Tempting as it might be to just get the paint brush and start painting over render, dirty marks and all, it’s not advisable. We take a look at why it’s so important to clean render before painting it.
The only time you can paint straight on to a rendered wall is when the wall has been freshly rendered with no time to build up any dirt, moss or algae. However, you must be sure to leave it 4-6 weeks to dry out properly so that the moisture from the render doesn’t get trapped. Other than that it’s important to have your render professionally cleaned before painting.
The reason you should choose professional render cleaning over just redecoration is that dirt, moss and algae will get trapped under the paint and it won’t be long before it shows through again. The live spores in these growths won’t die when you paint them (contrary to popular belief). While painting over algae will cover the stain, it won’t kill the source. This means it can just continue to grow and won’t kill the spores of growths such as black algae, which are the dirty stains you often see on render.
Not only will painting over living growth just allow for regrowth, it also takes more paint to get good coverage. This is also true of the rust spots that you see below the satellite dish or metal brackets on the house. Ever tried to paint over darker spots with light paint? It takes a few coats to cover everything.
There are lots of advice articles on line which suggest you can kill off algae and clean render with household products however, it will take you absolutely ages to do this yourself not to mention the access issues you will encounter on the upper levels of your property. Much better instead to hire a professional company with lots of experience that know what they are doing.
You may also find jet wash being suggested as a solution. Again, this is inadvisable as jet washing of this scale will create an enormous amount of mess and can potentially damage the tender. Instead, we use a soft washing, chemical based approach which kills the spores of any algae or moss and is highly effective in removing stains and dirt.
If you would like more information about our professional render cleaning service, please give us a call – 01752 525602