How often should I have my home pressure washed, my gutters cleaned, and my roof cleaned?
You should have your home pressure washed every one to two years as needed. Things to look for are green and black mold growing on the side of your home. Make sure you check out the water stains on your gutters and the black streaks that may appear on your roof. You don’t want to allow the mold to grow behind your siding into your home, or to have the moss growing on your roof under the shingles. Once it grows behind your siding it will start to release spores into your insulation and your home. If you allow it to grow under your shingles, it will start to destroy your roof by separating the shingles and allow the rain to slip through the cracks resulting in water damage in your home. Areas more prone to mold and moss damage are shaded areas and the north side of your home.
You should have your gutters cleaned if they are clogged, and it’s easier if you have it done a few times a year. When they are clogged, water will spill over the sides, and not to the designated areas where the gutters are set up to release it. Over time that can cause problems with your foundation and basement, which can all be avoided by having your gutters cleaned regularly. During the winter, if your gutters are clogged, it can assist in the formation of Ice Dams. Ice Dams are sheets of ice and snow that build up on your roof and can be very dangerous. The clogged gutters will help keep the snow up on your roof nicely and the heat rising from your home will melt it slightly. The wind and cold will then refreeze the water and turn it into a firm snowy icy mixture that becomes very heavy. The more snow and ice it accumulates, the more dangerous it becomes. It can then break off and slide off your roof, seriously injuring or killing anyone underneath it, or damage and break anything that you may have underneath it. We can clean your gutters to help Ice Dams not form, but we can also remove the Ice Dam by safely melting it away.
The best advice I have, is to stay on top of the exterior maintenance of your home. Do it yourself or have Pressure Brothers safely do the Pressure Washing, Gutter Cleaning, and Roof Cleaning your home needs. I do not suggest to try removing the Ice Dams on your own, it is a dangerous process that should be left up to the professionals with the proper equipment.