If your building’s exteriors are a few shades less orange than you remember them, it may be time for a cleaning. Over time, soot, algae and dirt can build up on the exteriors of your buildings, adding browns and greens to walls that were never those colors in the first place.

What better time to schedule a cleaning than during the summertime? Here’s what included in a typical “power washing” to improve your exteriors.

What power washing attacks

There are a lot of minerals and other substances that can attach themselves to walls. If you live in the Chicagoland area, even the snow that lands on buildings can attach minerals and other substances to the walls, making them dirty and less vibrant over time.

Some of the most common agents that can make a building’s façade less than new include mold, algae, traffic fumes, pollution, particles in the air and carbon from dirt.

By removing these elements from walls, fixtures and windows, your building can potentially look much newer than it actually is.

What cleaning methods are used?

The true benefit behind power washing is the “power” in its name. We use extremely high pressure water to lift off the offending particles directly off the exteriors of your building. A type of power washing that works really well with particularly stubborn mineral deposits is waterblasting, which pushes out water in such a way that it can unsettle long deposited minerals but without potentially harming the surface of your masonry.

For the really dirty walls, sandblasting may be required. This type of power washing involved the blasting of silica sand through an air blaster. The propulsion of the sand can etch away at even the most stubborn dirt and carbon deposits – but should be used only by professionals, as it can also etch away at your masonry if you’re not careful.

What you can expect after a power washing

Depending on the state of the building prior to the washing, power washing can improve the texture, color and surface of the bricks used to make up your building’s exteriors. As with any washing that removes the elements that have attached to your brick, the result of a power washing is that it uncovers what was there to begin with. If your bricks were in great shape to begin with, your exteriors will look as good as new.

Get help from Arrow Masonry and Exteriors

Since using power washing methods on your own could do damage to your building’s exteriors, you should really trust skilled professionals with cleaning you building this summer. Visit our website’s power washing page for more information about our services. You may also contact us by email, by using our online form, or by calling us at (312) 329-0750.