Soft Washing vs. Pressure Washing
It’s shocking how dirty the outside of your house can get during a year. Some of the most typical stains include dirt or mud splatter, algae, mold and mildew. These stains will give your house an unkempt, messy look, even though you invest time and care into it.
Some of these materials, like dirt or mud, are harmless, but algae and mold can be harmful to your health and to your house. These contaminants produce allergens that can impact your family, and some of them, like algae, can even grow underneath vinyl or roofing and enter your house.
As a professional pressure washing service in Milpitas, we recommend that you have your home’s exterior cleaned once a year. The spring season is the most common time to do an extreme home cleaning, but you can do it any time throughout the year so long as the weather allows.
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 option to thoroughly clean vinyl, brick and painted home surfaces. Now, homeowners have another option for exterior house cleaning: soft washing.
As the names imply, one method is a lot gentler than the other, but there’s a little more to it than that. Let’s review the features of each to help you decide which one is the right choice for your house.
WHAT IS SOFT WASHING?
The soft wash system uses less pressure than a typical pressure washer, hence the name. The maximum water pressure in a soft washing system is 500 PSI. This lower spray is created from a nozzle with a wider spray setting, only slightly more powerful than a standard backyard lawn hose.
Soft washing uses a mixture of detergent, bleach and water in some combination to get rid of organic matter from your home, roof and other exterior surfaces. The solution used in a soft washing process can also include algaecides and residual inhibitors which will slow further growth of these organisms in the future.
Because chemicals, not pressure, are responsible for cleaning the surfaces, no powerful water pressure is required. This means that soft washing should be used for more fragile surfaces that would otherwise be damaged by more powerful pressure washing.
The soft wash solution is sometimes rinsed off, but not every time. This just depends on what type of solution is used, 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 offers the distinct advantage of getting down into cracks and crevices to kill even unseen bacteria, meaning that its impact can last a lot longer than traditional pressure washing.
WHAT IS PRESSURE WASHING?
Pressure washing has always been the gold standard for cleaning home exterior surfaces. It is highly effective and quick, which is why a lot of home and business owners prefer it.
This cleaning system uses water only, there are no chemicals, to clean off stains and mildew from home exterior surfaces. The use of chemical-free water is a big plus to home owners who don’t want to use chemicals, whether for the sake of the environment or to avoid zoning violations.
It can be used on a lot of different materials. Home owners choose pressure washing for cleaning their driveway, porches, decks, walkways and outdoor furniture because it is quick, more efficient and cost-effective.
Pressure washing requires anywhere from 1300 to 3100 PSI water pressure with water sprayed out of a small nozzle for maximum power. Both organic and inorganic materials are sprayed from your home’s surface, prohibiting their growth and restoring the appearance of your house.
One drawback to pressure washing is that the water can sometimes be too powerful and can harm the surfaces of your home you’re attempting to clean. Pressure washing is strong enough to cut grooves into wood and plastic, and it can get into cracks, breaking off pieces of stone or brick.
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 methods are good for your home’s exterior, as well as sidewalks, driveways and more. Both of these cleaning systems can be performed by a professional company – and truthfully, are more correctly done when left to the pros.
Soft washing is perfect for outdoor play sets, gardening 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 removes organisms that are present on the surface, and it stops future growth for a lot longer than pressure washing can.
A problem with soft washing is that it can kill plant life under the surface that you’re cleaning. Remember to spray them down with water right before spraying the soft wash solution on your house or roof, and it probably won’t be an issue.
Pressure washing is the best choice for severe stains, and hard surfaces like asphalt, brick and stone. Pressure washing is the recommended choice for commercial surfaces. A professional pressure washing service in Milpitas might use a combination of detergents and water pressure to get rid of difficult stains, but they need to let you know if they will be using chemicals after your estimate.
It can also be used on siding too (and has been for decades) so long as it is done correctly. High water pressure can break fragile or smaller pieces of the vinyl. A local company that does pressure washing all the time are going to know how to protect vulnerable areas, but a first-timer could do a lot of harm.
Your home’s roof is off limits for pressure washing if you have slate, tile or asphalt shingles. The high pressure of the water can damage these materials and cause you to replace your roof far sooner than expected.
Choosing between soft washing or pressure washing is best left for a pressure washing service. Which method is right for your house? Give Milpitas Pressure Washing a call at 510-244-6840 and we will send a trained technician over to take a look!