Did you know that over 16,000 people die from slip and fall accidents every year according to the National Safety Council? In fact, slip and fall accidents are the second leading cause of injuries in the United States. They make up approximately 15% of all job-related injuries, and overall, more than 540,000 slip and fall injuries requiring hospital care occur in North America every year.

What’s all this got to do with pressure washing? As a business owner, and even as a home owner, failure to regularly clean driveways, sidewalks, and pavers in frequently traveled areas can lead to buildup of slippery substances. Although we don’t have ice to worry about here in SWFL, we do have mold and algae growths, which are not just slippery, but can even crack or warp paved surfaces, leading to tripping hazards. These safety issues can expose you, and your customers or visitors, to danger. Slipping and falling is a very common reason people file personal injury lawsuits.

That’s why pressure washing provides more than just aesthetic benefits. Removing the mold, algae, dirt, oil buildup and other substances from your concrete and pavers also helps reduce your legal liability.

Here are some tips to take care of your property to prevent dangerous buildup:

• Be sure to sweep entryways on a regular basis, and get them pressure washed a couple of times a year, or whenever the buildup starts to become a hazard.
• Hose off any fresh spills immediately, so they don’t set and harden. If this is a place of business, be sure to put up signs to warn customers if the floor is still wet.
• As a business you should always use “wet floor” signs, absorbent mats, and anti-skid paint in areas that are prone to moisture and slippery conditions.

We don’t recommend pressure washing these areas yourself. Too often those people who do it themselves end up damaging their own property. The most common mistake is applying too much pressure which can cut through a screen or etch lines into your concrete. Do it yourselfers also often forget to use a cleaning solution and rely merely on water, which only pushes mold spores around. The extra pressure you’ll have to use with water only and the mold-related damages can end up costing you more money in the end.

Often, do it yourself home owners discover that once they figure in the cost of renting a pressure washer, transporting it to and from the rental place and spending the time to do the pressure washing, they would have been better off investing in having UnderPressure do it for them.
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If your sidewalks and pavers have dangerous and ugly mold covering them, give us a call at Under Pressure at 239-218-5085.

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You already know that you should get your roof and pavers power washed on a regular basis to have it looking fantastic, but believe it or not, there are some other great reasons to hire Underpressure. Here are just a few reasons to consider getting power washing done.
 

1. Renovations to your home—If you’ve just finished having renovations done to your home, such as a new roof put on, there’s a very good chance the contractors didn’t really clean up properly. Often roofers accidentally get tar on the roof or perhaps even on the pavers in the lanai. Power washing will remove those ugly tar stains and make your home look great. Also, our Biowash solution on your brand-new roof, will keep it from ever getting mold or mildew as long as you have it redone regularly.
2. Allergies—Spring is in the air and that means your roof tiles, doors, and the exterior surfaces of your home are likely covered in pollen. Towards the end of the season, it’s a great time to get your house power washed to remove all that pollen. If you are sneezing every time you go outside, consider hiring us to get rid of that pollen.
3. Selling your home—Nothing gives you instant curb appeal like having your home’s exterior power washed. No more black mold, no more pollen, no more dirt. It will make the paint look new and beautiful.
   
4. Getting your home professionally painted—If you’ve hired professional painters to come and paint the exterior of your home, then you definitely want to hire us to power wash it first. Power washing removes the dirt, and if the older paint is peeling, it will also wash away the loose chips of paint, leaving a clean surface for that new coat of paint to properly bond to your home exterior. Power washing is the key to ensuring a long-lasting paint job every time. Ideally, you should wait three to four days after the power wash before you begin exterior painting.

Here at Under Pressure, we recommend getting your entire exterior washed every few years as part of the regular maintenance for your home. Before you repaint, or perhaps instead of repainting your exterior, give us a call at Under Pressure at 239-218-5085.
 

This month as you drive around looking at the beautiful lights on everyone’s home, you may notice something else about that house. Are those home exteriors as shiny and beautiful as the lights adorning them, or are they a little grungy looking? Even as you hang your own lights, you may notice your home’s exterior is not as fresh looking as you thought. Now is the perfect time of the year to get the exterior of your home spic and span. We often forget that the outside of our home needs some attention too! Exposed to the elements all year, it makes sense that siding, driveways and pathways get dirty, too. If you’re tired of looking at your dirty and stained siding, it’s probably time to get your home a deep cleaning by Under Pressure.

