Can the Power Washer Damage the Property?
Brad Forrest, Owner
Many customers ask me if there are any risks involved in power washing in terms of damage to the property. The short answer is: it depends. Depending on which surface is being washed, this will dictate if there is the potential for damage.
Vinyl Siding
The main concern with power washing vinyl siding occurs when the paint on the vinyl is oxidized. This generally takes 15-20 years, but could occur much quicker if the vinyl is in the direct sunlight. To test if the paint on your vinyl is oxidized, simply rub your fingers along the siding (it is best to test the spot that receives the most sunlight). If a powder comes off on your fingers that is the same color as the vinyl, this means your paint is oxidized and power washing it could potentially damage it. The risk here is that a power washer can leave swipe marks in the siding if the power washer is not careful. This is a huge risk because the only potential way to fix this is to have a de-oxidization done and if that doesn’t work, the whole house would need to be resided. To prevent this, the person power washing should test a few small sections of the house first, wait for it to dry, and then check to see if there are swipe marks in the vinyl. In addition, they should use the widest nozzle and keep it as far as possible away from the vinyl to minimize the risk of damage.
Wood-Sided Houses
When power washing wood-sided houses, chipping the paint off is not as big of a concern as many people think. If there is a fresh coat of paint on the house, the risk of paint coming off is exceedingly low. The only real risk is if the paint is already chipping or peeling, in which case it will most likely come off and the power washer should be careful of this. However, if it is being power washed because it is about to be painted, this will actually make it easier for the painter because s/he would’ve had to scrape off the peeling/chipping paint anyway.
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Stucco Decks
When power washing stucco decks, there is a serious risk of doing damage to the flooring. When someone gets too close with the power washer, this can leave marks in the floor that cannot be fixed and the entire deck would have to be replaced. When power washing stucco, someone should use the widest nozzle possible (white) and hold the sprayer at least 2 feet away from the surface to avoid damaging it.
Wooden Decks
There isn’t too much risk in power washing wooden decks. However, similar to wood-sided houses, if there is paint/stain that is chipping or peeling, it will likely come off from the force of the power washer. This isn’t an issue at all if the deck is about to be stained, as the painter would scrape this away anyway, and it is a relatively easy fix even if the deck isn’t about to be stained.It should be noted that if the deck is bare wood or has a clear stain, there may not be a risk of damaging the deck, but leaving marks in it is essentially unavoidable.
Vinyl Fences & Concrete
There is essentially no risk of damaging either vinyl fences or concrete with a power washer. However some concrete surfaces have coating on top that could be damaged if it is chipping, so the power washer would need to be careful of this.
