Keeping the home’s exterior pristine adds to the curb appeal, a homeowner’s first impression for guests and passersby, plus an enhancement to the overall community. Part of the process for keeping the exterior house walls appearing brilliant and new is washing them.
Most people want to avoid manually scrubbing the outside walls to their home, instead opting to use adequate tools, including commercial soft washing equipment. In order to understand soft washing, it’s important to gain insight into pressure washing.
More people might be familiar with pressure washing and believe soft washing to be the same, but there are distinct differences. The primary goal of each method is to remove the dirt, grime, growths, and debris from the exterior walls to reveal a clean surface.
Let’s consider pressure washing first to learn the fundamentals of that process and work into soft washing comparatively to understand the differences. You can then make an educated decision on which would be the better option when having a professional cleaning service wash your house or perhaps DIY the duty.
How Can A Soft Washing Company Make Your Household Curb Ready
Before considering a method for cleaning the exterior walls of your home, it’s essential to understand the different techniques and how these effectively remove the dirt, grime, potential growths, particles, and debris.
A few options exist, including pressure and soft washing, which is probably the least known. The two are related in various ways but are distinctly different. A priority is to learn these differences before committing.
The objective is to bring your home to a curb-ready appearance in a safe, less labor-intensive, effective, and efficient manner without the potential for defects or damage to the home’s exterior walls. Consider the process for pressure washing and then look at the differences with this technique.
● What is pressure washing
Pressure washing cleans outside surfaces by incorporating a high-pressure stream. This is often most common with hardscapes, decking or patios, driveways and paths, or sidewalks.
The intensity of the high pressure is usually enough to eliminate any sort of grime, dirt, debris, particles, dust, mud, mold, growths, or any undesirable substance.
Power washing is a variation of pressure washing, except it incorporates the use of hot water for cleaning. Click for the advantages of soft washing vs. pressure washing.
● What is soft washing
This technique lowers the pressure to safely clean more fragile outdoor surfaces like a home’s exterior walls. A soft washing company will use cleaning solvents for the effective elimination of bacteria, growth of fungi like molds and mildew, or moss plus other microorganisms.
These cleaning solutions typically comprise the following primary ingredients:
1. Water is used to dilute a concentration of bleach.
2. A surfactant will go between surfaces to break up the substances built up in the crevices.
3. The primary agent will be bleach to disinfect and clean the main surface areas.
A high-pressure washer or power washing system can damage the surfaces when washing the delicate exterior walls. This equipment is ideal for the following surfaces:
1. Outside furnishings
2. Cedar-shake siding
3. Wood-panel siding
4. Vinyl siding
5. Stucco
6. Coquina
7. Screening
8. Enclosed patios
9. Lanai
10. Windows
11. Glass door
12. Roofing shingles
What Are The Advantages Of Soft Washing
Keeping the home exterior clean is advantageous for an optimum first impression. In many communities, Homeowners’ Associations or HOA dictate your home’s curb appeal, the neatness, cleanliness, and how to maintain it.
In order to stay ahead of the curve, these methods will ensure that your house is always clean and well-cared for, plus retain the property value. Consider these benefits when looking at soft washing as a possibility for household maintenance.
● Hard-to-reach spots are easier to navigate
The suggestion is you won’t need to climb on ladders working with this equipment since the stream can range as high as “50 feet,” allowing you to navigate tough-to-reach areas. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to get to the roof.
For anything you’re uncomfortable doing in a DIY capacity, it’s wise to allow a professional company to get the job done. The team comes with professional-grade tools and equipment prepared to eliminate any substance with an expert’s touch.
With their knowledge and skill set, the crew can make fast, easy work of the process, making the investment worthwhile.
● Damage and defects to the home’s exterior walls are less likely
With lower pressure compared to a power or pressure washer, the potential for defects or damage to delicate surfaces is less likely. Using a high-pressure system on fragile areas like the roof shingles or a glass door can result in shattered glass and broken shingles.
● The clean with a soft wash has an extended longevity
The high-pressure with power or pressure washing doesn’t always have sufficient energy to eliminate the growth of algae, mildew, mold, or moss. These also have the potential for returning.
These cleaning solvents include bleach which will kill microorganisms, including mold, “at a molecular level.” That means they will not only be eliminated by the won’t come back.
● It boasts of being environmentally friendly
The suggestion is that soft washing is an environmentally friendly solution since the cleaning solvents are biodegradable. While bleach is among the ingredients, this is diluted with water making it a safer product.
It’s comparable to what you would see with disinfectants for drinking water and use in swimming pools.
Final Thought
Ideally, as a homeowner, the decision to use professionals for soft washing will mean you have a crew of technicians with expertise in thoroughly cleaning each surface efficiently and effectively with adequate methods for the varied surfaces.
Their equipment and tools are professional grades, and their skill set is fine-tuned to avoid any potential for defects or damages. Regardless of the grime or growth, the cleaning solvent will eliminate the substance with no chance of its return and do so in an environmentally friendly manner.
These professionals work fast and efficiently to make your home stand out from the rest of the community.