Here in Southwest Florida your home is exposed to a lot of severe natural elements. Our subtropical humid environment leaves your home open to constant attack from tree and plant pollen, extreme UV rays, salt from the ocean breezes, wind and the torrential rains of our summers. This leaves your siding grungy with mold, mildew, dirt and grime. So it’s a good idea to have your home’s exterior washed twice a year.

What you might not realize is that the sea salt, mildew, mold, moss, dirt, and other grime that collects on your home’s outer surfaces do more than just make your home look grungy. These substances can also cause damage to the surface of your home. Mold, mildew, algae and even dirt can all infiltrate the wood in your home and cause serious structural damage. Exposure to the elements (rain, wind and sun) oxidizes over time, leaving your house vulnerable to all sorts of problems. A dirty house invites insects to intrude. If left untreated, all of these elements can cause permanent staining, and potentially even degrade your surfaces, which can cost you thousands in repairs. A good soft wash can help stave off problems and help prevent maintenance problems in the future. That’s why it’s important to catch it early on, with regular maintenance.

A couple of other things to consider, the environment is full of pollutants: acid rain; bird excrement; smoke, and more.  All of these things can settle on the surface of your home’s exterior, putting you at risk of contamination. Our soft wash helps clean away pollutants.
If anyone in your family suffers from allergies, a good cleaning can help get rid of the things causing all of that wheezing and sneezing. Anytime you can get rid of allergens on the exterior of your home; you make it less likely that they will get inside where they can wreak havoc on your family’s health.
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We at Under Pressure use a technique called soft wash to revive the original look of your home. It begins with a light spraying of your home with a gentle cleanser. We then come behind with a light spray to rinse off the exterior. We do not use any high pressure on your home to make sure we do not peel any paint or degrade the quality of the exterior of your home. A small investment on the cleaning of the exterior of your home is one of the best ways to build up the value of that home. If you’re interested in having the exterior of your home safely soft washed for long-lasting results, give us a call at Under Pressure at 866-579-6942.

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We are finally past our rainy season here in Southwest Florida. But you may find that your roof now looks terrible after all of our summertime heat and humidity. That’s the perfect climate for mold, mildew and bacteria to leave ugly streak marks on your roof. And those streaks are more than unsightly, they are also destructive to your roofing materials. Necessity is the mother of invention, and our heat and humidity in Florida is just one reason the roof cleaning industry was started right here.

Back when it was started in the 1980’s, roof-cleaning companies used pressure washers to clean roofs, and unfortunately, many of our competitors still do. However, at Under Pressure, we never pressure wash a roof, because pressure washing is really bad for all types of roofs. For years we’ve used a soft-wash technique. We love to run ahead of the pack though, and we do that through always keeping up with cutting edge technologies and techniques. To that end we recently added a new “green” cleaning solution and application process to clean roofs in a way that kills algae, but not your plants. Our green cleaning technique not only removes those black streaks but kills the mold, mildew and algae at the root, and continues to kill new growth.

Let’s start by discussing those black streaks for a moment, because pressure washing may make it look like it’s gotten rid of them, but it will only be a few months before you start to see those ugly streaks again. That’s because the black streaks aren’t “dirt.” The main culprit of those black streaky roof stains is a bacteria called Gloeocapsa Magma. It’s a bacteria! That means it’s a living organism—it’s a plant that will put down roots. Other forms of microorganisms can be found in union with the bacteria, including mold, fungi, algae, mildew, lichen, and moss. When you pressure wash, you do not blow the roots off the roof, so the bacteria, mold and mildew grow back quickly.

The filament root system of the fungi and algae are growing on, and digging in to your roof. Fungi and algae that are growing on a roof have root systems that can cause damage to shingles such as uplifting, spreading of shingles, and decomposition. The roots open up tiny cracks in the shingles, tiles or other roofing materials. Many of these organisms growing on roofing surfaces do much of the same thing. They spread the shingle like a fan. Because the shingle is attached on the back, the front ends of the shingle flare and roll. This is because the shingle is widened at the front more so than the back.

Many roofing surfaces are made with materials that can be metabolized by these microorganisms. For example, shingles contain limestone, which contains phosphates, an excellent source of nutrients for algae, mildew, and bacteria to feed on. These microorganisms will break down a roofing surface and cause decomposition. This in turn, will also aid the process of erosion caused by running water such as rainfall.
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The good news is that through a new cutting edge solution we use here at Under Pressure called BioWash, these microorganism stains can be safely removed! The new solution is completely safe for all of your landscape plantings and grass because it’s biodegradable. It’s effective on all kinds of roof tiles. The formulation of the product and the application techniques the company trained us in allows the cleaning solution to have a longer dwell or linger time, which means less run off, and increased results from just one application. The product does not damage tiles and returns them to their original color over time. One of the best things about this product, is that it continues to work over time, deeply cleaning and preventing the stains from returning, when you schedule regular preventative services with us.

