How to Power Wash to Remove Paint From Old Homes

Put on all your rain gear, your gloves, safety goggles and your boots. Power washing is a wet job, but staying as dry as possible makes it more comfortable. The countless trips up and down the ladders that are necessary are always easier when your clothes are not soaking wet and dripping.

Stage your ladders, hook up and turn on all of your hoses and make sure the power washer is working properly. Give yourself plenty of slack on the wand for working near the top of your ladders. You might need to put the machine on the roof to reach the highest spots. Hoist it up on a rope thrown from the roof and keep the machine balanced while pulling it up if you have to resort to this option.

Begin power washing on the side of the house with the worst of the peeling paint, working from left to right and top to bottom. Blast the peeling paint off the building with careful sweeps of the pressurized water stream. Most machines come with attachments built specifically for paint removal. A flat, wide stream is the most effective. Always keep one hand on the ladder for stability if you can, and be very careful moving up and down on the rungs when they are wet. Keep the stream a good distance from the house itself so that you do not gouge the wood under the paint you're trying to remove. Start slowly until you perfect your technique.

Work your way around the entire house, leaving the lowest spots for last. Since the ground will be wet as well, be sure to properly brace the feet of each ladder whenever you move it or position it for use.

Turn off the machine, disconnect the hose, and put it away. Rake up the leftover chips that don't blow away once the area around the house is dried out. Put them in a trash bag or bucket for disposal.