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The are many advantages to proactively maintaining your home's exterior rather than wait until everything looks dirty. However, deciding what needs to be cleaned outside and how often can be a little confusing.
There is no single exterior cleaning schedule that works for every home. A property surrounded by trees near Lake Murray may need more frequent scheduling than a home in a newer Lexington neighborhood with full sun and less shade.
A good exterior cleaning maintenance plan in Columbia, SC should be built around your property, where it is located, and the specific conditions surrounding it. Rarely is there a one size fits all cleaning schedule.
Start With the Siding
Your siding is one of the largest exterior surfaces on your home, and it is also one of the first places algae, mildew, and discoloration become noticeable.
Many homes benefit from professional washing every six to twelve months, depending on the amount of shade, moisture, and organic growth around the property.
Soft washing is often used for siding because it removes buildup without relying on excessive pressure. This way, your siding is not damaged due to too high of a pressure when being cleaned.
Do Not Forget the Windows
Clean siding can make a home look refreshed, but dirty windows can quickly take away from the final results.
Exterior windows collect pollen, dust, water spots, and other debris throughout the year. Including professional window cleaning in your home's cleaning plan helps keep the glass sparkling clean and allows more natural light into the home.
Additionally, some windows may also develop hard water staining or oxidation, which may require glass restoration rather than routine cleaning. This can be monitored and discussed with your cleaning contractor during service appointments so it does not go unnoticed.
Gutters Need Their Own Schedule
Gutters are easy to forget because much of the buildup happens where you cannot see it. Most homeowners don't make a habit out of climbing onto their roof to examine the conditions.
Leaves, pine needles, and other debris can clog gutters and downspouts, preventing water from flowing away from the home properly. Properties with mature trees throughout Columbia, Lexington, Chapin, and Irmo may need gutter cleaning more frequently than homes with little tree coverage.
Checking them regularly can help prevent a small blockage from becoming a much larger drainage problem. A proactive approach is the best approach to ensuring expensive problems do not pop up due to neglected maintenance.
Concrete and Outdoor Spaces Matter Too
Driveways, sidewalks, patios, decks, and docks all experience different types of wear and tear during their lifetime.
Concrete may develop dark staining or algae, while decks and docks around Lake Murray deal with moisture, shade, and regular exposure to the elements. These surfaces may not require cleaning as often as siding or windows, but they should still be evaluated and treated as necessary as part of the overall maintenance plan.
The goal is not to clean everything simply because the calendar says so. It is to address each area when the property actually needs it.
Your Cleaning Plan Should Fit Your Home
A recurring exterior cleaning plan should make home maintenance easier, not more of a headache.
Crystal Clear Solutions can evaluate your home's siding, windows, gutters, concrete, roofing, and outdoor spaces to determine which services make sense and how often they should be completed. Depending on the property, that may mean a six-month schedule, an annual cleaning, or different services performed at different times of the year. Each property requires its own unique set of services to be maintained.
With more than 30 years of exterior cleaning experience, Crystal Clear Solutions serves homeowners throughout Columbia, Lexington, Chapin, Irmo, Lake Murray, Richland County, and Lexington County.
Instead of waiting until everything needs attention at once, a customized maintenance plan helps you stay ahead of it.
Get used to clean.
To learn more or request an estimate, visit crystalclearsc.com.