Our BioWash service is an industry first, and we hope you’ll call us today to clean your roof with this environmentally and roof friendly product. If you’re interested in having the black stains on your roof removed safely and with  long-lasting results, give us a call at Under Pressure at 866-579-6942.

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When you purchase a townhouse or home in a planned development or gated community here in Southwest Florida, you are often obligated to join that community’s homeowner’s association (HOA), pay monthly or annual fees for the upkeep of common areas, and maintain your home within the HOA'. 
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In addition to maintaining common areas, HOAs also set out certain rules that all residents must follow called convenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). Rules may include what color front door you may have, whether you are allowed to line dry your laundry outside, whether you can have a satellite dish, the size and type of pets permitted, and so on. In a subdivision with individual homes, regulations may include what color you can paint your home, the exterior landscaping you can do, the types of vehicles you can park on the street or in your driveway (no RVs, for example), permissible type and height of fences, and restrictions on window coverings for windows facing the street. 

HOA’s will also govern how well you maintain your residence and will often enforce how well you maintain your property, which can include everything from lawn maintenance to keeping your roof clear of mildew and your driveway and lanai clean as well. While all of this can be a pain, remember the covenants are there to help maintain the quality of life for the entire community and to protect property values for all of the owners.

No one likes to get a letter saying they’ve broken the rules and may be being charged a fine by the HOA if they don’t maintain their property properly. However, the HOA is obligated to fairly and consistently enforce governing documents. If it didn’t, chaos would ensue. 

Here at Under Pressure, we call those HOA maintenance letters “nastygrams.” This is the time of year in SWFL, when many HOA’s send out their maintenance “nastygrams.” And if you’ve gotten a “nastygram” about mold and mildew on your roof, your driveway, your lanai or your sidewalk, we want you to know that we are here to help you avoid getting a fine from your HOA. Call us now and we will get that dirt and mildew handled immediately, getting you out of hot water with your association, and making your home looking fantastic

​Whew, here in Southwest Florida it is hot and wet right now! That humidity and rain we get every day in the summer really has the plants and yard growing, and pretty much anything that thrives on heat and humidity. And if you’ve lived here long enough, you know that that means mold, mildew and algae growth is kicked up everywhere. There’s a good chance you’ve noticed that your pool enclosure screens and struts have a greenish or blackish tinge to them or outright fuzzy growth on them. Not just ugly stuff, but also corrosive and detrimental to the long-term wear of your cage and screens. 

Here’s what else happens to your screens this time of year in SWFL. While screen enclosures do an excellent job of keeping bugs, wildlife and yard debris out of your outdoor living spaces, their exteriors don’t repel pollen. Over time, pollen can accumulate on the structure’s surfaces, forming a disgusting film that makes your enclosure look old or dirty. So that’s the other thing that may be making your screens look terrible.

Cleaning your enclosure is key to preserving the life of your screens, as well as the frame. However, those screens are delicate! So straight up pressure washing is not the answer. A pressure washer on full power can etch into concrete, so it will definitely blow a tear into a screen.  That’s why when it comes to your lanai and pool screen enclosure, we use a soft wash system.

Our team at Under Pressure is on the job to:

• Remove algae, mildew, pollen, and dirt
• Kill bacterial growth
• Remove leaves and other debris

At Under Pressure, we use a soft washing system to deliver the highest level of clean without negatively impacting your lanai pool enclosure. Screening is a delicate surface and should never be exposed to high pressure washing technology. Our soft wash service protects the material and enhances its appearance with a low pressure cleaning alternative.

We use cleaning products that are formulated to be tough on buildup. They kill spores, break down dirt buildup, and deliver the “deep clean impact” your screening needs to last season after season.

A soft wash incorporates special low-pressure nozzles on the end of a pressure washing gun or wand. That’s combined with a biodegradable chemical that removes the biological elements (mold, algae, pollen, dirt, moss) and other stains without damaging surfaces on your lanai or killing your plants.
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If your pool cage is looking black or green or if you just want to be sure all of it is sparkling, give us a call at give us a call at Under Pressure at 866-579-6942.