Soft Washing vs. Pressure Washing

It is surprising how dirty the outside of your house can get over a year. Some of the most common stains include dirt or mud splatter, algae, mold and mildew. These stains can give your house an unkempt, uncared for appearance, even though you invest a lot of time and care into it.

Some materials, like dirt, don’t do much harm, but algae and mold can be damaging to both your health and your house. They create allergens that can impact your family, and some of them, like algae, can grow underneath vinyl or roofing and enter your house.

As a professional pressure washing service in Murfreesboro, we recommend that you have your home’s exterior cleaned once a year. The spring season is typically the most popular time to do an extreme home exterior cleaning, but you can really do it any time throughout the year as long as the weather permits.

WHAT NEEDS PRESSURE WASHING?

All of the following 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 properly clean vinyl, brick and painted surfaces. Now in 2021, homeowners have a second option for exterior house cleaning: soft washing.

As the names suggest, one method is much gentler than the other one, but there’s more to it than that. Let’s go over the features of each method to help you judge which is best for your house.

WHAT IS SOFT WASHING?

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

Soft washing uses a mixture of detergent, bleach and water in some combination to eliminate organic matter and debris from your home, roof and other surfaces. The solution used in a soft washing process can include algaecides and residual inhibitors which will prevent further growth of these types of organisms in the future.

Because chemicals, not water pressure, are responsible for cleaning the exterior surfaces, no powerful water pressure is needed. This means that soft washing should be used for more delicate surfaces that would otherwise be harmed by more powerful pressure washing.

The soft wash chemicals are sometimes cleaned off, but not always. This just depends on the type of chemicals are used in the process, if there is plant or animal life that might be affected by the runoff, and if the chemicals are strong enough to damage surfaces over time.

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

WHAT IS PRESSURE WASHING?

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

This cleaning process uses water only, there are no chemicals, to get rid of stains and organisms from exterior surfaces. The use of plain water is a big plus to home owners that don’t want to use chemicals, whether for the environment’s sake or to avoid zoning violations.

The pressure washing process can be used on several different materials. Home owners choose pressure washing for cleaning their driveway, patio, decks, sidewalks and patio furniture because it is fast, more efficient and affordable.

Pressure washing requires somewhere from 1300 to 3100 PSI water pressure with water being sprayed out from a tiny nozzle for the most power. Both organic and inorganic stains are blasted from your home’s exterior surface, prohibiting their growth and renewing the appearance of your house.

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

IS PRESSURE WASHING OR SOFT WASHING BETTER?

The obvious 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, including sidewalks, driveways and more. Both 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 toys, yard tools, shingle roofs, decks, gutters, patios and painted surfaces because it is unlikely to damage wood and plastic. It’s also a safe and smart choice for vinyl siding.

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

A problem with soft washing is that it can kill plants underneath the surface that you’re cleaning. Remember to spray them down with water before applying the soft wash chemicals on your house or roof, and it won’t be a problem.

Pressure washing is considered the best choice for severe stains, and hard surfaces like concrete, stone and brick. Pressure washing is the recommended choice for commercial properties. A local pressure washing service in Murfreesboro might use a mix of detergents and water pressure to remove problematic stains, but they need to tell you if they are going to be using chemicals during your consultation.

It can also be used on siding as well (and has been for decades) as long as it is done carefully. Powerful water pressure can damage weak or smaller pieces of the vinyl. A company that does pressure washing often are going to know how to protect these pieces, but a DIYer can do a lot of damage.

Your home’s roof is definitely off limits for pressure washing if there are slate, tile or asphalt shingles. The high pressure of the water will likely ruin these materials and cause you to replace your roof much earlier than expected.

Choosing between pressure washing or soft washing is best left for a pressure washing service. Which process is right for your house? Give Murfreesboro Pressure Washing a call at 615-880-9995 and we’ll send a trained technician over to take a look!