Painting maintenance

Dirt, pollen and mildew hold moisture against the film and speed up failure. A gentle annual wash — low pressure, from the top down — is the cheapest thing you can do for paint life. Avoid high-pressure washing on wood and older siding; it drives water behind the surface and can gouge substrate.

Caulk is a wear item. Walk the exterior once a year and look at trim joints, window and door surrounds, and where dissimilar materials meet. Failed caulk shows as a thin dark line or a visible gap. Cut it out, re-caulk and touch up before the next rainy season.

Touch-ups work best when you plan for them. Keep the leftover paint from the job, labeled with the room or elevation, the product line, sheen and color code. Store it somewhere that doesn't freeze. Touch-up paint from the same can and the same batch blends far better than a fresh mix of the same color.

Inside, the practical maintenance is cleaning rather than repainting. Higher-sheen surfaces in kitchens, baths and hallways can be washed with mild soap; flat and matte finishes generally cannot be scrubbed without burnishing. That is a reason to choose sheen by traffic when you paint.

How to choose

Wash annually, gently

Soft wash or low-pressure rinse. Save aggressive pressure washing for masonry, and even then be careful.

Do a spring caulk walk

Fifteen minutes with a notepad. Fix the failures while they are $20 of caulk instead of $2,000 of wood repair.

Keep and label leftover paint

Room or elevation, product line, sheen, color code and date. Store above freezing and off concrete.

Trim back vegetation

Shrubs against siding keep it wet and shaded — that's where mildew and early paint failure show up first.

Fix gutters before they fix your paint

Overflowing gutters and downspouts dumping against siding cause the peeling that leads to premature repaints.