The beauty of wooden playsets is that they employ natural materials that are designed to last for years. However, they require upkeep and maintenance to ensure their longevity and safety for use. It’s a good idea to do a self-cleaning at the start of each season or post harsh storms, but spring is the ideal time to consider having a professional pressure washing service for your wood playset.
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Why Wooden Playset Pressure Washing and Maintenance Is Important
Maintaining a wood playset is important for a number of reasons beyond protecting your investment—it’s essential to protect those who use it, as well. Keeping it in good working order has its benefits.
Playset Injury Prevention
Well-cared-for equipment is less likely to experience breakdowns and failures during use that can result in injuries ranging from mild to severe. During cleanings is the perfect opportunity to inspect hinges, screws, ropes, chains, and cables for any signs of wear and tear. Fixing these issues is the key to keeping kids safe on the playset.
Improved Appearance of Your Wooden Playset
Depending on the type of wood used to craft the playset, the manufacturer often recommends a traditional pressure washing or soft wash approach. This is why hiring someone for professional pressure washing is important to prevent damaging the wood. When done correctly, the appearance of a wooden playset can be restored. Surfaces will be more hygienic, and the materials will also be ready for re-staining and sealing if necessary.
The Repercussions of Neglecting Wooden Playset Cleaning
Removing dirt from wood playsets not only helps keep them clean and attractive backyard accessories, and it also can prevent the formation of pervasive mold or mildew. Once these fungi begin growing, they can become pervasive and result in skin and sinus irritation for users. Using a mild detergent and scrub brush for intermittent cleanups between deep cleanings can minimize growths and build-up on the playset.
Wooden playsets typically require re-staining every two or three years, and re-sealing should occur every one or two years. Having the set cleaned thoroughly is pivotal before these treatments, and ideally, a light sanding is performed beforehand. This gives owners a chance to look for any signs of splintering wood that can result in injuries or allow pests to penetrate the surface.
Ultimately, regular cleaning can allow your wood playset to remain in good, functioning condition for years to come. It’s fairly easy to include routine maintenance into your yard work schedule with the change of each season.
Should You Invest in Professional Pressure Washing for a Wood Playset?
Professional pressure washing once or twice per year is a good step to keeping it clean and safe for users, as well as to prepare it for staining and sealing. While DIY cleanings are great in-between visits from the pros, calling in an expert can help prevent injuries that may result from improper use of a pressure washer.
Furthermore, should your set be constructed from softer wood, it can become damaged if the washer settings are too high for it to handle. Professional pressure washing crews already have the proper tools and environmentally friendly cleansers on hand, along with the knowledge to accomplish the task successfully and efficiently.
What are the Best Playset Materials?
An inexpensive metal, plastic, or PVC polymer playset may seem enticing due to the price point. It may also seem that plastic-based sets are softer for blows and easier to clean; this simply isn’t true. Both of these playset materials absorb heat and tend to get hot, resulting in contact burns. Metal also can rust over the years and pose a risk for tetanus, and it certainly won’t look as attractive with the passage of time.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that cedarwood be used as a structural base of a residential playset. Solid cedar beams stay cool in the summer months and are naturally resistant to splintering, warping, fungus, decay, and pests. Wooden playsets are also easy to keep clean and are safe to undergo the pressure washing cleaning process.
Need Wood Playset Pressure Washing? Call us Today!
We can wash just about any type of backyard playset and offer cleaning services for those crafted of wooden materials. Contact a location near you today to learn more about our exterior residential and commercial cleaning services.