Take care of it! The threats to your home exterior.

Take care of it! These words are clearly a threat, right? So what threat are we talking about? Any potential threats to the exterior of your home. Dirt. Algae. Oil. Rust. Why are those issues? Let's face it, they can do things to your home. Let's take dirt first.

DIRTY DIRT

Honestly, Dirt has a pretty dirty reputation. It's gross and definitely not easy on the eyes. Dirt if left too long, can cover up any usually, easily seen issues. Which can lead to bigger and worse issues. So take care of it? How? When you notice dirt is accumulating, and depending on the area, nothing but some good ole soap and water might do the trick. If we're talking about driveways, home exteriors, fascia and pool decks, take a power washer to it and get rid of it. The longer it stays, the more work will be necessary to get it up. Even around the exterior of your home, the longer it is left, it will ruin your paint. What about algae though?


ALGAE, THE GREEN GUY

Algae, like dirt, is pretty much an eye sore too. Also, like dirt, it eats up your paint on your home. When you should you take care of it? I'll give you a hint, before you see it. What are the tells that algae is on the rise? Lots of water and heat. So if there's rain and lots of sunshine, its on the horizon. See when algae starts to show itself, it can be a little bit of a hazard. How? When wet, and on the ground, its a tripping hazard. One of our teammates had a hard fall off a ladder due to just algae. So take care of it! How though? Again, you're going to need some type of pressure. Why not power wash it? Or have someone do it for you? Now to deal with oil.


OIL, THE SINKING MASTER

Unlike Dirt and Algae, oil is pretty pesky on another level. Why? Some have had to deal with the unfortunate issues of oil from leaky cars, or even from small engines. So what do you do? Handle it as soon as you see oil. You need a powerful degreaser, a small brush, patience and elbow grease. The thing about oil is, it sinks into your concrete then leaves it mark. So the quicker its dealt with, the less headache you'll have. Whatever you do, don't wait and wait and wait until it becomes such a large problem that you can't handle it, and try to call someone who can fix it. Good chances are, they wont be able to, unless you can have them pour new concrete.

RUST, ORANGE AND ROUGH

Do you have sprinklers? If you answered yes, this section might apply to you. Sprinklers or even chemicals left alone on a surface, along with heat can create rust. So what happens when you see it? Well, I think you get the point of this article, take care of it! This will definitely require a professional. You can either try and see if a power washing professional can handle it, which they might be able to, or better yet, a rust professional. They deal with this stuff on a daily basis.

Now that we covered some of the threats to your home, if you see these things happening around your home, what are you going to do? Take care of it!

MOLD- The good, the bad and the evil.

 There are a plethora of disgusting things this world has to offer the human race. One of those is mold. Whether its on a piece of bread, in your shower or on your driveway (that's right, your driveway), its disgusting and needs to be gone. Let's focus though on the the mold you can get from around the exterior of your home.

 How does mold get around? Honestly, its apart of the natural cycle of life. It grows with a few factors, temperature and moisture. So if its raining constantly, and the temperature is high, the conditions would seem perfect for mold to grow. Sounds like summer time in Florida, doesn't it? This is part of the reason why mold and dirt seem to come out of nowhere after the rainy season.

 This brings up the next question, how do you get rid of it? Well, first off, mold is one of those things that need constant attention. For example, do you have a large oak tree in your front yard? Does your driveway seem to constantly get darker? That my friend, is black mold. You can try and take multiple chemicals and a power washer, but it will take some time. Then, it might not come all the way up. Well why? This is probably your next question. Concrete is porous. The longer mold sits with out being touched and cared for, the deeper it will work into its crevices, and prove more difficult to handle. Not impossible, just more difficult.

Below are some examples of issues with driveways. The mold is there, but not very easily seen.

What about on your home? Same thing. The longer it stays, it will create and issue with your lovely paint. It will not only lighten it, when its cleaned, but it could come off. Again, attention is necessary, and quickly. We usually tell our customers, that once a year your home should be power washed. However, if you have oak trees, or its hot and rainy constantly in your area, it might not be bad to address it at least twice a year.

 The surface hasn't even been scratched in regard to how "evil" mold can be on the exterior of a home. As was mentioned previously, it can have a major affect on the curb appeal, but it goes far beyond that. Mold is a health hazard. It can prove dangerous to your family. If left alone, it has even been known to be a contributing factor to some cancers. If there is anything we can stress, get rid of the mold. You will be happy you did in the long run.