After the last hard freeze, walk the outside of the house in this order: roof and gutters, siding and trim, windows, concrete and pavers, deck, then the yard. Look for winter damage first, then clean. Salt residue, algae, loose gutters and pollen film are the usual findings in northern Illinois. Rob's Exterior Services in Woodstock handles the cleaning side; text (815) 451-0106 for a free quote.
The short version
- Inspect before you clean. A cleaning crew should not be the first to find a cracked board or a pulled gutter hanger.
- Wait for the last hard freeze before washing anything, but do not wait for summer. Algae grows fastest in the damp weeks of April and May.
- Road salt, frozen debris and snow load are what winter leaves behind. Check concrete, gutters and low siding first.
- Cottonwood fluff, maple seeds and pollen arrive in waves. A final gutter and window pass in late May often beats an early one.
- Decks washed in spring should dry fully before any stain or sealer goes on.
- Anything that looks structural, such as sagging fascia, soft decking or a leaking roof, belongs to a roofer or carpenter, not a cleaner.
The first walk-around: what winter did while you were not looking
Pick a dry, bright day in late March or April and walk the whole outside of the house with a notebook or your phone camera. Do it before any cleaning. What you are doing is separating damage from dirt. Dirt can be washed. Damage has to be repaired, and washing over it can make things worse.
Winter in McHenry County is hard on exteriors because it keeps cycling. Snow melts by day, water works into joints and cracks, and it freezes again by night. Ice dams push meltwater under shingles at the eaves. Road salt rides into driveways on tires. Heavy snow slides off the roof and bends gutters. By April, the evidence is all there if you look for it.
Photograph anything suspicious: stained ceiling corners inside the house below roof edges, drip lines on siding, white crust on concrete, gutters pulled away at the corners, soft spots on deck boards. Those photos are also what a contractor needs to quote accurately.
Roof and gutters first, because everything runs downhill
Start at the top. From the ground, with binoculars if you have them, look for lifted, curled or missing shingles, dark streaks, and debris in the valleys. Black streaking is usually Gloeocapsa magna, a cyanobacteria that thrives on shaded, damp slopes, and it spreads slowly. What Are the Black Streaks on Your Roof, and Should You Remove Them? explains what it is and how it differs from moss. If shingles are actively failing, call a roofer first. A cleaning does not fix lifted or cracked shingles.
Then look at the gutters. Winter leaves them packed with frozen debris, and the spring thaw is when it all moves. Check the hangers and the pitch, check the seams for drips, and look for sagging runs. Clear the gutters when the trees have leafed out and the seed drop slows. In many yards that means late May rather than early April, and sometimes a second pass is worthwhile if cottonwoods and silver maples are close.
If the roof has black streaks and you want them gone, roof washing is a low-pressure process. Is Roof Washing Safe for Asphalt Shingles? covers why high-pressure washing is the thing to avoid on asphalt shingles.
Siding, trim and the north wall that never dries
Look at each wall in turn and note which are green, gray or speckled. In almost every yard, the north side and any wall shaded by evergreens or a neighboring house stays damp longest, so that is where algae and mold take hold first. Green film on vinyl, fiber-cement or painted wood is organic growth feeding on dust and pollen, and it responds to low-pressure cleaning.
Look carefully at caulk lines, window trim and the seams where siding meets a corner post. Cracked caulk and gaps are where water gets in. Fix those after cleaning and drying, not before, since you want to see the actual gaps and then seal onto a clean surface.
The difference between washing and just spraying matters here. High pressure forces water behind lap siding and can damage trim, seals and paint. Soft Washing vs Pressure Washing: Which Does Your Surface Need? lays out the decision. For the specifics of what grows on siding, see Mold and Algae on Siding: What It Is, Whether It Matters, and How to Clean It. A whole-house wash is quoted after seeing a photo; see house washing.
Windows, screens and the hard-water film
Spring windows are usually dirty in two layers. The outer layer is winter grime, road spray at ground level, and pollen. The inner layer, on the glass itself, can be mineral spotting from sprinklers or well water. The first layer wipes off. The second does not.
Do windows after the heaviest pollen and cottonwood fluff, not before, or you will repeat the job in a few weeks. Take down and clean the screens, check the weep holes at the bottom of the frames, and look at the seals for fogging between the panes. Fogged glass means a failed seal, which cleaning will not fix.
If you are on a well or have hard water from irrigation hitting the glass, read Why Do Windows Get Hard Water Spots, and What Helps If You Have a Well?. For routine exterior glass, window cleaning is available as a standalone service.
Driveway, walks and patio after a salt season
Concrete takes the worst of winter. Deicing salt, grit and meltwater sit on the surface, and freeze-thaw cycles then work on any pores and hairline cracks. By April you may see flaking at the surface, white crust, or rust-colored stains where metal sat on the slab.
Wash the slab after the final hard freeze so you are not creating ice, and rinse away the salt rather than just brightening the surface. Check control joints and cracks for widening. Cracks wider than a hairline should be sealed or repaired by a concrete professional. Cleaning does not repair them.
Pavers and flagstone add another set of questions, such as sand loss in the joints and moss in the seams. Those are covered in White Powder, Rust Stains and Salt Damage on Concrete: What Is It and What Helps?. pressure washing suits hard surfaces like these. driveway & patio cleaning is quoted from a photo.
Deck and fence: look hard before you wash
Press a screwdriver tip gently into the boards near the posts and along the ledger where the deck meets the house. Soft or spongy wood needs a carpenter. Check railings for wobble and screws for loosening, because freeze-thaw tends to raise fasteners.
If the deck is sound, wash it, let it dry, and only then stain or seal. The sequence is wash, dry, coat, and it is covered in How Often Should You Wash and Stain a Deck in Northern Illinois?. A stain applied over damp wood or over a dirty surface fails early. Choose a stretch of dry weather in May, when daytime temperatures are reliably mild, rather than a cold, damp April week.
The same rule applies to a wood fence: look first, wash second, coat third.
Yard, beds and the last cleanup pass
Rake out the matted leaves and thatch from the lawn once the soil has dried enough to walk on without leaving ruts. Cut back ornamental grasses and perennials you left standing for winter. Pull mulch back from the base of the siding. Clear storm debris and any limbs that came down.
Spring is also when a brush pile grows from one branch to a heap. Rob's lawn clean-up & trimming work covers hauling and cleanup, and if the whole list feels like too much, a bundled approach through curb appeal packages can be quoted as one job.
If you did the work in the fall, this stage is a lot lighter. The matching list is in Fall Yard Cleanup Checklist for Northern Illinois.
A sensible order and what can wait
If you have to prioritize, do the safety and water issues first: gutters and downspouts, loose railings, slick algae on walkways, and any roof leak. Cleaning for appearance comes second, and fully optional work such as staining comes last.
Weather decides the schedule. A rough sequence is inspection in late March or early April, concrete and house wash in April through May, gutters and windows in late May, and deck coating when the forecast shows several dry days. Timing questions are discussed in more depth in When Is the Best Time of Year to Clean Your Home's Exterior in Northern Illinois?.
Nothing here has to be done in a single weekend. Spreading it over six to eight weeks, as the weather and the seed drop allow, usually gives better results than rushing all of it into April.