How Often Do I Need To Clean My Siding?

Dirty, moldy siding really detracts from a home’s curb appeal and can cause allergy problems for the occupants.

The National Realtors Association in a recent report found that cleaning the exterior of a home before putting it on the market can end up in a sale price up to $10,000.00 to $15,000.00 more than a similar dirty home.

The length of time between siding cleanings will depend on how it was cleaned to begin with and environmental factors at your property.

Hot water low pressure (soft washing) detergent washing completely sterilizes the siding and makes the siding as clean as the day it came out of the box. This type of professional washing will usually last 3 year or more but still depends on the environmental conditions described below.

Soft washing vinyl siding with bleach and soap usually lasts about 2 years depending on the amount of shade and moisture the siding gets and the number of trees and bushes in the area that can throw pollen on the siding.

Vinyl siding cleaning with a power washer using just water to blast off mold, dirt and mildew will last about 6 to 9 months before you have to clean it again. Pressurized water is not a good cleaner and there will still be microscopic mold spores left on the siding, which will grow back very quickly.

Here is a list of the factors that will come into play in determining your siding clean schedule:

Environment- Where is your house located?  Is it in the woods with lots of trees nearby which throw off pollen?

Is your house in the shade for a significant portion of the day?

Is your home close to the beach or on the waterfront?

Do you have vinyl, aluminum, painted wood, or stucco?

Do you have landscaping against the house with mulch?

Do you have trees or bushes against the house?

Do you have an irrigation system that sprays the siding when active?

Has there been a lot of rain since the home was last washed?

Do you regularly hose down your siding as some homeowners do?

Each one of these will have an impact on the frequency with which you should have your home cleaned.

A few rules of thumb:

• The more shaded the home has, the more frequently it will need to be cleaned. Algae will grow where there is moisture and there is shade.  Typically, it is the North facing sides of the home that will show the algae growth first as these sides are not normally “dried” by direct sunlight.
• The windier and dirtier the environment, the more often it will need to be cleaned. If your home is located where there is a lot of sand and dirt, the windy days will blow that onto your home and coat your siding.  This will create a bed for the algal growth to occur.
• Wet weather means more moisture on your siding, and the parts of the home that don’t get direct sunlight to dry this out will experience algae. Just take a drive around your neighborhood and look at the siding on the homes.  Then look at what direction the dirty siding faces, which is typically north and northwest.

Every home is unique, and each setting is unique.  Every homeowner will take care of their homes in a different way, as noted above.

We treat every home we clean like it was our own. It’s the little things like taping or covering all your electrical outlets, garage door openers, cameras and outdoor speakers that set us apart from the others.  Our friendly, highly trained, skilled, professional technicians use the latest in hot water equipment with detergents made specifically for house washing to ensure your job is done right the first time.

We have a 99.8% on time record and at the writing of this blog, we have not had a team member miss a day of work in over 2 years! Happy team members that love their jobs, love our clients and want to clean your home right the first time is why 95,000 homeowners like you have use our services in the last 30 years.

If you’d like a free no obligation estimate, give us a call at 732-775-1242 and we’ll have one of our friendly Customer Care Specialists meet with you to go over your needs.

Your home may not be brand new, but we’ll make it look like it is!