$$ Saving Maintenance
What can you do to extend your exterior cleaning job and keep your house looking good in between professional cleanings?
As exterior surface cleaning contractors we clean numerous properties on a repetitive basis. Over the years we have made observations as to what property owners can do to "help" keep their properties clean in between professional cleanings.
1. Try to establish where your cleaning problems are coming from and once you establish this; are these factors controllable? Sometimes something as simple as adjusting sprinklers or fixing a leaky gutter will make a huge improvement.
2. Keep bushes, branches trimmed back to allow airflow around the property. Bushes and foliage hold and transmit moisture to adjacent surfaces and block airflow. Moisture on surfaces will cause cleaning and maintenance issues.
3. Make sure your gutters are in good working order and have no leaky seams or blockages. This can cause staining, water damage, mildew and insect problems. Also make sure downspouts drain into dry wells or divert far enough away from your foundation to avoid moisture problems.
4. Avoid storing "things" against your home or any structure, especially anything that will absorb and hold moisture. Wood piles, junk, etc laid against siding will transmit moisture, stop airflow and may allow insects to attack sidings.
5. Install exterior light bulbs designed not to attract "flying bugs and moths". Many properties experience terrible problems with spider nests and this is normally a direct result of the attraction of flying insects to your property. Reducing the flying insects will cause spiders to go to better feeding grounds.
6. If your lot is extremely shady, you may want to trim the trees surrounding your residence to allow more light to get to the surfaces. This can help reduce moisture and keep surfaces drier.
7. Fix roof leaks and keep debris out of valleys and from against dormers or gables. Removing trapped sticks and leaves against the side of a dormer will keep moisture away from siding and reduce roof staining.
8. Avoid barbecuing close to siding or under areas with overhangs. Also, make sure to use a barbecue grill mat if you grill on your deck or patio. Besides damaging your siding you can severely stain areas with soot if you are too close
9. Keep decks, walkways and patios from accumulating leaves, sticks, pollen, etc., by blowing with your yard blower when doing lawn maintenance. Leaves will get wet and transmit moisture to host surface. Also, you will reduce tannin staining.
10. Rinse down covered areas like farmers porches with a garden hose to remove built up dirt and pollen. Covered areas tend to accumulate a lot of dirt and are not self washed by rainwater so periodic hose downs are useful.
11. Avoid spraying bug spray on sidings, especially vinyl. I can't tell you how many houses have yellowish or burnt orange colored stains around light fixtures as a result of homeowners spraying at bugs. Once this stain sets in the vinyl cleaning will not remove it.
