Your property’s exterior is the first thing that visitors, neighbors, or customers see, so maintaining or improving the curb appeal of your home or business is a top priority. Property owners have options when it’s time to get that overdue deep clean or when it’s time to begin scheduling regular maintenance cleaning. Some people may use the terms pressure washing and soft washing interchangeably, but it’s important to understand the differences, so you can make the best choice for your building’s exterior.
What is Pressure Washing?
Pressure washing is a method that utilizes very strong jets of cold water (1300-2800 pounds per square inch) to remove unsightly or unhealthy materials such as mold, algae, fungus, pollen, animal droppings, cracked paint, and other grime from exterior surfaces. While this method can effectively target and clear undesirable blemishes, the intensity of the water pressure can make exterior surfaces vulnerable to damage. For example, the powerful blast may cause asphalt granules to come off a roof, paint to accidentally come off a wall, or grout between bricks to be removed. In addition, this cleaning approach lacks any long-term preventative measures to keep the same grime from reforming on the surface, meaning you must clean it more frequently.
The Soft Washing Difference
Soft washing applies a combination of water and cleaning chemicals at a lower level of water pressure (150-300 per square inch) to clean exterior surfaces. Due to its less aggressive pressure, soft washing is ideal for fragile surfaces such as roofs, vinyl or wood siding, windows, stucco, and brick, eliminating the risk of damage from high flow water blasts. Soft washing also does a great job on harder surfaces such as driveways, garage floors, patios, and decks. The addition of surfactants and bleach into the water flow allows soft washing to penetrate and thoroughly clean the grooves in the surface while destroying the source of growth at the molecular level. With a soft wash, you can count on a longer-lasting clean by nipping problems in the bud.