A pressure or power washer uses water under high pressure to strip away grime on all sorts of surfaces. Sometimes you can combine bleach or other cleaning agents, but we find that water is all we need for most tasks.
Power washing a roof can be daunting and dangerous. Unless you work well with heights, we suggest that you hire someone to do the work for you. If you choose to take it on yourself, wear rubber-soled boots and use a safety harness securely anchored to the opposite side of the roof and your waist.
After the spray-down, your gutters will probably be filled with all sorts of muck from the roof. Since a power washer may be too powerful for this tight area, we suggest that you use a garden trowel along with a garden hose to thoroughly clean the gutters and downspouts. Use the garden hose as a snake to flush downspouts and drain pipes.
Next, move on to cleaning eaves, soffits, siding, windows and trim to remove grit, grime, spider webs and wasps nests. Work from the bottom up to prevent potential streaking and staining.
A pressure washing with water is all that will be needed for most siding. Vinyl siding may require a bit of detergent and water and some scrubbing with a nylon truck brush to remove oxidation or staining. Then rinse thoroughly. We like to leave the window screens in place for ease of cleaning and then, once clean, remove them to clean windows and frames.
Move on to power wash porches, patios, paths, decks, barbecues, outdoor furniture and other finishes that could benefit from a good cleaning.
For tips from James and Morris Carey, visit their Web site at www.onthehouse.com or call the 24/7 listener hot line, 800-737-2474.
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