Exterior painting comes with a number of challenges. For instance, bad weather can throw a wrench in the works, elongating the whole process. And reaching certain areas can be a hassle, if not dangerous. But even after all the prep work and painting is done, you still have some more work to do, and much of it must take place long after the paint has dried. Your newly painted home may be the envy of your street, but if you want to keep it that way, you have to keep it clean and maintained.

What Does Clean Up Entail for Exterior Painting?

The materials and tools used to prepare and paint your home must be cleaned up after the job is done. This can take some time, especially for larger homes. For example, you may have plenty of painter’s tape lining the trim, which needs to be removed after the paint dries. You may have also covered your shrubbery and other external features with cloth or plastic. When you were power washing your home and sanding or scraping the previous paint job, a number of paint chips and flakes probably fell to the ground, too. If you hired painters, your exterior house painters will typically take care of cleaning all of this stuff, but they might miss some debris or tools.

Maintaining Your Home’s Exterior Surfaces

Cleaning up after any paint job is necessary, of course. But this simple task will not ensure that your home’s exterior retains its new glow in the coming months and years. You have to take care of this new paint job with proper maintenance – and not just for aesthetic reasons.

As previously mentioned, home exteriors are susceptible to more danger than interiors. Weather, pests, and other unpredictable outside forces can do a number not only on your paint job, but on the structure beneath it. Paint provides a level of protection for your home, so it should be well-maintained to keep your home safe, too.

There are a number of steps you can take to protect your home’s paint job. Following them will help prevent larger, expensive issues from arising. First, inspect your home’s exterior on a regular basis (about once a month). This simply involves walking around your home and checking for signs of wear. Is paint fading, spotting, chipping, or peeling in any places? If so, it’s best to address these smaller problems quickly so they don’t grow into something worse. You can touch up these areas with the same paint used before. Or, if the problem is structural, hire a professional to repair the section before repainting.

Next, remember to clean your home’s exterior once or twice a year. Pressure or power washing is the quickest and most effective way. This won’t just keep your home painting job bright and fresh, but it will also help remove any dust, mold, or mildew that has begun to form on the surface or in crevices.

And finally, don’t forget to maintain your lawn or garden, if you have them. While these features are not directly related to residential painting, they can affect your home’s appearance indirectly. A poorly-kempt landscape will make your home look worse by association. But more importantly, neglecting lawn care will also attract more pests to your property and track more dirt and debris on your home. If you want to keep your home looking fresh, make sure you’re taking care of your property as a whole.

Need More Advice or Assistance?

Whether you paint your exterior yourself or hire exterior painters, the goal is to revitalize your home’s appearance and protect it from harm. Proper cleanup and maintenance are key factors in achieving this goal for the long-term. Just because the paint has dried doesn’t mean the work is done.

If you want more tips on cleaning and maintaining your home after an exterior paint job, or you need help with touch-ups, repairs, or painting in general, All American Painting Plus has you covered. To learn more about all that we do, give us a call at (703)-620-5563!