Soft Washing vs. Pressure Washing

It’s amazing just how dirty the exterior of your home can get throughout a year. Some of the most typical stains include mud or dirt, algae, mold and mildew. These types of stains can give your home an unkempt, uncared for look, regardless of if you invest time and care into it.

Some of these materials, like dirt or mud, are harmless, but algae and mildew can be harmful to your health and to your home. These contaminants produce allergens and bacteria that can impact your family, and some, like algae, can even grow directly underneath vinyl or roofing material and enter your home.

As a professional pressure washing company in Bellevue, we recommend that you have your home’s exterior cleaned once every 12 months. Spring is the most common time to do an extreme home exterior washing, but you can do it any time so long as the weather permits.

WHAT NEEDS PRESSURE WASHING?

All of the following home surfaces need to be cleaned from time to time:

• Vinyl siding
• Rock and stone
• Brick
• Concrete and asphalt

Pressure washing used to be the only way to thoroughly clean vinyl, brick and painted home surfaces. Now, homeowners in Bellevue have another option for exterior home cleaning: soft washing.

As the names imply, one method is a lot gentler than the other one, but there’s a little more to it than just that. Let’s review the features of each to help you judge which is best for your home.

WHAT IS SOFT WASHING?

The soft wash process uses much less pressure than a typical pressure washer, hence the name. The maximum water pressure used in a soft washing system is 500 PSI. This lighter spray is created from a nozzle with a wider spray setting, only a little more powerful than a standard backyard lawn hose.

Soft washing uses detergent, bleach and water in some combination to eliminate organic matter from your home, roof and other exterior surfaces. The mixture used in a soft washing system can include algaecides and residual inhibitors to help slow further growth of these organisms in the future.

Because chemicals, not water pressure, are key to cleaning the exterior surfaces, no powerful water is necessary. This means that soft washing should be used for fragile surfaces that might otherwise be harmed by more powerful pressure washing.

The soft wash solution is sometimes rinsed off, but not every time. This just depends on the type of solution is used in the process, if there is plant or animal life that might be affected by the solution runoff, and if the solution itself is strong enough to harm surfaces over time.

Soft washing provides the advantage of getting down into cracks to eliminate even unseen bacteria, meaning that its impact can last a lot longer than traditional pressure washing.

WHAT IS PRESSURE WASHING?

Pressure washing has long been the gold standard for cleaning home exterior surfaces. It is extremely effective and fast, which is why many home and business owners prefer it.

This cleaning process uses water only, there are no chemicals, to clean off stains and organisms from home exterior surfaces. The use of chemical-free water is a big advantage to home and business owners that don’t want to use chemicals, whether for the environment’s sake or to avoid zoning violations.

It can be used on a lot of different materials. Home and business owners often choose pressure washing for cleaning their driveway, patio, decks, walkways and patio furniture because it is fast, efficient and affordable.

Pressure washing needs somewhere from 1300 to 3100 PSI water pressure with water sprayed out of a tiny nozzle for maximum power. Both organic and inorganic materials are sprayed from your home’s exterior surface, stopping their growth and restoring the appearance of your home.

One negative about pressure washing is that the water is sometimes too powerful and can harm the surfaces you’re attempting to clean. Pressure washing is strong enough to put deep grooves into wood and plastic, and it can get into cracks, breaking off chunks of brick or stone.

IS PRESSURE WASHING OR SOFT WASHING BETTER?

The real question for homeowners is, “Is pressure washing or soft washing better?”

Both soft washing and pressure washing are good for your home’s exterior, including sidewalks, driveways and more. Both of these cleaning systems can be performed by a professional company – and honestly, are more correctly done when left to the experts.

Soft washing is great for outdoor play sets, yard tools, roof shingles, decks, gutters, patios and painted surfaces because it is less likely to harm plastic and wood. It’s also a safe choice for vinyl siding.

It kills organisms currently present on the exterior surface, and it stops future growth for a lot longer than pressure washing can.

A disadvantage of soft washing is that it can kill plant life underneath the surface that you’re cleaning. Remember to spray them down with water right before applying the soft wash chemicals on your home or roof, and it probably shouldn’t be an issue.

Pressure washing is considered the preferred choice for severe stains, and harder surfaces like asphalt, stone and brick. Pressure washing is the recommended process for commercial properties. A local pressure washing company in Bellevue may use a combination of detergents and water pressure to remove difficult stains, but they should tell you if they will be spraying chemicals after your consultation.

It can be used for siding as well (and has been for several years) so long as it is done carefully. High water pressure can break off fragile or small pieces of the vinyl. A service that does pressure washing all the time will know how to protect these pieces, but a first-timer could do a lot of harm.

Your home’s roof is off limits for pressure washing if there are slate, tile or asphalt shingles. The pressure of the water can damage these materials and cause you to replace your home’s roof far faster than expected.

Choosing between pressure washing or soft washing is best left for a pressure washing company. Which process is right for your home? Give PNW Bellevue Pressure Washing a call at 425-264-8680 and we’ll send a trained technician over to take a look!