What is Soft Washing, and how does it work?
Soft washing is cleaning surfaces to remove dirt, grease, and other debris using detergents and biocides rather than high-pressure water.
We start with a very low-pressure steam clean to remove oils and greases. We follow up by saturating the surface with the selected cleaning solutions. Some can clean immediately; some can take time to kill and degrade the surface pollutants and staining. We will discuss the options at the quoting stage and communicate with you throughout the cleaning process.
In soft washing, water and detergent/biocide is applied at a very low pressure (sometimes called “the solution”) to the soiled surface. This process causes the molecules in the solution to break down and loosen clumps of dirt, staining and other debris. The solution drains off, leaving the clean surface shining and free from any dirt or debris residue.
Why Soft Washing?
Softwashing has become very popular in recent years. This is because it provides a superior clean on some surfaces, in how long the surface stays clean and how damage and erosion are minimised or eradicated.
Kinder to the environment: A pressure washer can use roughly 600 to 1200 litres of water per hour. In comparison, low-pressure soft washing uses 50-100 litres of water.
Tough on dirt, gentle on render: Soft washing render is a much longer-lasting solution. Algae and lichen are killed in situ on the wall. Regrowth will be much slower as the wall will need to be recolonised before growth, and the resultant staining can occur.
Pressure washing can not only damage your render, but it also doesn’t remove all traces of contaminants. They can start regrowing immediately.
Why not high-pressure pressure washing
High pressure can erode a fine layer from your render. It will also find and damage any weak spots or air pockets in your render. We utilise very low-pressure hot water pressure washing on your render. Even very low pressure requires experience and careful handling to avoid damaging your render. Simply selecting the wrong nozzle can have disastrous effects.
Treats the contamination at the root of the problem
Pressure washing will only strip the visible contaminants from your rendered surface. Render is a very porous surface; some algae and lichen spores will remain even if not visible to the naked eye. Softwashing saturates the render with a biocide that will kill all spores and biomass, making recolonisation more difficult and lengthy for algae and lichen. Your render will stay clean for much longer, saving you money in the long run.
Our motto at Exterior Cleaning pros is to clean every home to the standard we would hope for if it were our own home. We assess every property individually while creating a treatment plan, decide on the most appropriate chemicals to use, and communicate clearly with our customers. We honestly explain what we can and, more importantly, what we can’t do. We won’t lie or exaggerate what we can achieve to secure the work.
Our staff are experts in using the correct methods and chemicals at the right strength to clean your render without causing damage to your render or surrounding property. We’ve cleaned hundreds of properties, from family homes to industrial buildings, so give us a call today to see how we can help.
