Soft Washing

“Soft washing” means exterior cleaning with detergents and low-pressure rinsing. It is a lot like cleaning the interior of a house. To clean tubs and floors a pressure washer is not used. First put down detergents and chemicals, then scrub or rinse away. Soft washing uses that same method but on a grander scale.

How Soft Washing Works

There are three chemical options with soft washing. Firstly, the most widely used is Sodium hypochlorite. This chemical is the main ingredient in household bleach. However, companies use it at industrial strengths. Sodium hydroxide is the second most common. Most know it as lye. This chemical is in soap making and to clean drain clogs. Last but not least, there is sodium percarbonate. It is the most eco-friendly out of the three. Sodium percarb is in laundry detergents as an alternative to bleach. Such as OxiClean. All of the chemicals are biodegradable and safe if handled correctly. Found in everyday household cleaning products.

Soft Wash VS Pressure Wash

Pressure washing and soft washing are very different methods of cleaning. With soft washing, it is all about the chemicals and detergents. First, a make mixture of the chosen chemical and a high-surfactant detergent. Then spray it on with a low-pressure diaphragm pump. The mixture dwells on the surface and does all of the work. Once the algae are dead and the debris releases from the surface, a high water volume low-pressure rinse removes all that was left. If used on the proper surface, both methods are very effective. Soft washing is for delicate surfaces such as roofs, vinyl, and painted surfaces. Hard substrates such as block or brick benefit significantly from combining both methods. A pressure washer is great on concrete but would do more damage than a hail storm on a composite (shingle) roof. Also, it can damage any building surface by striping or blasting away the substrate itself. High pressure can push water under the vinyl and into window seals causing dangerous hidden mold problems. 

Soft washing is the only exterior cleaning method that kills algae down to the root. Subsequently, ProClean washes all houses and roofs with our professional soft wash system. Our experience is crucial in how we excel in the cleaning industry. Our ability to find the right solution for every job ensures that every surface is clean safely and effectively. Whether the job calls for soft, pressure washing, or both, we always come prepared. See the difference with ProClean. 

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