The real nightmares living right outside your front door

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Some real terrors are living on your porch. Sure, maybe a flying monkey isn’t going to pounce on you when you leave for work in the morning. But, there are nightmares that like to take up residence on decks, patios, and front porches. Here are some of the things that can be right outside your door.

Spider Webs

Your home provides a wonderful respite for spiders—at least in their eyes. In yours, few other creepy crawlers are as spooky. Seeing a spider-web cross your threshold is foreboding. Arabesque Orbweaver is one of Ohio’s most common spiders, and there are many others with whom you may come across. While on the one hand, we know that spiders are good—they do catch other bugs and insects—we also don’t want them to turn our porches and decks into fully-formed spider habitats.

Green Algae

If you’re noticing green, slimy algae on your siding and wood, a plant has compromised your home. Informally called “green algae” it’s one of the most diverse groups of algae, with more than 7,000 species that can grow in many different habitats. But, in general, these little organisms love their environment to be moist and shady. Since they can thrive almost anywhere, that means they can take over siding, porches, decks, awnings, fences, driveways, and outdoor furniture.

Black Muck on your Gutters

If you look up, do you see black gunk on the underside of your gutters? That grossness is likely from the overflow of water that spills over the edge of your gutters. Lots of things can cause your gutters to overflow. Read this blog to learn how to clean them. The gist is that leaves, trash, sticks, and other debris can clog up gutters and cause water and dirt to get everywhere. Gutter guards can even cause a problem if they aren’t adequately letting water flow through them. When this happens, the gutter gets grimy and dirty and stained, which can be hard to remove.

Bugs

If your front porch isn’t home to many spiders, it’s certainly home to bugs. Insects look for any space they can to make a cozy little nest. Unfortunately, that’s not great for a homeowner. There’s nothing worse than trying to go outside to enjoy the weather and having to fight off insects. This summer, I was fighting wasps! And, there are many other kinds of flying, crawling, or walking bugs that can bother you. Not to mention the damage that can happen when bugs burrow and nest inside your porch or deck.

Leaves

Beautiful falling leaves can also pose an issue. Once piles of leaves start rotting, they are stinky, gross, and they can become a home to pests.

Soft Washing

That’s a lot of nightmares to deal with as a homeowner, but the good thing is there’s an easy solution: Soft Washing. Exterior Soft Washing removes unsightly streaks and black or green stains from your roof, siding, concrete, decks, and more. It is also an effective pest removal.

Soft Washing is a safe, environmentally-friendly way to clean all your exterior surfaces. Want to learn more? Please read our frequently asked questions to find out how soft washing works.