Your House Will Be Greener This Spring

We’ve all seen it — the house with the siding that is covered in green mold. You may even have some on your house, especially if you have a north facing wall. That is the area that usually sees the most mold growth due to the lack of sunlight.

But why is it going to be worse this coming spring and summer?

The weather that we have been having this winter so far has not caused the mold spores to go doormat like they normally would during a standard winter here in West Michigan. With temps above the freezing point, the mold spores continue to feed and expand. When the weather starts to get warmer this coming spring, you will see an explosion of mold growth on the exterior of homes and buildings around the area.

What causes the mold on the exterior of a home?

Mold needs a few things to flourish in an area. It needs food which comes in the form of dirt, dust and other particles found on exterior surfaces. It also needs moisture — which we have been having plenty of this winter. Our average humidity so far this winter has been 78% and we have been having plenty rain even into January. Lack of sunlight is another step in the growth of mold — and we have only had 9% sunshine in November and 13% in December.

While we cannot do much about the lack of sunshine or the humidity levels, but there are things that can be done to help keep the mold from getting worse on your home.

Keep your exterior surfaces clean and dirt free. Not only the siding, but also the decks, patios, sidewalks, and driveways should be cleaned on a regular basis. That way the food source — which is dirt that mold needs — is not present. If you have trees or other landscaping that causes shade in areas of your home, you may want to think about trimming some of it back to allow more sunshine into the area. If you have gutters on your home, make sure they are properly draining the water away from the house. We have seen many homes that have the downspouts plugged to the point where the rainwater never gets diverted away from the home — this just adds to the moisture issue and invites more mold growth.

If you would like to have your home’s exterior professionally cleaned, we here at Roof Cleaner have been providing roof and house soft washing for the last 10 years in the West Michigan area. We are trained and certified in all aspects of exterior surface cleaning. The proper cleaning of an exterior surface involves more than just using a pressure washer to blast the dirt and mold off. Our system and cleaning agents will have your home clean and looking awesome in no time without the damaging effects of a power washer.

Let us clean the exterior of your home…

Give us a call at (616) 240-3465 to schedule an exterior cleaning of your home. We service the West Michigan area, including the cities of Grand Rapids, Holland, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Ada, Caledonia, Lowell, Rockford and more. Learn more about our House Washing service by clicking here.