Sometimes your porch and driveway need some GOOD PRESSURE CLEANING. The daily activities of life combined with the power of nature can leave even the most beautiful deck, porch or driveway looking worn and weathered. As debris collects on the surface, the minerals and damaging dirt can cause concrete, wood, or other common manufacturing materials to degrade. The best aid for an unsightly driveway or porch is a good, strong power washing.
The Benefits Of Power Washing
- Clean and brighten the deck boards or driveway concrete or asphalt
- Your home will have that clean and sanitized feeling inside and out
- Plants that have begun to grow up through the ground or deck will be sprayed away
- Years of stains and spills will be removed from driveways and other walkway
- You can prepare your deck or patio for painting or staining
Branico Construction, INC. Porches & Decks Chicago offers you professional cleaning, renewing and sealing a wood deck or porch.
Should You Power Wash Your Home Yourself?
We get it – the champion “do-it-yourself”-er inside of you is ready to head down to the home improvement store and pick up the latest in power washing equipment and take it home to conquer the mess yourself. Yet, power washing is far different – and possibly more dangerous – than a simple hose-off after a mow. With a unique mix of cleaning supplies necessary to truly clean a deck or patio well must be purchased with your home in mind to avoid damage to the materials. You also need the proper washer, hoses, and know-how to utilize them all. When it comes to power washing, improper knowledge and use can lead to damage or injury.
The Nightmare Scenario
Want to hear a story we get often at Branico Construction, INC? It’s always the same: Imagine that you bring home that powerful rental washer from the home improvement store. You connect the high-pressure hose, connect the spray gun to the end of the hose, and head over to turn on the water. As water rushes toward the machine, the washer roars from silence and delivers the power needed to spray the water.
You grab the hose, point the spray nozzle toward your deck, and pull the trigger. The jet fires to life, and water shoots at a surprisingly high rate of speed toward your deck. After the initial moment of shock as to the power of the washer, you get the feel for the process, spraying back and forth across your deck and watching years of dirt and grime was away. Feeling proud of your work, you turn off the hose, turn off the water, and stand back to inspect your work.
To your horror, you see that not only did you wash away the unsightly dirt from your deck, but also the top quarter inch of the wood. Lines criss-cross the deck, and you’ve created an unexpected engraving pattern across the deck wood from your power washing. You’ve only just begun to feel how deep the wounds go when your spouse comes out and begins to scream.
How Do You Power Wash A Deck or Driveway Safely?
At Branico Construction, INC, we get all kinds of questions when it comes to driveway and deck or patio care and maintenance. When it comes to cleaning, we often receive queries from confused homeowners about how to power wash properly. Outside of encouraging them to hire an expert team of deck cleaners, we are happy to offer our insights as to the best practices for power washing a deck or driveway. For any kind of home care or maintenance, the best offense is a good defense. Ensure the long life of your deck or driveway by building a routine of care that keeps the driveway or deck looking as good as the first day it was installed. This routine of care will save you time, money, and headache in the days ahead.
Getting To Know A Power Washer
Pressure or power washing is a far different style of cleaning than a simple hose-off. Typically, power washing machines will recommend around 1,500 pounds per square inch (PSI) of spraying power to clean off the deck or driveway without damaging the material underneath.
This level of PSI will ensure that you clean any kind of dirt, grime, or stain from any surface without leaving damage marks after cleaning. The power washer is built to be an incredibly powerful machine, requiring the user to simply point-and-aim in order to clean effectively. However, it’s not simply water that is used with a power washer. Most come equipped to utilize cleaning materials as well, adding a chemical element to the high-powered spray.
The Best Power Washer Cleaning Solutions
There are many options when it comes to cleaners to use with your power washer. Many cleaners are basic cleaning detergents, some contain bleach, and others are complex combinations of cleaning chemicals that offer a deep clean for nearly any wood surface. While you can power wash a driveway or patio without cleaning products, adding these cleaners will help ensure a deep and lasting clean, as well as sanitize surfaces from unwanted contagions. No matter what you choose to use, it is important to read and understand the cleaner, the proper way to use it, and any manufacturer warnings regarding use on particular surfaces. The power washer will partner with the cleaning products to ensure that the dirt and grime washes away cleanly.
Tools Outside Of The Power Washer
Proper Power Washing Methodology
You may not realize this, but there are proper ways to power wash a surface. When you begin, you will want to make sure to engage the trigger while pointing the hose away from the surface, as well as anything else you don’t want to get hit by the high-pressure stream. Once engaged, you will see a fan of water emerge from the tip of the hose that is rated in degrees. The angle of the fan varies depending on your power washer’s settings. Zero degrees will offer a simple stream of water. 40 to 60 degrees of tip size is the recommended standard for cleaning a deck or driveway, as this will do the best clean without causing damage to the surface. Once you are ready, it’s time to start using your favorite power washing method, listed below:
Sweeping
Feathering
Long Sweep
The Final Inspection
After you have completed the cleaning of your deck or driveway, it’s time to put away the equipment properly and allow the surface to dry. This will allow you to look over the surface, make note of any missed sections, and see if there are any spots that you may have damaged with the power washer. You should see no lap marks, raised fibers, or lines grooved into the surface. Now, sit back and enjoy a great power washing job done!