Repaint House V.S House Washing

 

Does your house need a new paint job or can a house wash make it look just as good?

Often times a house wash is all that you need. If your house has black and green patches all over the place, then a house wash would make the most sense 99.9% of the time.

As a professional exterior cleaning company providing pressure washing in Austin, you can’t imagine how many,

“WOW! My house looks as if it had a new fresh coat of paint!”

We’ve heard quite a few variations of just that!

We’ll always recommend getting a house wash as the first option before you consider moving forward with repainting your house.

There are several benefits to taking this approach before spending a large investment in painting the entire house right off the bat.

We hope it helps you make the right decisions in a much more strategic way.

 

Washing House Before Painting To Find The Root Of All Your Problems!

When painters are preparing your house to get it repainted, they will completely wash your house down before they apply any paint.

The difference between when a painter washes your house compared to a professional house washing company is how they wash it.

Root Cause #1:

Most painting companies use a pressure washer while a professional exterior cleaning company will use a soft wash method that utilizes soaps and detergent to clean.

“But why does that matter? If it looks clean it’s clean, right?”

Pressure washing the siding can result in the chipping of the paint or puncturing the foundation of the home.

If you’re planning on repairing the home, then the chipping off the old paint wouldn’t matter as much as it would the foundation.

But!

There’s a big difference!

Pressure washing will not eliminate mold, algae, and much other organic matter completely.

Organic matter has small microscopic pores that linger onto the deep layers of your home’s siding.

On a high level, the house looks clean, but the root cause does not go away, and repainting on that surface will eventually bring back organic growth within a year of two depending on the weather conditions.

In the worst cases, the mold and algae can grow underneath the new layer of paint and you’ll never even notice.

Root Cause #2:

Your home may need to be repainted IF the paint is failing to result in oxidation.

Oxidation is often a hidden issue with many painted surfaces.

Oftentimes oxidation may look as if dust is covering up the entire home. But don’t be fooled!

Oxidation can be easily spotted on certain paint colors.

Dark navy blue and darker green siding will oftentimes contrast the dust colors much better than white or lighter tone colors.

What happens when you pressure wash a siding that has oxidation?

At first, the house will look normal as the water creates an illusion that the house has been cleaned.

However, once the water dries off, your siding will look a complete mess! Oxidation, the stuff that looks like dust, will either create

• A drippy look as if your paint is melting off your home.
• Swirls, scribble, and squiggly lines throughout your siding as if a child had drawn it on there.

Here are some examples of what it sort of looks like:

 

How can you detect if the house is Oxidated?

Simply take your index finger and slide it across your siding.

If you see a chalky white spot on the tip of your index finger, it’s most likely oxidated.

Great!

Now you know that it’s oxidated, should you go ahead and repaint your home right away?

It depends as some areas of your home may not be oxidated. And sometimes, it’s actually dirt and dust.

You can opt for a less expensive alternative and have your home washed by a professional house washing & pressure washing company to see what the end result will come out to be.

And if you’ll quickly find out whether or not you have oxidation going on and in which areas of the home.

And with that information, you can hire a painting company to get their recommendation. You won’t have to pressure wash to prep the house for painting and get the process going much quicker.

 

When You Don’t Need Painting You Win By 1000%

When your home is sparkling clean after a proper house wash, it will look as if the house has had a fresh coat of paint done to it.

You’ll also extend the life of your siding and the paint with a proper house wash because the organic matter such as mildew, mold, and algae will not accumulate and wear down the paint and the siding on your home.

Homeowners often make the mistake of waiting until the threat is visible to start addressing the issue.

We recommend having your home wash regularly every year as a proper property maintenance plan.

When it comes to house washing and pressure washing in the beautiful city of Austin, TX give us a call and we’ll get you a free, quickly customized, and tailored estimate specifically for your home.