The Best Time to Tackle Sidewalk Cleaning
Power Washing your Sidewalks
It’s finally getting warm again, the snow is gone, and you can finally enjoy the good weather of the months coming ahead, right? Wrong. Well, at least not entirely. Once the low temperatures are gone and you start coming out of your house more often, you will start realizing that cleaning and clearing up outside of your house is the best strategy for you to enjoy this nice weather. Power washing your sidewalks, driveways, and home can make a big difference.
Spring Cleaning
The higher the temperatures and the lighter your mood, the more things you will feel like accomplishing. Among those, getting rid of things (hence the raging spring garage sales) and cleaning your home. In all honesty, nobody wants to clean a house, unless it’s theirs. But it’s part of the responsibility of a homeowner: giving maintenance to a house. And Cincinnati power washing doesn’t just benefit you, but everyone on your block.
Not only is it important to keep the inside of your house clean, but it’s equally important for the backyard and the front lawn. If your house has a garage on the front, this is the part you will want to pay the most attention to. Stains on your garage floor or on the driveway start making your house look uncared for.
Nobody likes to see that
Some of the toughest stains to clean are bird droppings or those of your unpleasant neighbor’s dog. Besides, nobody likes unwelcoming smells from unknown sources on the ground. They can start eroding the brick or leaving permanent stains on the concrete. If they’re somewhere on the grass and you can still pick them up (even if they aren’t your dog’s), do it.
Bird droppings can also be potentially harmful because of the pathogens and microbes they carry. If a good old hose doesn’t do the trick to areas where it’s still stuck to the ground, try testing power cleaning with a pressure washer. If that doesn’t work either, you might want to look into the equipment that Cincinnati is using. They take sidewalk cleaning to a whole other level because of the number of crows in the area. Now that is what I would call power cleaning.
Sidewalk Etiquette
Depending on the weather conditions, it’s recommended to do certain things to keep sidewalks clear and safe for pedestrians. It is the property owner’s responsibility to keep them that way, and not just during the spring. In the wintertime, that means to remove snow and ice to avoid slips and falls. When your garden has been cleaned and mowed, clippings, leaves, and branches from the trees should be removed too. Keeping branches trimmed to keep people from hitting their faces when passing by is also recommended.
It’s common to see a lot of people looking down to their cell phones screens while they walk on sidewalks these days. It’s like they’ve got them stuck to their hands. This causes them to stop paying attention to their path, and while we’re not in a situation of the likes of China yet where accidents might happen in the overcrowded street crossings, we might want to start by keeping the way safe for everyone in all kinds of weather.
- Published in Cincinnati Powerwashing, Deck Cleaning, Exterior Cleaning, Gutter Cleaning, Powerwashing, Pressure Cleaning, Sidewalk Cleaning
3 Great Reasons to Regularly Power Wash Your Driveway
3 Great Reasons to Regularly Power Wash Your Driveway
The last thing you think about when you think of your home is your driveway cleaning or maintenance. Most people in Columbus, Ohio, think of remodeling the home, cleaning the gutters, roofing fixes, painting, chimney repair, or even HVAC repair. The driveway doesn’t even blip on their radar, but it should because it too needs to be kept up. This short guide will inform you of the top three great reasons to regularly perform power washing on your driveway.
- Aesthetics
One of the most important reasons to regularly perform driveway cleaning is for curb appeal. No one wants to have a house that looks in disrepair, especially if you are going to be putting it on the market anytime soon. Even a small item like a non-stained driveway can cause you to get a win over another seller because you had a home for sale that had great curb appeal. If you are staying in your forever home, then it also goes to say that you probably want all of your home to look beautiful, including the driveway. Make sure to perform regular driveway cleaning in your home.
- Remove Natural Microorganisms
Another fantastic reason for performing power washing on your driveway is to eliminate the natural microorganisms that have made your driveway their home usually from the roof. Mold, mildew, algae, and moss not only have the potential of being a health hazard, but they are also ugly to look at. In addition, if left untreated, the organisms become slimy and slippery and can cause you, a friend, a loved one, or a neighbor to fall in your driveway potentially hurting themselves. This is not a great scenario as they could litigate and you may end up paying a load of money. What is better motivation for cleaning your driveway then losing your hard-earned money to something so simple to remedy?
- Prevention of Cracks & Deterioration
The last great reason to regularly power wash your driveway consists of removing stains to prevent future damage. If you leave oil stains, grease, microorganisms, road salt, dirt, or any other contaminant on your concrete slab, you are asking for trouble. Stains can actually weaken the integrity of your driveway and cause it to be more susceptible to cracks, deterioration, and discoloration. The contaminants can build up and cause the concrete to crack in multiple spots as well as start to deteriorate in those weak areas. Power washing on a regular basis helps because it removes the built-up debris, causing your concrete driveway to lessen in the number of contaminants it picks up. This will then cause your driveway to strengthen over time.
As you can see, there are significant reasons to perform driveway cleaning of your home. If you don’t want to or have time to perform power washing on your driveway, call a local handyman or a company that performs power washing. They could give you an estimate, and you could then check the task off your list. If you follow our advice on the top three great reasons to regularly power wash your driveway, you will have the brightest pad on your block!
