What is “soft-washing?”

The short answer - washing without using pressure. While pressure washing a brick or siding home appears satisfying, soft-washing loosens the organic material (green and black) growth on the surface and allows it to be rinsed away without needing any pressure at all. On some surfaces like stucco, it is essential not to use any pressure or damage the surface. Around 1 in every 3 homes or buildings I clean already has pre-existing damage from someone using pressure on it. I always take pictures and show the client why I will be soft-washing it because of this.

Soft-washing kills the organic material leaving no residential live algae or mildew on the building. This means your home or building is sanitized. This also means that you will not need to rewash it as soon because it will kill the small organic material that a pressure washer wants cannot get off the surface. So instead of potentially damaging the property, we clean it better than if it was cleaned with pressure.

Soft-washing can damage vegetation around the area being treated, which is why we take precautions, so this doesn’t happen in most cases. We use an agent which neutralizes the cleaning mix once it hits the ground. This is especially important with small plants such as rose bushes and sometimes shrubs.

Soft-washing is the only way to clean a roof without damaging it. The limestone in the shingles helps keep the shingles together, but organic material clings to the limestone, which causes the darker areas on a roof. This is easily cleaned with soft washing. Roofs should never have pressure put on them. When cleaning a roof, we let the cleaning agent take care of the cleaning, and when it rains the next time, it will finish getting all the unwanted material off of the roof.

Soft-washing will not damage most typical roofs. Most metal roofs can be cleaned with this method also, but we need to know the material the roof is made out of because not all roof material is safe for cleaning.

Soft-washing is more efficient, has better results, and has far less risk compared to pressure washing on anything not on the ground. When you have us clean your home or commercial property, we utilize the industry best practices, take precautions where applicable, and guarantee your satisfaction. We have spent a lot of time, money, and experience doing the job right. We are human and occasionally do miss something. This is why we go over the property with the client before leaving, if possible. We would come back if we missed something that you paid us to clean.

What about soft-washing concrete? It works the same as other surfaces, but you can do this on the ground before cleaning with a surface cleaner for the best results. Concrete walls also should be soft-washed and not pressure-washed. When it is filthy, it may take a couple of applications, but still the better option and will achieve a better result without potentially damaging your property.

Brick homes typically hold up pretty well against pressure, but when they are cleaned a few times or more with pressure, they start having rounded edges, and the mortar usually breaks down some and occasionally a lot. One of my customers has 1-2 inch pits in his mortar from someone trying to clean it with pressure. I pointed it out to him, and this is one reason why he has us clean his property.

I hope this has given you some insight into soft-washing. We are always happy to give free quotes for any of our services that you may need.