As most people spend the majority of their time at home indoors, they tend to overlook their outdoor living spaces. However, your house’s exterior should hold the same importance as its interior. If your interior decorations are considered reflections of your personality, the exterior space creates an impression of your lifestyle from afar.
When your relatives, guests and neighbors look at your property from the street, the first thing they’ll notice is the external design and cleanliness. No matter how well-designed and intricate the façade is, a dirty and poorly-maintained outdoor space is a huge turnoff.
Importance of Deep Cleaning Your Home’s Exterior
Compared to indoor spaces, your home’s exterior is more exposed to external stressors that can impact its condition over time. Particularly after a long winter, your yard, garden, and patio will likely look filthier and less inviting than usual. Through a thorough clean, you can prepare your home for the warmer spring and summer months—the best seasons to enjoy life outdoors.
Moreover, deep cleaning serves as preventative maintenance for your outdoor appliances and furniture. Freezing weather and snow are often responsible for damage to surfaces such as wood, wicker, and plastic. Regular cleaning allows you to check existing damage to your outdoor items and fix them as necessary.
Lastly, maintaining the cleanliness of your outdoor living spaces promotes a healthy environment. Winter is the time of the year where mold can grow and thrive if surfaces are left unchecked. Deep cleaning ensures mold is removed promptly and prevents dry spores from releasing into the air.
Regular deep cleaning is necessary to maintain your home’s exterior. Here are foolproof ways to successfully do so:
1. Carry Out Pressure Washing
Accumulated dirt and grime are the most difficult things to clean—especially if you find stains that have stayed on surfaces for too long. To ensure you’re eliminating the most stubborn speckles of dirt from your home’s exterior surfaces, conduct pressure washing with help from a professional cleaning service in your area.
Pressure washing, or power washing, utilizes a high-pressure water spray to eliminate dirt from your home surfaces, such as dust, grime, mud, mold, mildew, algae, chewing gum, loose paint, and bird droppings. The high-pressure water jet tackles deep-seated dirt far more effectively than manual cleaning methods, however this cleaning technique is only suitable for rigid surfaces like your roof, exterior walls and pavement.
If you live in Jacksonville, Florida, or nearby locations, find the top pressure washing Jacksonville company which can attend to your needs for thorough cleaning. While DIY pressure washing may be a viable option, having it completed by professionals will save you time and effort, and ensures premium execution.
2. Clean Your Outdoor Furniture With Care
Unlike hard outdoor surfaces, furniture must be cleaned with care to avoid damage to fabrics and finishes. Most furniture comes with a care manual or label attached with detailed cleaning instructions, so it’s best to follow the manufacturer’s advice. Generally, manual cleaning suggestions will vary based on the type of material used in its construction.
In order to rescue your dull and dirty patio furniture, try the following techniques based their materials:
- Wood and wicker: These materials can easily deteriorate from strong cleaning agents, so they require dilution of commercial wood cleaners. You can also use a DIY cleaning solution consisting of ammonia, vinegar, and warm water or a combination of mild oil-based soap with warm water.
- Glass: Use delicate, non-abrasive materials to remove stuck-on dirt, then spray glass cleaner or a white vinegar solution and wipe remaining dirt away with a microfiber towel. If there are small scratches, fix them with a glass repair kit.
- Metal, aluminum, and iron: Oxidation is your biggest enemy in preserving metal furniture, so stay away from alkaline cleaners like ammonia. Clean metal furniture using a dampened cloth to maintain its natural luster. Eliminate rust through sanding and protect it with a rust-resistant primer or have it powder-coated.
Whichever material your furniture is made of, don’t forget to add another layer of protective coating after you’ve finished cleaning. For glass furniture, make sure to cover it when not in use.
3. Don’t Forget Doors and Windows
After working on your main exteriors and furniture, it’s time to deal with your doors and windows. Both are often neglected, despite being essential barriers that protect you from the outside. Doors and windows are commonly made of glass, so they’re quite tricky to clean. As long as you know the correct techniques, you won’t struggle to clean these outdoor surfaces.
Many homeowners spray glass surface with a cleaning solution and following it with a squeegee. However, this make a bigger mess. A better way to clean your glass windows and doors is to remove noticeable dirt first, before directly spraying the cleaner. Then, wipe with a microfiber cloth.
When wiping the windows and doors from the inside and outside, use different directions. For instance, rub vertically on the inside and horizontally on the outside. If there are any streaks, you will see which side should be corrected.
4. Spruce Up Your Surfaces
While removing dirt and grime from your surfaces and furniture is necessary, it won’t result in a drastic restoration. However, through repainting and resealing these surfaces, you can bring back their original appearance or spruce them up with new colors and finishes.
For a repainting job on your property’s exterior, make sure that you have already repaired damages and removed loose paint chips. Subsequently, watch tutorials and read up on proper outdoor painting techniques. You can either do it yourself or hire a professional painter to guarantee a good job.
Ideally, your home’s exterior should match with the theme of your interior. For example, if your indoor style is minimalist, consider a simple black or white paint choice or consider installing wooden panels. You should also prioritize highlighting the architectural details of your home.
Here are some effective exterior colors to try:
- Traditional putty gray
- Deep charcoal
- Two-toned white and grey
- Earthy brown or olive
Takeaways
Your home’s exterior guarantees your family’s safety, yet many people neglect it in favor of their interiors. Maintain the integrity and appearance of your home’s outdoor areas through regular deep cleaning, pressure washing and furniture maintenance. When conducting a thorough clean outside your home, follow these tips to protect your property’s exterior on both a short-term and long-term basis.
