’t hurt to wash the insides and outsides of the windows so they catch the sun at the right time of day.
Light up the front porch.
For the parts of the day when you can’t rely on the sun to show off your exterior, rely instead on some updated light fixtures. If you have old gold-colored fixtures for your porch lights, consider painting them black. Sometimes, a tasteful set of string lights can make the front porch look more vibrant and inviting, too.
If any of the above tips work for you, you can rest easy knowing none of them will break the bank.
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