Spring Cleaning Your Stucco Walls

Spring is almost here! There is still snow in our Colorado mountain communities, but for those of you living in the Front Range you’re beginning to see all the dirt that city snow has left behind on your stucco exterior walls. As lovely as that pure white winter blanket of snow was for the first hour, it is now a big dirty stain on your home.

Tips to cleaning textured stucco walls by Swift Inspections in Colorado

To get all the dirt out of textured stucco walls you will need a broom with stiff bristles.

We often use Spring to clean out the dark corners of our closets, creating new space and new beginnings inside your home, but the exterior of your home could also use a little Spring cleaning or Spring makeover. But, before you can add a fresh coat of paint to your stucco or EIFS cladding, you need to clean off the winter grime and fix up any tiny superficial dents and cracks that may have appeared.

Wash dirt from stucco walls before painting

For most stucco homes, removing a few seasons worth of dirt from your exterior walls will require little more than a good scrubbing with a stiff bristled broom. For stucco with extra thick texture, you may need to get a hold of a power washer, but start out with a broom and see how it goes.

As you’re sweeping the dirt off of your walls, keep a lookout for any tiny cracks in your stucco system. Once you’ve determined that the crack is merely superficial and not the cause of more severe damage, a handy homeowner won’t have any trouble sealing up the cracks with a little caulk or a stucco repair product.

Colorado stucco inspection and repair specialist

You can fix superficial hairline cracks in stucco with a little caulk, but larger cracks and damaged cladding should be inspected and fixed by a professional stucco specialist.

Seal up all superficial hairline cracks in your stucco before painting

If you find a crack that is a little deeper than the broom can handle, make sure you dig out any dirt pushed into the crack before you start applying caulk or other materials to seal up the crack. If you’ve had to use caulk or repair products, then you can take a week, maybe more, to let the materials thoroughly dry.

At this point, you may realize all your walls needed was a good scrubbing to bring them back to life. But, if you still want to add a fresh coat of paint for spring, or change up the color completely, stop by next week and we’ll give you tips on the best way to paint your stucco or EIFS clad walls.

Schedule a professional stucco inspection for damaged stucco and EIFS cladding

If you spot damage to your stucco walls while scrubbing them down, contact a stucco inspections specialist in the Front Range or Mountain Communities of Colorado to get a complete exterior inspection. If there are problems with your stucco due to water damage or improper installation you need to fix that problem before you can start thinking about a new coat of paint.