How Often to Wash Your Home

Just like your car, your home needs periodic washing. Removing pollen, dirt, bird poo, and other abrasive contaminants on the surface helps prevent wear and tear on the stain (not to mention making it look fresh again, which is always nice).

You certainly don’t need to wash your house as often as your car, though. Twice a year should do the trick. It’s always a good idea to do a wash when you do your semi-annual maintenance checks in the spring and fall. You remove any built-up scum from the winter and summer and know the truth about how your stain is doing. Sometimes, dirt and pollen build up can look just like sunburned stain on the upper curve of the log. A good wash will reveal the truth.

I always recommend using a gentle sodium percarbonate (oxygenated bleach, like Sashco’s CPR®) or phosphoric acid cleaner (commonly found in the flooring section of hardware stores). They’re both gentle cleaners that do a good job cleaning without damaging your stain. Mix at the mildest strength to start with, making it stronger as necessary. Use a garden pump sprayer to apply the cleaner and a gentle, scratch-resistant brush, like the kind you might use on your car, to get at any stubborn areas. You may want to get a brush with an extender pole for hard-to-reach areas. Keep the area wet with cleaner solution for no longer than 10-15 minutes. Apply bottom to top, then rinse thoroughly from the top down. A garden hose with a spray head attachment will do the trick. You’ll want to work in small areas to avoid allowing the cleaner to dry. If it dries, it’s harsher on your stain. And I better repeat it: rinse thoroughly! You want to get all of that cleaner off. If you have plants around, plan to cover leaves and blooms with plastic sheeting. Rinse the dirt afterwards to thoroughly dilute any cleaner that goes in to prevent damage to plants. If you’re concerned about any water making its way to the interior of the home, station someone inside to catch any drips.

A couple washes each year will help keep your stain in tip-top shape. Might we suggest hiring someone to clean the interior of your home, too, and then hosting your barbeque the weekend after? What better time to show off your little slice of heaven than when it’s freshly cleaned? (Or, if you’re like me, schedule the barbeque and use that as your motivation to get this work done!)

Happy cleaning!

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