Mold on exterior siding is not only unsightly, but it can also cause health problems and damage to your home. Excessive moisture and humidity can create an attractive environment for mold growth on exterior products — even low-maintenance siding. In fact, no siding is impervious to mold, including brick, wood siding, cement siding, and vinyl siding.

What causes mold on siding?

Siding is designed to allow rainwater and other types of moisture to run off the exterior walls of your home, but even durable siding can be susceptible to unsightly mold growth under certain conditions. Excessive rain or continual contact with water can increase the moisture content on and under your siding, elevating the risk of mold. Since some molds need humidity to grow, warm and humid weather conditions can also contribute to a mold outbreak.

Vinyl siding is not completely maintenance free. As an exterior product, it can still accumulate dirt, grime, and stains. In shady, moist areas, mold and mildew can grow on siding by feeding on sugars, dust, dirt or other organic materials that are attached to the siding. With wood siding, mildew and algae can feed on the actual stains and sealers that are used to preserve the wood.

Shadier areas of your house are particularly susceptible to mold. Because these areas are the slowest to dry out, their moisture levels remain high. The sides of your home that are shaded by trees or shrubs or that don’t receive direct sunlight are at a greater risk of a mold outbreak.

What’s a homeowner to do?

Take steps to reduce the amount of moisture that comes in contact with your siding. Avoid aiming your lawn sprinklers directly at your house. Additionally, ensure that your gutters are clean and in good working order. Clogged or leaking gutters can cause rainwater to run down your exterior walls and can increase moisture levels on and under your siding.

Target the vegetation around your house that creates the shady spots that grow mold. Regularly trim your trees and shrubs away from your siding to minimize shaded areas that can encourage mold growth. This will ensure ample air circulation and prevent organic matter and water from depositing on your siding.

In addition, you should regularly hose down your siding to wash off organic matter. Keeping your siding clear of dirt and grime will allow it to repel water better and dry faster.

Call a professional

Since mold and mildew can spread quickly, cleaning existing mold from your siding is essential as soon as you see it appear on your home’s exterior. One of the best options for cleaning siding mold is pressure washing, best done by a professional. A professional service will diagnose and evaluate the problem, and will spray low-pressurized water – mixed with the mold-killing agent appropriate for the surface material – on exterior trouble spots.

Preventing mold on your siding begins by monitoring and reducing the conditions that encourage mold growth in the first place. Keep a watchful eye on your home’s siding for any signs of mold, and be prepared to take action to prevent a major outbreak. At DeMarks Building Maintenance Solutions, we can help you determine the right preventative maintenance and mold eradication efforts to keep your home exterior clean, attractive, and mold-free.

You’ve certainly seen or heard of gutter cleaning before but do you know why gutter cleaning is so important for the health of your home? While a necessary evil, cleaning your home’s gutters can be quite dangerous. At DeMark’s, we’ve invested in the proper equipment to handle both single and multi-story homes, not to mention saving you from the potential dangers of a fall, just imagine what you can accomplish with the time you will save by having an expert handle this nasty task for you! Besides time and personal safety reasons here are main reasons why having your gutters cleaned is so vital:

• Water Damage. Clogged, leaky gutters are the number one cause for basement and foundation water problems. Water running from the roof overflows leaf-filled gutters and pools around the foundation. Any excess water can lead to weakened footings and structure cracks, and even sagging driveways.
  
• Wood Rot. When gutters are clogged by leaves and debris, it can cause water to pool on the roof rather than drain properly, which then allows the water to seep into the wood affecting the fascia board, roof sheathing, and framing. During the cold winter months, the thawing and refreezing often build ice dams that ruin your roof. Roof repairs are expensive, and homeowners have paid thousands of dollars to fix a problem that could have been completely avoided by simply having the gutters cleaned.
  
• Critters. Ever heard the saying “bugs love water”? Because they do, bugs LOVE water and pooling moisture caused by debris from clogged gutters creates the perfect environment for mosquitoes and other insects to breed. Not to mention warm bodied critters looking for an insect snack. Birds, insects, and small rodents will happily make your clogged gutters their home.

Gutter cleaning is one of the most necessary, difficult, and scary maintenance requirements of homeownership. Wisconsin homes endure extreme weather conditions from torrential rains to freezing, winter thawing, and intense winds. Gutters that are filled with debris will cause long-term, expensive damage to your home. Save yourself THOUSANDS of dollars on repairs and the hassle of spending a day on the roof by calling DeMark’s Building Maintenance Solutions today for a cost-effective, thorough gutter cleaning.

Whether you have vinyl siding or a more traditional siding which requires painting, stains such as mold or mildew can have a lasting impact on both the curb appeal as well as your homes exterior finish.

If you are considering painting your home’s exterior then you will definitely want to eliminate these unsightly funguses prior to investing in a new paint job. Before you make any decisions, DeMark’s Building Maintenance Solutions suggest you consider power washing your home’s exterior prior to moving forward with any exterior home projects! There are quite a few reasons to power-washing your home and we’ve laid a couple of them out below to help you decide what’s best for your home’s facade.

1. Pressure washing can save you money. Pressure washing, like gutter cleaning or window washing, are both smart preventative maintenances for your home. Most exterior surfaces can result in costly repairs if they’re not maintained and power washing is one of the most cost-effective options for restoring large exterior surface areas.
2. Pressure washing prevents permanent damage. After a winter season of grime and stains attacking your home, neglecting to remove the dirt can cause serious problems and even permanent damage. Compared to traditional cleaning solutions, power washing can quickly and easily remove grime with little impact on the environment or the quality of the surface material.
3. Pressure Washing Prepares Surfaces. Wisconsin winters can be long and brutal, and our other three favorite seasons are the perfect time to tackle cleaning projects and pressure washing is the perfect place to start. Prepare surfaces for any painting or refinishing you might be considering, such as re-staining a deck or painting exposed brick, pressure washing will prepare the surface better than any other cleaning process or solution.
4. Don’t worry about lack of equipment. From large hoses to ladders, pressure washing requires some tools. Rather than trying to find all the necessary materials, eliminate the hassle and call DeMark’s today for a quote to let the professionals handle the dirty work.
5. Stay Safe. Avoid potential self injury from climbing ladders, balancing on your roof, or lifting heavy equipment. Professional power washers are trained and experienced to accomplish the tasks at hand, regardless of project size or type.

Once you have determined that your home may need a wash, call DeMark’s to ask any questions you may have or to get a quote. Power washing can be meticulous, time-consuming, and difficult to those not familiar with the process. Easily check this task off your spring cleaning list this year with a quick call (262-894-2057) to DeMark’s!