A professional wash resets your siding — these five habits keep it that way. None of them needs a ladder or a weekend. Together they can stretch a 12-month wash cycle to nearly two years.
1 · Give bushes breathing room
Shrubs pressed against siding trap moisture and block sun — the exact recipe for green algae stripes. Keep 12 inches of clearance and prune the backs of foundation plantings each spring. Your siding dries faster after every rain, and mildew loses its foothold.
2 · Keep gutters flowing
Overflowing gutters sheet dirty water straight down the siding, painting brown drip lines under every seam. Clean gutters twice a year and check that downspouts discharge at least four feet from the foundation. It's gutter maintenance that protects your walls.
3 · Aim sprinklers at the lawn, not the house
Irrigation hitting the same patch of siding daily leaves mineral crusts and feeds algae. Adjust heads so spray stops a foot short of the wall, and run them in the morning so any mist evaporates quickly.
4 · Rinse the shady side each season
The north wall is where green film always starts. Four times a year, spend five minutes with a garden hose and a soft car brush on a pole — no soap, no pressure — knocking the film off before it roots. This one habit does more than the other four combined.
5 · Spot-check caulk and cracks yearly
Failed caulk around windows lets water behind the siding, where no surface wash can reach it. Walk the perimeter each fall; if you find gaps, a $8 tube of exterior caulk prevents a $800 repair.
Due for the real reset?
Our paint-safe house wash erases what habits can't — algae roots, oxidation and years of pollen.
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