- Published in Cincinnati Powerwashing, Clogged Gutters, Deck Cleaning, Gutter Cleaning, Powerwashing
Cincinnati Powerwashing Protects your Gutters
Learn how important your gutter is from the top of your house to the bottom and you will never take it for granted again! Cincinnati powerwashing can keep that gutter in top shape to protect your home.
- Published in Cincinnati Powerwashing, Clogged Gutters, Gutter Cleaning, Powerwashing
Time to Freshen up Your Deck
It’s Deck Cleaning Time
There’s nothing quite like enjoying a nice summer day relaxing on your deck with friends and family. That’s why you decided to get it: to spend quality time with those close to you. However, To make your deck fresh like when it was built, you may need a deck cleaning.
When the temperatures drop our good old deck sees a lot less use but a lot more elements of abuse. Winter can be tough on your deck and anything that lives outside. It can leave your deck looking dull and can even damage it. So as soon as winter is gone, here are some things you can do to liven your deck back up and get it ready for summer.
Deck Cleaning 101
Keeping it clean is the first line of defense against the elements. A clean deck is a happy deck. A thorough deck cleaning can keep it not only looking good but can also prevent mold from forming. Also make sure you are cleaning around your deck. Plants around your deck can hold moisture that in time can cause your deck to fill up with mold and possibly lead to rot.
The first thing you can do to keep it clean is to give it a good scrubbing with soap and water. In most cases this is all that’s needed. If you need some additional help, there are some products that can help remove stains, mold, or any other type of buildup.
If you need to take it step further, power washing is a great option. It can reach places that are very hard to get to just with a garden hose and brush. The one thing to keep an eye out is that it can also strip off some of the finish from your deck. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, as long as you plan on re-treating your wood.
Seal the Deal
After cleaning your deck, you might notice that it looks better but not quite as you remember it. That’s because finish on the wood might have started to break down. This is normal, especially if you went the power washing route to clean it up.
Refinishing the wood is a fairly simple thing to do. Start by giving it a light sanding and apply either a dye or a sealer. Some sealers include a dye if you wish to change the color of the wood a bit.
Before you start, make sure that you find 2-3 days of sunshine. Even a slight drizzle can ruin the sealer and you might have to sand and reapply it again.
A Rotten Thing to Happen
Although there are many things we can do to make sure we extend the life our wooden deck the wood can eventually rot.
To start off you need to evaluate the extent of the damage. How many and which boards and pieces are damaged? What usually happens is that when you start replacing the pieces that you found rot on you will probably find more. So make sure you are prepared to for that, both with time and budget.
This is one of the cases where you might want to hire a contractor, because the process of finding and fixing rot can be very time consuming if you don’t know exactly what to look for.
- Published in Cincinnati Powerwashing, Deck Cleaning, Powerwashing
Avoiding Clogged Gutters
Clogged gutters create problems
Any homeowner knows the importance of keeping the gutters clean. And any who don’t know, find out the hard way. The fact is that from roof to basement, your house is a single system, and if one part is broken or not working as it should, it affects the entire house. Clogged gutters may not seem like a major problem but they can cause leaky basements and even damage the foundation.
Fortunately with exterior house cleaning and pressure washing services, it’s easier than ever to keep gutters clear and running, carrying rainwater and snowmelt to where it should go rather than to where it should not. Regular maintenance can prevent a whole lot of problems, from leaky basements to roof algae to mold.
Clogged gutters can stop up the whole house
From the roof the basement and everywhere in between, clogged gutters can cause problems due to moisture and dampness finding their way into the structure. Clogged gutters can cause a whole range of problems, affecting the house – basement, foundations, roofs, attics – and the people who live in it.
For example, some of the consequences of clogged gutters that you may never have considered:
- Basement water problems
Even though it’s not easy to see the connection, clogged gutters lead to basement leaks. That’s because water overflows from clogged gutters and collects around the foundations of the house. The next step will be water leaking into the basement and causing a flooded floor. - Mold
When water goes where it shouldn’t, like walls, roof and basements, the damp encourages the growth of mold. Mold can cause health problems like asthma, sinus infections and worse. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), all types of mold can be health hazards, causing illness and even leading to death. - Water damage to the foundations
When gutters get clogged, they can no longer direct the water to where it should go, safely flowing into storm drains and away from the house. Clogged or misdirected gutters can be a problem. Downspouts should face away from your house and direct water at least 1.8 meters away from the foundation walls of your house. They should not direct water towards your neighbor’s house either, but towards the yard or the road. - Roof algae
Roof algae can grow upward from clogged gutters and damage the roof by weakening shingles, which may become loose or start leaking water into the house itself. Algae can also move to the side of your home and require you to have your house painted prematurely.
Gutter cleaning can help to prevent these problems before they occur, and keep your house structurally sound and strong. House washing companies use pressure washing to clean gutters, decks, roofs, and exteriors, to maintain your home in pristine condition.
- Published in Cincinnati Powerwashing, Clogged Gutters, Gutter Cleaning, Powerwashing