Ranking The Outdoor Cleaning Tasks That Are Most Important This Fall

David Rhodes
November 5, 2017

With summer now officially behind us, even San Antonio is preparing for the fall (and, eventually, winter) season ahead. While fall does bring along a wide range of exciting events and experiences, — such as Halloween, fall leaves, family get-togethers, and football — it does require a great deal of maintenance and cleaning for homeowners who want to keep their property looking its best through the remainder of the year.

Unfortunately, with so many family gatherings held at your home, you’ll typically be forced to focus strictly on maintaining and cleaning your home’s interior. However, it’s important to pay attention to the exterior of your home, as with the weather changes fall brings your home’s roof, gutters. driveway, decks, and siding will all be at risk for damage from the elements. This will ensure your home’s outdoor surfaces remain clean throughout the season.

While most homeowners will opt to take care of these outdoor cleaning tasks themselves, having a professional that can provide expert service with the proper tools and experience can make all the difference when it comes to getting the job done correctly. Glass Geeks is San Antonio’s go-to for everything from window cleaning and pressure washing, to roof cleaning and gutter cleaning.

Our company makes it easy and affordable for San Antonio residents to not only have the cleanest and most impressive home exterior but also gives you the chance to focus on smaller interior tasks by taking the challenge of exterior upkeep off of your plate. Here are just a few of the most common outdoor tasks for your home you should be looking for this fall:

Professional Gutter Cleaning In San Antonio

Gutter cleaning is one of the most important tasks for any homeowner, no matter how old or new their gutter systems are. Gutters that are allowed to become clogged with debris, or ignored when damaged from recent rainstorms, can cause roofing failure and lead to a wide range of negative factors for your home (including foundation leaks) that could threaten your home’s overall structural integrity.

After all, gutters that don’t function properly when it comes to carrying water and debris away from your home will instead be forced to accumulate whatever it catches, which could lead to water damage on your home’s siding, roof, and foundation. In order to avoid these issues, especially in fall when leaves and debris are constantly falling throughout the season, it’s important to be mindful of your gutters by having them inspected.

Keep in mind, both inspecting and cleaning your gutters is best left to the gutter cleaning professionals at Glass Geeks, as the job itself is a dirty and dangerous one that requires you to climb a tall ladder, where you could be at risk for a serious fall or injury. Not to mention, if you make a mistake while cleaning your gutters — for example, by using the wrong tools — you could cause serious damage to your gutter system. Instead, hire the professionals at Glass Geeks.

Our gutter cleaning technicians take a traditional approach when it comes to cleaning your gutters, using nothing but our hands, to ensure precision and to avoid any damage that you could experience from gutter cleaning companies that use mechanical tools and hoses. At the end of the day, your gutters are delicate and require careful and direct cleaning in order to ensure they don’t become damaged while eliminating dirt, twigs, leaves and other debris this fall.

Roof Cleaning In San Antonio

Known as the opposite of power washing, the soft washing technique — used by our roof cleaning experts at Glass Geeks — uses softer pressure, usually less than 1000 PSI, and relies instead on the right detergents and the proper dwell times to get a surface clean. The “dwell time” refers to the length of time a cleaning solution or detergent needs to remain on a surface in order for the chemicals to effectively loosen and remove the stains, grime, and debris.

After the appropriate dwell time has passed, the surface is thoroughly rinsed with low pressure, leaving behind a clean, smooth surface. Soft washing is safe and effective on all surfaces, and indeed, should be the only pressure washing method applied to most areas of your home.

Professional Pressure Washing In San Antonio

Pressure washing (in simple terms) refers to a high power mechanical sprayer that is used to remove a range of unsightly outdoor peskiness like loose paint, mold, dust, dirt, mud, and grime. These problems are not only visually unappealing, but can lead to permanent damage — creating stains that will forever be a reminder to you and your guests. This is where pressure washing becomes a homeowner’s hero (so-to-speak) by eradicating filth, in ways a simple hose or another cleaning mechanism can’t. With that being said, does this mean you have to go out and spend over $200 on a consumer pressure washer found at your local hardware store? Well, the simple answer is no! Unfortunately, the high powered pressure washers that are fully equipped to provide a stellar clean aren’t sold to consumers and won’t be found at your local hardware store for $230. These machines are typically ONLY used by the pros. However, if you’re the most stubborn of DIYers, and insist on completing literally every household issue or project yourself, then you should head over to popularmechanics.com where you’ll find a swell write-up for finding the best pressure washer for you. So, where does that leave you? We’ll spill the truth: hiring a professional is the best route to achieving the successful results that a pressure washer can provide. A real professional clean from a real pressure washing expert can provide you with incredible results, no matter what outdoor area is in need of cleaning. This includes:

Driveways
Patios/Decks
Walkways
Front Entryways
Vinyl Siding
Roofs

Or anywhere else that has the tendency to build up pesky dirt and grime.

Professional Window Cleaning In San Antonio

In essence, the window cleaning pro’s (like the reputable experts we have, here at Glass Geeks) approach every window/glass cleaning job seriously; thus, they get seriously amazing results. You can do the same by ensuring you’re using the correct, professional tools and/or supplies necessary to give your windows a proper cleaning.

These supplies include:

Squeegees
Scrubber/Strip Applicator
Lint-Free Wipes
Cleaning Solutions/Detergents
Extra Fine Razors and Buffers (optional)
Window Track Brush (optional)

Avoid falling into the old habit of washing your windows with Windex (or similar store-bought cleaning products) and paper towel as this method is ineffective in the long run, and can force you to waste more money than you need to. In addition to the professional tools previously mentioned, we recommend adding razors and buffers (in case you’re wondering, we use extra fine steel wool) to your window cleaning arsenal as well.

Why? It’s simple, both razors and wool are necessary for windows that have not been cleaned for over 2 years. Even more so on windows that have not been cleaned in 5 plus years. HOWEVER, be sure to use CAUTION, as these tools can easily scratch your window’s glass or damage its frame if you’re not careful. Make sure to use the razor at a 45-degree angle and be careful when close to the edges.

The window needs to be soaked with water and detergent (we use dawn soap) in order to allow the razor to glide. Ensure you’re using filtered water, as we find it makes a big difference when it comes to streak-free results.