Summer always seems to go by too fast. The sunny season isn’t over yet, but it’s time to start preparing your business for autumn and beyond. With so many tasks to take care of, however, you might not know where to begin in this pursuit. Start by examining your facility from the outside – after all, this is the first thing anyone will see before entering your building. After several months of pollen, spring and summer rains, and scorching sun, chances are your commercial facility’s siding, trim, doors, and windows could use a good washing. Fortunately, this time of year is prime for a whole host of outdoor projects, including the one that will get your facility looking its best for the seasons to come: power washing.
Here are the top five reasons to pressure wash your commercial facility before summer comes to a close.
Top Five Reasons to Powerwash Your Commercial Facility at the End of Summer
1. Outdoor Conditions Are Just Right
Like any other outdoor project, the weather largely determines whether or not pressure washing is worthwhile or even feasible. Extreme temperatures, high winds, heavy rain, thunderstorms – all these factors interfere with the exterior cleaning process. Even the most experienced industrial washing services won’t be able to safely work in these conditions. Some people opt to wash their building earlier in the season, but the peak of summer is sometimes too hot to secure the best outcomes. The end of summer has its share of days that are unsuitable for pressure washing, but this time of year is generally optimal for this project, offering moderate temperatures and plenty of daylight. Take advantage of this brief window of time to invest in your commercial power washing needs.
2. Get Your Facility’s Exterior Fit for Fall
If outdoor conditions are a major factor when it comes to pressure washing, why not wait until fall to get it done? After all, early autumn temperatures are even more comfortable than those found at the end of summer. While there’s no rule against washing your building during autumn, waiting too long to tackle this job can set you up for more work and issues down the road. Put simply, most buildings accumulate significant amounts of grime throughout the summer. In addition to diminishing a facility’s curb appeal, all this gunk can contribute to mold and mildew formation, which becomes a health and safety hazard for occupants. The sooner you eliminate these contaminants from your building, the better.
Additionally, thoroughly cleaning your commercial facility’s exterior before fall prepares it for the various threats it will face later in the year and into next year. Gutters, for instance, should be completely cleared out via pressure washing to mitigate potential clogs from autumn debris and rains (you’ll want to continuously clear your gutters throughout fall, too, of course). Cold temperatures, snow, and hail are other fall and winter conditions that will take a toll on your building’s exterior. If your facility isn’t cleaned and fortified before these seasons enter, it will require more maintenance and repairs in the future.
3. Your Building is Probably Due for Power Washing by Summer’s End
Exterior commercial cleaning isn’t a one and done project. On the contrary, experts recommend power washing your facility at least twice a year, spacing each cleaning apart by about six months. Let’s do the math. Winter is arguably even harder on building exteriors than summer, especially in places that undergo freezing temperatures and regular snowfall. As such, it’s a good idea to power wash your building shortly after winter’s end once temperatures have reached a comfortable point. In other words, you’ll want to clean your facility’s exterior features sometime between February and April and then six months after that, which lands somewhere between August and October.
If you stick to the schedule described above (even loosely), then it follows that late summer or early fall marks the optimal time to power wash your commercial facility. And even if you fall off this schedule or wish to clean your facility more frequently than every six months, the end of summer is still prime time for power washing. The “six-month” rule simply makes things easier to keep track of.
4. Prepare Your Exterior for Fresh Paint
As we alluded to earlier, many outdoor renovations take place during the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. Exterior painting is a big one, also requiring the right outdoor conditions and long days to get it all done efficiently. If your facility’s exterior is due for a fresh coat of paint, however, you’ll want to make the proper preparations beforehand. Exterior building cleaning should always come before painting. Clean exterior surfaces are more receptive to new coatings, so power washing prior to painting helps ensure the best-looking and longest-lasting results.
5. There Might Be More People Around Starting in Autumn
Lastly, power washing your commercial facility before summer’s end might simply be more convenient for your operations than waiting until fall or beyond. Every business is different, but many enterprises see a decline in activity during the summer and busier periods in the fall, winter, and spring (this is highly dependent on what your business does and when it’s open, of course). If your facility falls into this category, it’s best to invest in commercial cleaning solutions during the summer when fewer people are around. A less active facility makes for safer and more efficient renovations, whereas busier facilities can interfere with the power washing process and vice versa.
Give Your Commercial Facility a Clean Slate to Send off Summer
Now that summer is entering its final stretch, the power washing season has just begun. The weather and timing are just right to take care of this important periodic maintenance task. If it’s nearing that time to wash your facility, The Budd Group will provide the best service and results to get your facility ready for fall and beyond. To learn more about our services and values, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!