Pressure washing might be the first thing that comes to mind when your house’s siding looks like it could do with a refresh. The high-impact stream of water you see in pressure-washing videos seems perfect for cleaning off years of dirt and grime.
Most siding isn’t usually a good candidate for pressure washing. As solid as the siding seems, it’s fragile enough that the force of the high-pressure water stream could damage the surface. Siding is a better candidate for something called soft-washing, which is similar to pressure washing but not as high-impact.
The Core Differences
Two main differences exist between soft washing and pressure washing. Soft washing uses less pressure, and it also uses a detergent solution instead of only water. Pressure washing sends a high-impact stream of water toward a surface, blasting away dirt, grime, old paint, and more. The pressure can be high enough to hurt skin and other soft surfaces. Soap usually isn’t needed because the pressure is enough to chip away at anything in its path.
But that high pressure can also remove paint that you don’t want to remove. It can dent siding and even break glass if you’re not careful, which is absolutely not what anyone wants when trying to clean a house. Soft washing is a better and safer choice for most homes.
Effective and Gentle Cleaning
Soft washing involves a number of stages that help soften the dirt and grime. The process normally starts off with a pre-treatment in which water and then a cleaning solution are sprayed on the surface and then left to sit for a while. Then the house undergoes a couple of rounds of soft washing with water to remove the cleaning solution along with all the dirt.
The water pressure in soft washing is strong enough to knock away dirt even at long distances (think second stories) but soft enough to leave windows intact. The water pressure isn’t strong enough to dent the siding, either. The one caveat is that sometimes you have to repeat the process a couple of times to really get everything off the siding.
What About Removing Tougher Stains?
Soft washing will remove as much of the looser material as possible. After that, you may have to resort to pressure washing. If you do, it’s essential that you have a professional do it, and that the water pressure be lower at first. Work from lower to higher pressure instead of blasting the siding with the highest pressure you can handle.
Pressure washing has its advantages, including the admittedly therapeutic feeling of seeing so much gunk blasted away. But it can cause irreversible damage to siding and make everything look way worse than it did before. Have patience and use soft washing instead so your home looks better instead of looking like it needs major repair. If you live in Corvallis, OR or a surrounding area and need siding washing services, make your first call to Under Pressure.
