Your home’s first line of defense against year-round exposure to wind, rain, snow, and heat is high-quality windows and siding. With proper care and upkeep, your external siding should last 20 to 40 years before needing to be replaced. It is important that you maintain your siding’s pristine condition as it is an important aspect of your home’s structural integrity, as well as its overall exterior aesthetic. To make sure that your siding is in its best shape, you must be able to identify typical problems with your siding and know how to keep up with its routine maintenance.

Inspect Siding Multiple Times Per Year

It is advised that you inspect your siding every six months, or as often as you like, to ensure that it is in good condition. Any apparent surface damage is a warning of future structural damage to your house, so it’s critical to discover tiny problems early and correct them before they worsen and become more expensive to repair.

Chips, holes, scratches, or fractures in your wood exterior (which suggest possible moisture infiltration spots), ageing and fungi on the surface (which often signals moisture problems), or peeling interior paint or wallpaper are all potential symptoms of a problem (indicates moisture behind your walls).

Most professionals recommend performing one inspection in the autumn to prepare for the winter and another in the spring to finish any necessary maintenance while the weather is milder.

Keep it Clean

Whatever type of siding you have, it must be cleaned on a regular basis to remove dirt, mildew, and other potentially dangerous elements from the surface. Clean siding lasts longer and improves the overall appearance of your home’s exterior. Learning how to preserve your siding is an excellent investment and will help you save money in the long term.

You must wash your wood siding once a year with warm, soapy water and a soft-bristled brush to carefully remove grime. To avoid drip marks, clean your home in parts and rinse each piece with a hose before going on to the next. If mildew appears, gently clean with a solution of one part bleach to four parts warm water, rinsing afterward. Rust stains from uncoated nails or screws may be removed in the same way, but substitute oxalic acid for the bleach in your solution. It is best that you replace corroded fasteners with galvanised or stainless steel siding nails.

Professionals recommend using gloves and eye protection when handling your solution because both bleach and oxalic acid might irritate your skin and eyes.

Protect Your Siding

To protect your siding, you must keep bushes, tree branches, and shrubs around your siding to a minimum. None of these should come into contact with your siding as they can harm and damage this part of your home. Moisture tends to find its way into the cracks and crevices of wood siding, and foliage serves as its entrance way.

Furthermore, if you have vinyl siding instead of wooden siding, it is still best to be cautious about putting plants and such around it. Your vinyl will not dent, but it may fracture or shatter if you run against it while mowing the grass. If you see a broken portion, it’s essential to replace it as quickly as possible.

Repair Damages Immediately

Even though your siding is supposed to last you a while, it can be damaged and it is not impervious to all types of harm. For example, hail or lawn and garden equipment may cause fractures in your siding. Bicycles parked incorrectly might also cause siding damage. Regardless of what the cause of the damage may be, you must have the problem treated as soon as possible before it worsens.

While changing individual pieces of your siding is very simple, you may need to contact a reputable business to ensure that you obtain the best siding that is ideal for your needs and the style of your home.

Keep Siding Away From Heat

While vinyl can withstand harsh weather conditions, it should not be subjected to excessive heat, especially heat that might melt it or cause damages. Not only is this dangerous for your home, but it is also dangerous for you and those that live in it because it can lead to more serious problems, like a fire and such (if you have wooden siding). To avoid damage, it is recommended that you keep a safe distance of two to three metres between your home and any grills or other heat sources. This space will allow you to be less stressed about causing any damages onto your siding with any of the heat-producing appliances you may have.

The siding of your home is just as important as any other aspect of your home. This part of your home is one of your most crucial protections against the harsh weather conditions that your area may face. Siding can last up to 40 years, but it all depends on how you take care of it and if you are willing to go out of your way to make sure that it is in its best condition. To make your siding last longer, you must inspect it multiple times a year, keep it clean, protect it from any plants or tree branches, repair its damages immediately and keep it away from heat. By following these tips, you will be able to truly reap the durability benefits that your siding has to offer.