House Siding Maintenance Tips to Make Your Home Shine

Re-siding your home can give you a 78% return on investment at resale.

This makes it one of the least expensive undertakings with a good return on investment.

Aside from the resale value, a houses’ exterior is extremely important. It is your home’s defense from external elements, and it improves curb appeal and its overall aesthetics.

To keep it in order however, regular siding maintenance is essential.
Here are the more common types of house siding and how to keep them in top shape.

Types of House Sliding

The main types of sliding are wood, stucco, vinyl, and aluminum. Let’s explore the qualities of each, the maintenance regimen, as well as look at how to clean siding.

1. Wood

While wood is known for its aesthetic value, it’s also among the hardest to maintain.

Without a strict care regimen, wood can rot and warp when exposed to moisture. With most states getting its fair share of rain and snow, avoiding moisture becomes untenable.

Protecting your wood is your next best option. Staining and painting is one way to do this.

You can stain and use a clear sealant on the wood’s surface regularly to protect it from the elements.

You can also paint it from time to time. Expect to paint it more often if you live in an area that experiences hail storms.

Cleaning

You need a soapy mixture along with bleach to properly clean wood. The bleach also helps with mildew stains.

Clean from top to bottom, so that dirty water finds its way to the bottom and the ground.

You can divide the sliding into foot sections and work each section at a time.
Ensure to wear protective clothing and eyewear to prevent damage to your clothes and eyes from the splash back.

As you can see, wood tends to be high maintenance. Aside from the general maintenance and cleaning, ensure to have any rotting or warped sections repaired as soon as you detect trouble.

2. Vinyl

Vinyl is a great siding option.

It can hold its integrity in harsh climatic conditions making it quite durable. It also comes with foam backing, making it energy efficient.

Vinyl’s other attractive quality is that of all siding materials; it requires the least attention.

The color of the vinyl is worked into the panel itself. This makes it unnecessary to paint it again. You also do not have to worry about fading.

If you particularly love the wood look, you can get vinyl with a wooden finish. This gives you the aesthetical value of wood, with the low maintenance and durability of vinyl.

The foam backing prevents heated or cooled air from escaping the house. And not just that. The foam also absorbs the shock when the vinyl takes a hit. This could be from kids, flying debris and so on.

This prevents denting on the outer surface.

Vinyl is built to resist rotting and denting. You can also prevent mildew and grime by cleaning it adequately.

Cleaning

You do not need bleach or other harsh chemicals as vinyl is extremely easy to clean.

You can, therefore, opt for a natural mixture of water and vinegar, or water and dishwashing soap. You can also buy vinyl cleaning solutions. These are formulated to remove all grime and dirt without damaging the vinyl.

Section your walls into 20 feet areas for ease of cleaning. Take up each section with a bristled brush, applying just enough pressure to get the dirt off.

You can use a pressure washer for second stories or call in a professional pressure washing company.

Wash the siding every 6- 12 months or as needed. Aside from this wash, it won’t warp, rot, or get weather damage. This self-caring trait of vinyl makes it more preferable to homeowners.

3. Stucco

Stucco is a mixture of sand and cement installed over metal or wooden wall.
While the material is made of makes it durable, this will be dependent on how well you will care for it.

Stucco Care

Stucco is prone to cracking. These are typically hairline cracks that look awful and could deteriorate over time.

Regularly investigate your walls for these. If some have developed, use a sealant to fix up the holes and cracks that show up.

For second stories and higher, you need to get in a professional to fix them up.
If you go with a smoother finish, it will show dirt much more easily and will need to be cleaned more regularly than vinyl.

You can clean it with water and detergent, water and bleach, or even solutions manufactured for cleaning stucco.

Start by doing  applying the cleaning solution and letting it sit for a few minutes before rinsing off. You might need to repeat the process severally on areas with stubborn stains.

4. Aluminum Siding

This is not as common as wood and vinyl but has its strong points as well.
Its biggest problem is that it easily dents, and the dents are not easy to remove.

Often times, you will need to call a professional, which can get expensive over
time.

To remove a dent, you need to screw a hole into the aluminum. If you do this incorrectly, you could end up with more damage to your sliding.

Aluminum sliding will not warp, rot or crack which makes its maintenance
slightly more manageable.

Cleaning

Aluminum is just as easy to clean as vinyl. Get a bristled brush, water, and mild soap solution and scrub top to bottom.

For harder to reach nooks and second stories, a pressure washer will do.

Looking to Re-Side Your House?

If you are looking to re-side your house, rest assured that you will recoup a significant amount of the house siding costs when you sell your house.

Before you get to that, however, you get to enjoy a beautiful, well-maintained house exterior.

As any homeowner will tell you, a pristine exterior and dirty windows make for a bad combination. At LaborPanes, we ensure your windows are bright and clean enough to match your sliding.

Sounds good? Reach out to us today for a free quote!