Are you one of the many homeowners in the Greensboro, NC area? People love living in this community because of the job opportunities, the tightly knit community, and the beautiful natural scenery. Combine this with the privileges of homeownership, and you’ve got the recipe for living the good life. However, owning a residential property isn’t all fun and games; it comes with its fair share of responsibilities, too. For example, you’ll need to learn how to soft wash a house if you want to keep your home in the best possible condition.
In this blog, we’ll explore house washing, its benefits, and how you can do this work for yourself! Then, you’ll have a choice to make—will you soft wash your house on your own, or will you schedule an appointment with the professionals at Cardwell Cleaning instead?
What Is Soft Washing?
To learn how to soft wash a house, you need to understand what soft washing is. To best explain this, let’s talk about pressure washing first. Pressure washing is the process of spraying high-pressure water at exterior surfaces. The goal is to use pressurized water to remove debris from these surfaces and leave them in the best-looking condition. For extremely durable materials like concrete and metal, water pressure levels can be as high as 3,000 to 3,500 PSI.
Soft washing is extremely similar to pressure washing; the key difference is how much water pressure is used. Soft washing stays within the range of 150 to 500 PSI in most cases. That way, it’s a safe choice for even the most delicate materials, including vinyl, softwood, stucco, and rooftops.
Why Soft Wash Your House?
Why learn how to soft wash a house in the first place? “What’s in it for me?” you might ask. There are actually many benefits to this work. Consider the following:
- Improved Home Appearance. If your home’s exterior surfaces are covered with debris, they won’t look their best. Wash this grime away to restore beauty.
- Reduced Risk of Damage. Debris actually damages surfaces over time. Rinse away this debris, and you’ll avoid this damage—as well as the need for expensive repairs.
- Improved Hygiene. Soft washing removes moss, mold, and algae from exterior surfaces, preventing them from releasing spores and improving air quality.
Our general recommendation is that you have your house soft washed annually. So, if it has already been more than a year, it’s time to do something about it.
Necessary Equipment For House Washing
If you want to know how to soft wash a house, you’ll need to purchase all the needed gear. Otherwise, you won’t be able to earn any hands-on experience with the work. So, what tools do you have to purchase? Make sure you have the following:
- Pressure Washer. With a pressure washer, you’ll be able to select how much water pressure to use and produce jets of water—perfect for cleaning any surfaces of any material you can imagine.
- Hose and Nozzle. A hose and nozzle let you precisely aim jets of water at exterior surfaces. This is crucial for methodical soft washing and helps you take aim at small, stubborn stains and blemishes.
- Cleaning Solutions. You’ll also want to use a gentle pressure washing solution to help with the removal of debris. If you are dealing with stubborn grime, you can even use powerful sodium hypochlorite (bleach).
- Safety Gear. It’s important to protect yourself when handling pressurized water, so make sure that you wear eye protection, gloves, full-length pants, and closed-toe shoes.
Preparing Your Property For Soft Washing
Don’t just leap directly into the soft washing process! You have to prepare your property for soft washing first. For example, have you considered any flower beds and gardens near your home’s exterior? You may want to cover these areas with tarps or drop cloths—that way, you don’t have to worry about accidentally damaging them with soft washing water. Similarly, it’s also a good idea to move any outdoor furniture and decorations out of the way.
Finally, make sure you set aside enough time for soft washing. Learning how to soft wash a house might take a while, and you don’t want to rush through the work. Make sure you have set aside most of the day for the process.
The House Soft Washing Process
It’s time to learn how to soft wash a house. Begin by preparing your pressure washer, connecting it to a water source, and filling its soap tank with detergent. Then, choose an appropriate amount of water pressure for the surfaces you are washing. (This varies from material to material, so do your research before making any assumptions.)
When soft washing exterior surfaces, work in a row-by-row formation and overlap each pass. This ensures that no surface area is accidentally skipped over. What happens if stubborn debris won’t wash away? When this happens, you can use sodium hypochlorite to break down grime. Simply apply a thin layer of this substance to the dirty area. Then, wait fifteen minutes before thoroughly rinsing. Any tough debris should wash away with ease.
Consider Professional House Soft Washing
Learning how to soft wash a house isn’t easy. To do this work, you have to buy the correct equipment, figure out how to use it, and invest hours of your time into the soft washing process. Because of this, many people prefer not to soft wash their house on their own. For an easy alternative to the DIY process, consider professional house soft washing from an exterior cleaning business near you.
At Cardwell Cleaning, it’s always our pleasure to serve the Greensboro, NC community. So if your home’s exterior surfaces have seen better days, contact us online and let us know about it! We will provide you with a free cost estimate, and then, you can choose a time and date for your appointment. It won’t be long before we’re at your property, rinsing exterior surfaces and restoring your home’s beauty. We’ll give you the fantastic results you deserve.
