Essential Siding Maintenance Tips to Protect Your Home

Siding is an important feature of your property. Not only does it give your home an attractive look, siding also protects it from the weather, pests, and general wear and tear.

That’s why it’s vital to include siding in your home exterior maintenance plan. In this post, we’ll explain how to integrate siding into your exterior home maintenance program and list the specific tasks you need to carry out.

We’ll also discuss when to call in the professionals to help you with siding maintenance. This knowledge will help you keep your siding in top condition for years to come!

The importance of regular siding maintenance

Why should your exterior house maintenance plan include paying close attention to your siding? There are several reasons why siding maintenance is crucial:

• It helps keep your home waterproof. Siding forms part of your home’s waterproofing. If it’s not maintained correctly, then you could experience a whole host of damp-related problems, such as mold and mildew growth. If these issues are not dealt with swiftly, then they could affect your health. Dampness also leads to rot and structural damage over time. Ultimately, maintaining your siding will help it last longer.
• It keeps pests out. Your siding is also your first defense against destructive pests such as rodents and insects. When your siding isn’t properly maintained and holes and cracks are left, small creatures can find their way into your house, causing damage and posing a health hazard.
• It makes your home more energy efficient. Siding that’s in good condition helps to ensure that your home retains a good level of energy efficiency. Any cracks, holes or gaps will allow heat to escape during the colder months or warm air to penetrate your home when temperatures rise. This means your heating or AC system has to work harder to maintain the correct temperature, costing you money.
•  It ensures your property looks attractive. Well-maintained siding gives your property an attractive aesthetic. Apart from making coming home a welcoming experience, siding that looks good gives your home “curb appeal”. This is essential if you’re thinking of selling your property and is a way to attract potential buyers.

Essential siding maintenance tasks

There are some common tasks that apply to all types of siding, no matter what material they’re made from. Let’s find out how to maintain house siding in this section.

Inspection

Make it a habit to take a good look at your siding when carrying out your usual home maintenance routine. Include siding inspection once every six months. Start by checking carefully for water damage. Depending on your siding material, you’ll see signs such as cracking, peeling, chipping, warping or crumbling.

If you spot any damage, it’s best to call in the professionals to put it right. Give us a call here at Plum ProExteriors. We can come and check out any damage to your siding and offer you a quote, based on your unique needs. If you decide to go ahead with our high-quality and professional siding repair services, we’ll keep you fully informed every step of the way until we’ve completed the project to our demanding standards.

Do an extra inspection immediately after extreme weather events, such as storms or heavy rainfall. As long as it’s safe to do so, take a walk around the outside of your property and look for the signs listed above. Use binoculars if necessary to inspect the higher-up areas of your property.

Check the interior of your property after heavy rainfall too, as damaged siding can result in water getting into your home. You might notice leaks or pools of water or even mold or mildew growth.

Cleaning

Your siding will also require regular cleaning to wash away dirt and dust, as well as mold and mildew before they get a chance to take hold. Schedule this task once a year.

You can use a power washer to blast away surface debris and give your property a bright, fresh appearance. Alternatively, you can mix up a homemade siding cleaner solution and use long brushes to scrub your siding. Rinse off the solution with clean water. Take care to use protective clothing and goggles to prevent any damage to your skin and eyes.

Painting

Most types of siding benefit from repainting periodically, generally every twelve to twenty years. This helps to protect your siding from damage by water or the other elements, and gives your property a beautiful, well-maintained look.

If you’re maintaining wood siding, then you may also wish to consider staining your exterior. This is also effective in sealing your siding against water and keeps it looking at its best.

Landscaping

Siding maintenance also includes taking care of any foliage that’s close to your property. When plants get too close to your house, they may scratch the surface of your siding and transfer moisture too.

Avoid training creepers or other plants to grow on the surface of your property. As well as damaging the siding, they can also form a means for pests like rodents to climb up and get into your home.

You should also regularly inspect and clean your gutters of fallen leaves and other debris so that they continue directing water away from your property.

Siding-specific maintenance considerations

When you come to maintain house siding, you’ll also have to include tasks specific to material type:

• Wood siding. Because wood can be vulnerable to a range of issues such as rot and damage by pests, you should step up wood siding maintenance by carrying out an inspection every six months. Clean wood siding once a year and re-paint, stain or seal it once every twelve years. These tasks can make wood siding maintenance cost slightly higher than that of other materials but in return you’ll get a beautiful, natural-looking home exterior. 
• Vinyl siding. It’s a good idea to inspect your vinyl siding once a year. In addition, vinyl siding maintenance involves annual cleaning around every 10 years. 
• Fiber cement. For fiber cement siding maintenance, carry out an inspection once a year. This durable type of siding should only need cleaning every one to three years and can be repainted every 20 years. Its durable nature means that fiber cement is known as maintenance free siding. 

When to call a professional

While some of the tasks listed can be carried out easily, you may wish to get the help of a professional for your exterior home maintenance program.

Jobs that the team at Plum ProExteriors can help you with include:

• Inspection. It can be challenging to assess every square inch of your property yourself. Trust the team at Plum ProExteriors to give your property a detailed inspection of your house and identify any issues that need rectifying.
• Repairs. Resolving any issues like cracks, warping or water damage can be impossible if you don’t have the expertise. We can repair and replace siding as necessary, ensuring that it continues to look at its best and continue its protective role.
• Cleaning. It can be a labor-intensive job to clean your siding by yourself, especially if you don’t have the necessary equipment. At Plum ProExteriors, we’re the experts in getting your siding sparking clean while you sit back and watch!
• Painting, sealing and staining. Again, taking on the task of painting, sealing or staining siding yourself can be daunting. Our team is fully equipped to help you with this mammoth task, reviving tired-looking siding and giving it a new lease of life.

We can help you keep your home looking beautiful!

Your siding gives your home its unique and welcoming look. Make sure it stays that way by paying close attention to its maintenance and care.

Call on the professionals at Plum ProExteriors to help you with all your siding maintenance needs. Whether you need advice on vinyl siding maintenance or are looking for maintenance free siding, we’re your trusted local experts!

Covering Massachusetts and the whole of New England, Plum ProExteriors is on hand to advise you on all your siding needs. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about any aspects of maintaining your siding and keeping your home looking beautiful!