Washing Exteriors
Washing the exterior of your home before painting will not only get the outside of your house clean and provide a dirt-free foundation for the new coating, but it will also help you find surface flaws that have to be dealt with.Depending on just how dirty the outside of your house is and on the house's size, there are two ways to approach this job. If you live in an average-size house, use a garden hose with a carwash brush attachment to bathe the big areas. For caked-on dirt, use a scrub brush or a sponge and a pail of warm water with a good, strong household detergent in it. Work from the top down, and rinse all areas where you scrubbed with water.
 To remove caked-on dirt, a scrub brush or a sponge and a pail of warm water with a good, strong detergent should do the job. |
You can use the spray cleaner while working from a ladder -- although scaffolding is better -- but practice at ground level first; the force of the spray against the house could knock you off a ladder if you're not careful. Some of these machines come with separate containers you can fill with cleaning solutions or anti-mildew solutions. Sprayers are so powerful that ordinarily you probably won't need to use a cleaning solution; if you do, remember to rinse the surface with clean water afterward.
Not what you're looking for? Try these helpful articles:
- House Painting: Ready to tackle a house painting project? Gather helpful tips on both interior and exterior painting in this home improvement article.
- House Painting Tools: Before taking on any painting project, make sure you have the tools you'll need to do the job well. This article will help.
- Exterior Painting Preparation: Plenty of prep work goes into getting the exterior of a home ready to paint. Find helpful tips only at HowStuffWorks.
