How Pressure Washing Aids Paint Prep

No one would believe something good could come from a pandemic, but one has emerged. Since lots of homeowners are working from home, they have more time to take care of said homes. One of the first things homeowners do is touch up the paint.

Numerous homeowners wonder if they should pressure wash the house, deck, fences, pavers, or porch before painting. It looks clean enough at first glance. However, there are things homeowners can’t see that a pressure washer will blast out of existence.

What Will A Pressure Washer Remove?

Stains

These come from many sources. Mold and mildew, for instance, leave stains behind. If homeowners will be prepping surfaces for painting, then removing stains is vital. You don’t want them shining through your new paint job.

Paint

Paint peels away from surfaces after many years of weathering. If homeowners don’t want to chip and scrape away the paint, then pressure washing is the best option. Pressure washing cleans painted surfaces such as siding, brick, decking, outdoor furnishings, fences, painted pavers or brick walkways, and tile or concrete patios.

Mold And Mildew

These are substances that make homeowners quail. It eats away at the substances to which they are attached. It makes people seriously ill. It also means that its entry points into the house should be closed immediately. Cleaning it off brick, siding, concrete, pavers, and roofing only requires a pressure washer with the proper chemicals to remove.

Gutters

This is a job homeowners hate, but it has to be done for the well being and longevity of the structure. A pressure washer with an arm attachment can be used by homeowners standing on the ground instead of on a ladder. Simply aim the arm down the gutter as well as the downspouts to clean them before painting them. Gutters should be cleaned in the spring and fall after the leaves have fallen for the best results.

All these and more cling to surfaces. Paint has a difficult time sticking to these things, so it will begin to peel in less than five years. Clean surfaces give the paint something to hold onto for up to seven years.

Know Your Surfaces

Homeowners will run across both porous and non-porous materials in their quest to paint their houses. Dirt hides in the pores and must be pressure washed to remove before painting. When you paint, paint is absorbed into porous materials so that it looks weak in spots and heavy in others. Porous materials have to be prepped with primer before the paint goes on.

Non-porous materials aren’t so difficult to handle. Simply pressure wash them and then prime them for painting. Things like metal and plastics have nothing for the paint to which to cling, so the item must be primed with something into which the paint can sink its teeth.

Many homeowners prep their boats and sheds before painting. These are good examples of both porous and non-porous materials. Homeowners should know that pressure washing isn’t only for their houses and fences.