When painting your Danville home, is it necessary to power wash your house first? There are some good reasons why pressure washing is a good idea before house painting.
When you pressure wash, it creates a clean surface on which to paint. While you can paint a house without pressure washing first, you will find that the new paint adheres better to a clean surface, which results in a longer-lasting paint job. If you paint without cleaning the surface first, it will last 3-4 years. However, cleaning first will help your house painting to last seven years or more. This is because paint will bond better to a clean surface, and it will be more resistant to weather, wetness, and heat.
When power washing, you will want to rinse from the top down first, with clean water, to knock down large bits of trash or dirt and spider webs or other debris. After that, you will want to add solution to the washer and clean – again from the top down – with the chemicals, followed by another clean water rinse. This will take care of nearly all of the dirt and debris and even some of the loose paint. You will still need to scrape as usual, since it will not take care of all old paint, but there will be less to do.
There are costs involved in pressure washing. You will need to rent a power washer. Since usually one uses a power washer only occasionally – once every few years – it makes more sense to rent than to buy. However, using a pressure washer to clean the house first will save money in the long run by making the paint job last longer. You can choose between a gas-powered or electric-powered machine. While electric should be sufficient for single-story homes in nearly every case, a two-story house would be better served by the more powerful gas-powered power washer, as it can reach the top with enough pressure to get it clean.
The cleaning solution will also cost some. Be sure to choose one that is made for pressure washing, and that is made for houses. You should not ever use bleach in a pressure washer, because it could damage it.
You may have heard that there are dangers to pressure washing. This is true, but they are easily avoided. Etching, which is small cuts made into the side of the house due to the powerful water, can be avoided by standing a little farther away (2 feet to 2 yards, depending on the strength of the spray). The other is injection, or water getting under the siding or through seals, which often cannot hold up to the pressure. This can be avoided by paying attention to the angle at which you are holding the sprayer.
It is up to you whether or not you think it is necessary to power wash before painting Danville homeowners, but it is usually a good idea to do so.