Protecting Your Property Value can mean a specialized deck and porch cleaning. Keeping your property value up is vital to protecting your finances. If you’re like most Americans, your home is your largest and most valuable investment. Keeping your property value up is vital to protecting your finances, just like routine maintenance protects its structural integrity.
The value of your property is more than the number of closets and the size of your kitchens, though. Wood decks can be a highly valuable long-term asset playing an important role in your overall property value, but only if they’re cared for properly. A naturally porous material, wood can and will rot with unprotected exposure to the elements. Professional cleaning can help.
Why Does Wood Need Special Cleaning?
The wood floors in your home require a different kind of maintenance than tile or carpet; your wooden decks and porches are no exception. Where sealed concrete surfaces can require little more than cleaning on occasion to keep lichen and organic debris at bay, wood is far more delicate. The only time you should use high-pressure cleaning on wooden surfaces, for instance, is to remove paint, old stain, or grayed-out wood fibers. Even then, pressure washing should be done with extreme care by a knowledgeable professional to avoid serious and irreversible damage to the wood’s integrity.
Because wood is naturally porous, it can harbor a host of organic surface contaminants like mold, mildew, dirt, and algae. Removing these stains, discolorations and organic films requires expert use of specialized cleansers and detergents in conjunction with higher water volume and lower water pressure.
Why You Shouldn’t Use a Pressure Washer for Wood Decks and Porches
There are a limited number of situations in which a pressure washing machine is an appropriate tool for the job of cleaning your deck or porch. Because wood is particularly vulnerable to the blistering force of pressure washing, it is quite easy to gouge or splinter the wood accidentally. This is a concern any time but is a particular worry as lumber prices continue to hover near all-time highs. You want to preserve and protect what you already have, not invest a small fortune into repairing accidental damage.
Wood isn’t the only thing you can damage with a pressure washer, either. Any adjacent soft materials, especially PVC, can be permanently marred by inadvertent engraving marks. Composite decking, wood’s more durable and more expensive relative, can also be damaged by high-pressure cleaning methods. In addition to physically chipping the material, pressure washing often voids any warranty that might come with your composite decking.
No matter how thick and intimidating the layer of grime on your wooden surfaces, the pressure washer is almost certainly not the tool for the job.
How Soft Washing Restores and Protects Your Wood Surfaces
Where pressure washing lets high PSI do the heavy lifting, soft power washing relies on expert knowledge regarding solvents, cleansers and detergents. Lifting even the most embedded and stubborn stains can be done with a low-pressure, high-effectiveness soft wash system. Your wooden surfaces are free from surface contaminants, stains and discoloration without sacrificing the lumber itself in the process.
After cleaning, your deck is ready for plenty of outdoor fun. No stains or unsightly discoloration, but just as importantly, no splinters and rough surfaces from high-pressure cleaning. Your decking investment is protected, and these outdoor spaces can remain a long-term asset that drives up your property value, not a liability pulling it lower with every passing season.
If you’re ready to remove stains without removing bits of the lumber itself in the process, Carolina Power Wash can help. Expert technicians know exactly how to lift stubborn stains and embedded grime, boosting your curb appeal and the overall value of your property.