Halls Quality Painting

It’s very important to get your home ready before having it painted, and we want to help you get ready here at Halls Quality Painting. Having a clean exterior makes all the difference when making your home look its best. Don’t leave the attractiveness of your home up to chance! This helpful guide will tell you everything you need to know about having your home pressure washed, and it will get you prepared for your next home makeover in Fernandina Beach, FL!

What’s the Point Of Hiring a Pressure Washing Service?

Keeping a clean home has lots of benefits, and pressure washing throughout the year is the best way to clean your house’s exterior. Hiring a professional crew will remove lots of debris that you might not know are there. The dirt easily builds up on outside walls, and those thin layers of dust stick to every type of material. Tiny particles can ruin a new coat of paint right away, or it could cause peeling later on. Foreign matter can get trapped underneath the paint, too. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to freshening the exterior of your home. That’s why you should always make sure to give your paint coating a completely clean surface to adhere to properly.

When Should I Do It, And How Long Does It Take to Dry?

You can have a pressure washing service done at virtually anytime throughout the year. It doesn’t even matter if it’s raining outside, and rainy days might be the best time to pressure wash concrete surfaces. You pretty much only have to worry about rescheduling a cleaning in the worst weather conditions. If there’s a lightning storm going on, then you’ve got a decent excuse to wait things out another day. Winter weather might slow down the process, but you’ll almost always be able to find time to have your home properly rinsed in any season.

The only thing you should be concerned about is drying time. Your exterior has to be dry before the exterior painting process can start, and different areas of your home will take longer to dry than others. The humidity on your property is the biggest factor when judging how long you’ll need to wait before exterior painting. It usually takes a minimum of at least two days in sunny conditions, and it can take several days longer in humid areas. 

How Do I Know If My Home Is Still Too Wet?

If you’re unsure about your home being dry enough, then you can do a simple test for yourself. A great way to tell if a surface is dried is by using a piece of cellophane plastic. Plastic wrap from the supermarket works great. Just cut about a foot of plastic, and tape it to the surface you’re unsure about. Make sure you put tape all the way around the plastic to stop any airflow under it. If you don’t see any moisture building up on the plastic, then you’re ready to go!

What Should Be Pressure Washed Before Painting?

You’ll preferably want to wash as much of the exterior of your home as possible. That includes cleaning the roof, and you should also plan to clean any brickwork under your exterior walls as well. It helps reduce the possibility of foreign debris coming loose from those areas of your home, and that makes it less likely for the new paint to get dirty while drying. Here are the main areas you’ll want to make sure are thoroughly cleaned.

Clean Your Gutters

Your gutters are a good place to start when preparing your home for new paint. One strong gust of wind could send dirt flying from your gutters onto the wet paint. You don’t want any of those nasty particles flying onto freshly painted surfaces. Clogged draining spouts can also cause damage to your house over time through water exposure. It’s a smart idea to get your gutter serviced just to make sure everything goes smoothly when your team of exterior painting contractors arrives.

Pressure Washing Soffits

Your soffits should be rinsed off right after cleaning the gutters. A professional pressure washing service contractor will know to work their way down from the highest points of your exterior walls. The areas inside soffits are notorious for being home to all sorts of invasive insects. Overhanging eaves are a favorite nesting place for birds, too. That’ll be one less source for debris to fall from when the exterior painting contractors are putting on that first coat.

Power Wash Your Exterior Walls Next

Walls are the next step after getting all of the overhangs. The best method is to start from a top corner while moving across in a horizontal line. That will make sure that all the built-up grime comes off. If you’re pressure washing siding, then you should pay extra attention to the bottom edges. Most of the stuck-on dirt will be closer to the ground. Look out for any visible nails that could be sunken into the exterior wall because this can be an indicator of moisture damage. If you notice that the siding has swelled from water exposure, then pressure washing can cause further damage that might not be repairable. You’ve got to pay very close attention when pressure washing. That’s one very important reason you should consider having a professional do it for you.

Prepare Your Exterior Windows for Paint

Lots of homeowners forget about the importance of window maintenance. You should have your windows properly cleaned during the pressure washing process, too. Months of buildup can harm your windows, and you might as well handle that while you’re at it. We recommend you stay at least four feet away from the window when spraying to avoid doing any damage to wood surfaces. If you are using a red-colored spray tip, then you should move even further back. You don’t want to create any etching in the wood before having it painted.

Pressure Washing Should be Done Before Scraping

It’s always more convenient to get your pressure washing completed a few days before any paint scraping is done. It lets the old paint dry properly, and the cleaning breaks off any loose materials. It’s much easier to clean when the surface isn’t gummy from being wet, too. Any paint that isn’t adhering to the house needs to be scraped, but you don’t need to have all of the previous paint removed. Pressure washing will help the painter pinpoint areas where the paint is cracking or blistering. It definitely speeds up the preparation time. 

What Should I Do After It’s Dry and Scraped?

A high-quality bonding exterior primer needs to be applied to bare wood surfaces after the exterior has completely dried from pressure washing. That makes sure that premium paint will hold properly to the wall.

Pressure Washing Can Clean Your Concrete, Too

Don’t forget that your concrete plays a big part in the overall aesthetic appeal of your home. It’s all about the presentation when making your home look its best. All it takes is a quick cleaning from the driveway to your patio, and it can enhance the perspective beauty of your home.

Should I Pressure Wash My Own Home?

It takes a lot of skill to pressure wash a home in a reasonable amount of time, so it might be a little more daunting than you think. That’s especially true if you don’t own the equipment already. Some of those specialized machines can be very expensive, and the cheaper versions don’t get the job done correctly. The worst part is that high-pressure water can injure you, and it can cause damage to your house. The best option for most homeowners is to let an experienced company handle it to ensure the job gets done right the first time around.

Halls Quality Painting of Fernandina Beach FL: Satisfaction Guaranteed, Licensed, And Insured

If you have any questions, then we’d be glad to help. Just give us a call and let us know what we can do for you!