Pressure washing offers a great way to clean the outside of your home or business, as well as the concrete surfaces of your landscape. However, a pressure-washing application typically looks much easier than it actually is. As a result, a homeowner’s attempts at do-it-yourself pressure washing can end in costly errors. Here are a few of the common mistakes that often occur during DIY pressure washing:
Too much pressure is applied during the cleaning.
Pressure washing is a powerful application. However, when done correctly, it does not damage the surface that is being cleaned. One mistake that is frequently made when a do-it-yourselfer pressure washes is the use of too much pressure.
If the pressure of the washer is set too high, the cleaning process can result in property damages, such as deeply etched home siding panels and missing chunks of deck boards. The repairs needed to fix these damages can be expensive.
Professional technicians understand how to match the proper setting to the cleaning job. In addition, they know that there must be an appropriate distance between the water output and the surface being cleaned.
The cleaning solution is omitted.
Water alone is great for rinsing, but for cleaning projects that involve pressure washing, an appropriate cleaning solution is often needed. The cleaner increases the efficiency of the washing process significantly.
At times, a homeowner who fails to add a cleaning product to the washing solution may try to compensate for the poor cleaning results by turning up the pressure of the equipment. This can lead to property damages without increasing the effectiveness of the cleaning.
Additionally, water alone is not designed to kill mold. Instead, it simply redistributes it over the surface. Mold-related repairs can be quite costly.
The proper cleaning order is neglected.
If you are inexperienced at pressure washing, you may not realize that there is a proper order to cleaning a home’s exterior. By washing the windows before you wash the siding of a home, you can undo your hard work, spreading grime from the siding back onto the windows as you clean. As a result, you waste cleaning solution and time.
The wrong equipment is used for the job.
A good quality pressure washer is needed to perform a washing application. However, many homeowners do not know what type of equipment is best for their project. As a result, money can be wasted trying out equipment or receiving less-than-optimal first-time results.
The right safety precautions are not observed.
Professionals understand the need to wear the proper protective gear as they operate a pressure washer. However, do-it-yourselfers may jeopardize their safety by failing to don protective eyewear, boots, gloves and long sleeves during the operation of the equipment. In addition, while operating the pressure washer, a homeowner may not understand the effects of the wind on the direction of the spray. The treatment of a resulting injury can be quite expensive.
If you do not have extensive training and experience in pressure washing, we highly recommend contacting a pressure washing professional to do the best job with the best equipment for you. Contact us today!
