Tips for Instant Curb Appeal if you are Selling or Renting a Property
If you are planning to sell or rent out your property, make sure it has enough curb appeal for the highest price.
09/06/2021
Maintaining the exterior of your home is essential for many reasons, one of which is to breed your confidence as you invite visitors over to your place. Another good reason to improve your home’s curb appeal is to increase the value of the property. Whether you’re trying to sell or decide to rent out the property, its appearance will play a huge role in your financial bargain power. While there are professionals that can do this job for you, a good cleaning of the exterior of your property is a fairly simple do-it-yourself project.
White or light coloured sectional panel steel or aluminium garage doors need cleaning regularly to keep stains at bay.
Formulate a Plan of Action
The first thing that you need to do before you delve into a home exterior cleaning project is to plan and prepare your home, as well as all the tools and equipment you may need. If you're renting the house, says RentEasy, a professional property management company, it's best to do this when you don't have tenants or to notify the existing tenants that you'll be doing some work around the house. The best time to clean the exterior of a home is during a warm and dry spell. Washing on a windy day is ineffective since outdoor elements brought about by the wind may only stick to the surfaces that you have just recently washed.
You will also need to take steps to protect the area around your home, by covering up small plants or shrubs with plastic sheeting or drop cloths so that any cleaning agents you use will not come in direct contact with them.
Where possible, move any garden or patio furniture away from the house. Cover all air vents, power outlets, and other electrical features outside your home with plastic secured with duct tape to prevent accidental damage. Remember, any damage to these sections, especially the plumbing system of your home, could be quite costly. Therefore, be very careful when doing any home improvement around your front or backyard.
Houses decorated in white or light colours tend to show dirt more than those decorated in darker paint colours.
High-Pressure Washer to Clean Exterior Walls
Among the first things that strike a prospective homeowner’s eyes are the walls of your home. Therefore, before you invite a home buying company like Gem State Cash Offer or an individual buyer, work on this area.
Scrubbing the exterior of a house with nothing more than a rag and a bucket will work to clean but it will take you a significant amount of time and effort. The easiest and most effective way to do this job is to use a high-pressure washer.
Pressure washing regularly will help mitigate against the build-up of mould, mildew, green algae, dirt, dust, and other outdoor elements. However, you need to ensure that you use the right nozzle and set the proper pressure to avoid causing cosmetic damage and structural issues on your home. You only want to clean the exterior walls and trim - not remove the paint!
Cleaning a Patio, Entertainment Area or Deck
A pressure washer is great for cleaning floors, walls and trim around patios, outdoor entertainment areas and decks. However, where any damage such as rot or mould is starting to appear on wooden structures, treat the wood with a suitable chemical solution that contains oxygen bleach, as this will prevent a recurrence.
For a natural stone or brick patio, the use of a pressure washer may prove to be enough to clean the surface, but if you likewise need to deal with moss or mould growth, use a plant-safe cleaning solution to eliminate it.
GOOD TO KNOW: If you need to remove oil stains use a degreaser. This cleaning technique ensures that you get rid of these stains with little effort and high efficiency.
Washing Exterior Windows and Glass Doors
The windows and any other areas of your home that are made of glass also need some work. Of course, wiping them regularly helps, but you’ll need to do a thorough cleaning if you’re going to attract any buyer. Fortunately, you don’t need any technical skills to accomplish this task.
If you have a high-pressure washer, these are very effective for cleaning windows and glass doors, provided that it is set on the lowest setting. If the pressure of the washer is set too high, you may damage beading or loosen putty around the glass panes.
Add a low-pressure nozzle or brush attachment and use this in conjunction with a cleaning agent to remove any stains on your windows. Other than a pressure washer, a safer alternative would be to use an exterior window cleaner that can be attached to a simple garden hose.
Once you have effectively washed your windows, make sure that you dry them properly. Air drying your windows may leave water streaks behind. To avoid this, use a long-reach squeegee to take off excess water from your windows. If the glass still has some of those water streaks, wipe off any remaining streaks with kitchen towels or disposable cloths.
Cleaning a Tiled or IBR Roof
According to the experts, while pressure washers work well on most of your exteriors, you must avoid pressure washing your roof as much as possible. Doing so will compromise the integrity of the granules on shingles. In the long run, the tiles may become brittle, which is something you really don’t want to deal with at this time.
Instead, simply sweeping it can do the trick. Otherwise, you can use a leaf blower to remove debris not only from your roof. In the event that your roof is already covered in moss, water cleaning may no longer work. What you need to do in this case is to treat your roof with a cleaning product that is specifically designed to break down moss and prevent it from growing.
Final Word
Keeping the exterior of your home clean
and looking brand new is indeed challenging.
However, if you regularly wash your exteriors
with a pressure washer, you can prevent the
accumulation of dirt on your outside walls that
occurs over time. Giving your home a good clean
before placing it on the market will ensure you
get the highest price for the property.