Maintaining your home siding will go a long way to enhance the curb appeal, performance, and value of your property. Because of this, we have make a home siding maintenance checklist and some tips to make your siding look like brand new.
Besides the roof, the siding is a prominent home feature that needs to be taken care of since they serve as your home’s front-line defense against elements such as harsh weather.
Before deciding to clean or do upkeep on your home’s siding, there are several types of siding that require different approaches when it comes to maintenance. Brick, vinyl siding, and wood siding are the types of siding we are going to discuss today.
Let’s dive in!
Wood is not only one of the most beautiful types of exterior siding but also the most expensive, especially with rising prices on lumber. After splurging on wood siding, you want your exterior to last for a decade if possible. Besides keeping your siding in great shape, regular maintenance will protect you from spending thousands of dollars on repairing or replacing your wood siding. The following siding maintenance tips will help you enjoy the beauty of your wood siding for a long time:
It’s normal for wood to expand or contract due to changes in humidity and maybe temperature. Your wood will chip and crack over time if not protected. Continuous chipping and cracking will weaken the seams around windows and doors as well. As time progresses, caulked seams can start to separate, fail to protect moisture, and thus allow water to sip in and rot the siding. To prevent all that from happening, ensure that your wood siding is sealed with either stain, paint, or a sealer.
The wood siding of your home needs to be cleaned at least once a year. With the help of a soft-bristled brush, use warm and soapy water to effectively clean your wood siding. To avoid drip marks, make sure to clean the siding from top to bottom. Also, be sure to rinse the soap off before moving on.
Your wood siding has a high probability of getting discolored as it ages. This is one of the issues with wood siding, unfortunately. This problem can really only be fixed by regularly washing dirt off the siding with either a pressure washer or low concentration bleach. Another way to prevent your paint color from fading away is to use durable latex paint from either Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore.
Your wood siding is most vulnerable when water comes in. If water sits in wood for a long time, water can easily cause rotting and the development of mold. Ensure that there are no branches or shrubs touching your siding. This is because branches and shrubs will easily bring moisture to the siding.
Do not hesitate to contact an expert in case your wood siding shows any signs of damages. There will be no need of bringing the entire wood siding down if you involve a professional, if the materials are available at the moment.
It will be easier and cheaper to repair only the damaged areas, but if the specific style of siding isn’t available, you may need to replace the entire section of the siding to ensure an aesthetic appeal.
Brick is another type of siding that is very popular and requires the least amount of maintenance typically. Brick is made from the most available material on earth, making it durable, with low maintenance. Your brick siding needs to be inspected and maintained at least yearly. The following maintenance tips will protect your brick siding from possible tear and wear:
Clean your brick siding at least once a year using a mild detergent, a brush and a hose. Refrain from using a heavy duty power washer by yourself as it could damage the painting, caulking or even mortar of the brick siding if you don’t have experience in power washing. Lawns or garden sprinklers can leave marks on your home’s exterior brick as well. A great way to clean mildew and dirt off brick siding is to use low quality bleach or light pressure washing.
Nothing is more important than inspecting your brick siding regularly. Inspecting your brick siding
often will help you identify any upcoming issues and fix them before they get out of hand. It is crucial
to note that damages will not come from the brick, but the mortar holding the bricks together most of the time.
Therefore, be sure to look out for any crumbling mortar. If you find any, ensure to mend it with new
mortar. This is a crucial practice as it will prevent water from being seeped in. Also, be on the lookout
for mold and maybe mildew, especially if your home does not receive enough sunlight.
There shouldn’t be plants growing near your brick siding, or adhering to it. Surrounding plants or shrubs can cause dangerous damage to the bricks. If adhered to the siding, plants can easily erode the bricks.
However, if you notice plants adhering to the siding, do not snatch them out as that could damage mortar permanently. Instead, cut the plant off as close to the brick and soil as possible. This will make the plant die naturally without necessarily harming the brick siding of your home.
Vinyl siding becoming less popular in hotter climates such as Texas, however if you do have vinyl siding on your home, there is a special way to maintain it, it’s shouldn’t be treated as regular wood or brick siding. Use the following tips to help your vinyl siding look great for years:
From time to time, your exterior vinyl is exposed to various harsh weather conditions. Continuous exposure to the harsh weather conditions can cause the vinyl to get coated and maybe discolored too. Cleaning the vinyl is crucial in keeping the siding in tip-top condition.
If not cleaned regularly, unsightly residue such as cobwebs, dirt, pollen, grass stain, dust, mildew, and mold can build up over time. When cleaning your vinyl, avoid using harsh chemicals and any other solvents that contain acid or other harsh ingredients. Harsh products will corrode the vinyl, causing more damages.
Your vinyl siding might accumulate dirt and stains that could be stubborn to cleaning. This could make you feel like using steel wool to scrub off the dirt is a good idea but it’s not. Abrasive cleaning tools such as steel wool, paint scrapers, and wire brushes will do more harm than good to your vinyl siding. The abrasive materials will affect the vinyl by causing damages such as; leave permanent scratches, discoloration of the vinyl, and even potentially cause puncture marks on the siding.
You might need to step things up a notch if you had neglected your vinyl siding for some time. Using a power washer might be necessary to clean up neglected vinyl sidings. However, you need to be careful when using a power washer to clean up your siding. Well, not just for your safety, but also for the safety of your vinyl siding.
When using a power washer, always ensure that the water pressure is not too high so that pieces of vinyl don’t fly off. Otherwise, the water could cause significant damage such as mold development to the siding.
Hot weather means backyard BBQ and more grill cooking. While this comes as a fun time for you and your family, it’s crucial to ensure that your BBQ grill does not come too close to your home, especially your vinyl siding.
You risk warping and melting by exposing your vinyl siding to too high temperatures. To be precise, keep your grill away from your vinyl siding to keep your home and loved ones safe.
While homeownership does require a little bit of effort on your part for your home to be in its best shape, there are some ways to greatly reduce to the workload of constant maintenance. One of which can be installing a special type of Fiber Cement Siding that is now becoming very popular: James Hardie Siding.
James Hardie Siding is widely known for it’s durability and strength. It can greatly increase the resale value of your home if you’re deciding to sell too. While vinyl and wood siding can tend to be super frustrating at times to maintain, Hardie Siding may be your best option. If you are located in the North Houston area, feel free to contact a reputable siding company like Mr. Happy House to install Hardie Siding on your home.
I hoped you learned more in this article about tips to keep your home siding looking like new, please like, comment, or share on social media so that we can keep posting more blogs about roofing, siding, and painting for you!
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One Response
It’s good to know that you shouldn’t use harsh chemicals. My husband and I want to get vinyl siding installed. We’ll make sure to keep these maintenance tips in mind once we get the siding installed.