Soft Washing
Soft washing is how we clean the parts of a Florence home or business that a pressure washer would tear up: stucco, painted wood, screened porches, old soft brick and mortar, vinyl awnings and the fronts of older storefronts. Low pressure, a cleaning mix matched to the surface, and enough time for that mix to do the work instead of the water.
Pressure is a blunt tool. It is great on concrete and terrible on anything with paint, texture, a seam or a soft face. Around the Shoals, where humidity off the Tennessee River keeps algae and mildew growing on everything that stays shaded, a lot of what needs cleaning falls in that second group.
How soft washing works
The method has three parts. First, a cleaning mix goes on at low pressure, often about what a garden hose puts out, from a pump that sprays rather than blasts. Second, it sits. That dwell time, usually several minutes, is when the mix breaks down the algae, mildew and grime and kills the growth down in the texture of the surface. Third, everything gets rinsed off gently with clean water from the top down.
The mix changes with the job. Painted surfaces get a milder blend than bare brick. Heavy mildew on a north-facing porch ceiling gets a stronger one, given more time. Pollen film from March into May often needs little more than a gentle surfactant and a careful rinse, since it is sitting on top rather than growing into anything.
Moisture is what drives all that growth in the first place. The EPA's plain guide to mold and moisture makes the point simply: control the damp and you control the mold. On an exterior in Florence you cannot control the river air, so the next best thing is killing the growth properly when it shows up, not just knocking the top off it.
Surfaces that need a soft wash
Stucco and EIFS, the foam-backed synthetic stucco on some newer homes and commercial buildings, both crack or gouge under high pressure, and water forced into EIFS can rot what is behind it. Painted wood siding, trim, porch railings and beadboard ceilings lose paint if you hit them hard. Screened porches need a light touch so the mesh does not tear or pop out of the spline.
Outdoor cushions, patio furniture, vinyl fencing, playground sets, pool screens and composite railings all clean up better with a soft wash than a pressure wand. So do vinyl and fiber cement siding, which is why a full wash of brick or vinyl siding runs on the same method across most of a house. Roofs are their own job with their own page, though the idea is the same.
Old brick and mortar
Some of the older brick around Florence, Tuscumbia and Sheffield is softer than what gets laid today. The face of the brick is a thin hard skin over a more porous core, and once that skin gets blasted away the brick starts soaking up water and crumbling. Lime mortar in older walls is softer still, and a pressure tip will dig it out of the joints in seconds.
That brick gets a soft wash with a mix suited to masonry, more dwell time to work into the texture, and a low-pressure rinse. Green and black growth on chimneys, retaining walls, garden walls and foundation brick comes off without wearing anything down. If a wall has efflorescence, the white chalky deposit that comes out of brick after it gets wet, we will tell you what we can and cannot do about it before we start.
Storefronts, awnings and business fronts
Downtown blocks and older commercial strips around the Shoals have a lot of older brick, painted trim, cloth and vinyl awnings and signs, all of which need gentle cleaning. Awnings in particular collect pollen, bird droppings and mildew along the folds, and a pressure washer will fray fabric and blow out stitching. We soft wash them in place.
We do storefronts early in the morning or at another time that works for the business, so the sidewalk is clear and nobody is walking through spray. If you run a shop in one of the older storefronts over in Sheffield or along a downtown block in Florence, the quote can cover the front, the awning and the sidewalk out front in one visit. Every job is priced in writing before we start, by the surface and its size, from a photo or a quick walk-around.
Plants, pets and runoff
Anything that comes off a wall ends up in the dirt around it. Before we start, the beds get soaked with plain water so roots and leaves are already full and will not absorb the runoff, and anything delicate gets covered. We keep rinsing during the job and soak them again at the end. Pets stay inside until we are packed up and the area has dried.
On commercial jobs, and on houses where wash water would head straight for a storm drain, we plan where the runoff goes before the first spray. Most of what we use breaks down quickly, but there is no reason to send it down the drain in a stream. We work Monday through Saturday, 7am to 6pm, and answer quote requests the same day.
Related
House Washing
North-side mildew, spring pollen and red clay splash cleared at the right pressure.
Roof Cleaning
No high pressure on shingles, plants and gutters protected throughout.
Deck and Fence Cleaning
Grey weathered wood lifted without raised grain, ready to stain when it dries.
Pressure Washing in Muscle Shoals
We soft wash houses and clean concrete across town.
Questions we get
Is soft washing as effective as pressure washing?
On the surfaces it is meant for, it works better, because the mix kills the algae and mildew rather than just blasting off the top layer. That means the growth takes longer to come back.
What is the difference between soft washing and power washing?
Power or pressure washing uses high water pressure to do the cleaning. Soft washing uses low pressure and a cleaning mix that does the work, followed by a gentle rinse. Concrete gets pressure, painted or soft surfaces get a soft wash.
Can you soft wash a screened porch?
Yes. The screens, floor, ceiling and furniture get a light application and a careful rinse, so the mesh stays in the frame and the paint stays on the floor.
Is the cleaning mix safe for my pets?
Keep pets inside while we work and until everything has been rinsed and dried. Once it has been rinsed off, the area is fine for them again.
Find out what your surface needs
Not sure if your porch, wall or awning needs a soft wash or something stronger? Send a photo through the form and say what the surface is, if you know. We will tell you which method we would use and why, and the price comes in writing. Hit Get FREE Quote Today when you are ready.