soft washing vs power washing: which is best?

Soft Washing vs Power Washing: Cleaning Methods and Applications

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Have you spotted any dirt or grime on your roof, walls or deck? Over time, dirt and other elements such as mildew, salt, mold, dust and grime can build up around your house, leaving it in need of a good clean. If you are new to pressure cleaning, you’re probably not sure which method is best – soft washing vs power washing. Not to worry, this article will outline each method so you can have a much clearer picture before you begin.

Soft Washing vs Power Washing: What’s the difference?

Understanding the difference between soft washing vs power washing can help homeowners decide which is best. The clue in defining each method lies in their names – ‘soft’ and ‘power’. The main difference between the two is that soft washing uses low water pressure and power washing uses high water pressure to remove the dirt and stains when cleaning surfaces.

Is Power Washing the Same as Pressure Washing?

Power washing should not be confused with pressure washing, which is sometimes used interchangeably. They are similar, but still different in that power washing uses a heating element to heat the water to a certain temperature, which makes the cleaning process a lot faster. Pressure washing doesn’t have this feature, water at regular tap temperature is used during pressure cleaning.

Soft Washing and Power Washing Cleaning Methods

Both soft washing and power washing methods use pressurized water in combination with cleaning detergents. However, as previously stated, what differentiates each cleaning method is that power washing uses higher pressure compared to soft washing. This means that power washing is ideal for harder surfaces – which includes sidewalks, driveways, paved patios and many types of stone – while softer surfaces like wooden fences, wooden decks and screens are more suited for soft washing.

Is One Better Than the Other?

No. There is no method that’s better than the other. The best method would depend on your specific requirements. Some people may think that power washing is less desirable since it can cause some damage. This, however, is not entirely true. There are some instances where power washing is more favorable; the key is to know how and when to use it so that there is no damage done. Yes, power washing can chip pieces of paint or wood off more delicate surfaces, but not all surfaces are equally delicate. Power washing for cleaning larger areas like, for example, a long driveway is completely acceptable and even preferable over soft washing.

So basically, different surfaces and stains will require different cleaning methods. All you have to do is make sure you pick the right cleaning method for the surface you want to clean, not just because you want to ensure your surface gets cleaned thoroughly, but also because you want to avoid any damage to the surface.

Soft vs Power Washing Techniques

How Soft Washing Works

Where power washing favors pressure, soft washing favors chemicals to do all the work in the cleaning process. The only pressure needed is the pressure that applies the chemicals onto the surface. So the cleaning solution (or detergents) used are more important, as well as the ‘dwell time’. Dwell time simply refers to the amount of time a cleaning solution is required to sit on a surface for the chemicals to break down the grime, stains and other buildup effectively. Once the needed dwell time has passed, the surface is then rinsed off using low pressure and the results are a smooth, clean surface that leaves your home looking brand new.

How Power Washing Works?

Power washing, on the other hand, uses a combination of pressurized water and heat to clean surfaces. The high pressure and heated water are what makes power washing very good at getting rid of stubborn dirt like chewing gum and grease off from sidewalks, driveways and garage floors. This isn’t only because of the water pressure that literally hammers down onto the dirt, but because the heated water makes it easier to clean surfaces since it provides a more effective, thorough and faster clean.

What Is Meant by High and Low Pressure?

What exactly does high and low pressure mean in terms of pressure cleaning? Well, numerically speaking, the rate at which water is released by a pressure cleaning machine is measured by what is known as pounds per square inch (PSI). In the case of power washing, a machine releases water at a PSI of around 2500 and above, while soft washing releases around 1000 PSI or less. The higher the PSI used for pressure cleaning, the higher the water pressure will be.

Soft Washing A House

What’s great about soft washing is that it allows you to clean a surface without leaving behind damage to the area. This is what makes soft washing suitable for any surface around your house or property. Use it to clean your roof, deck or fence without destroying any paint or materials.

While power washing can be great for driveways and other hard surfaces, soft washing is generally preferable for more delicate surfaces, like house sidings, roofs and wooden decks and patios.

Soft Washing vs Power Washing Equipment

Before you can even start thinking about what equipment to use, you first need to figure out what type of surface you want to clean. This is because different surfaces have different requirements for cleaning, which includes different chemicals, pressure, machine nozzle sizes and cleaning technique.

What Equipment You’ll Need?

There’s a variety of different equipment available for soft and power washing; however, the basic equipment consists of a tank, a pump, a hose and a spray gun. If you’re looking for more options or want to create more cleaning solutions, you can find a machine that is configured to your needs. For soft washing, one thing to look out for is to make sure that the spray gun has a low-pressure nozzle. For power washing, since it uses a lot of power while cleaning, it’s no surprise then that the machine needed is one that is powerful enough to handle the job.

If you’re not sure which equipment you should get, speak to a professional so that they can guide you in choosing the right one. Alternatively, hire a professional company to do the cleaning for you. Professionals have years of experience cleaning various surfaces. Power cleaning can be especially dangerous if done by an inexperienced homeowner and getting up on a roof to soft clean it yourself isn’t advised.

Different Cleaning Solutions for Soft and Power Washing

Choose the Right Solution for the Right Surface

Soft wash treatments tend to last longer than power wash treatments because the solutions used in soft washing will offer a deeper clean, going beyond the surface into the structure and cleaning from inside out. It literally gives a deeper clean. There are a variety of different solutions you can use for a soft wash treatment. Essentially, it comes down to knowing which solutions to use for different types of stains or dirt and how long they can dwell before they need to be washed off. Also, because every surface is different, you need to understand which solution can be used on the surface you want to treat.

So, if you’re not a professional, you should buy premixed solutions that are specially formulated for cleaning the kind of surface you’re looking to clean. Remember, when it comes to detergents, you have to make sure that you use the right one.

Don’t Forget to Care for the Environment

A key factor to keep in mind is the chemicals you use when soft washing. The chemicals can be very strong, which is why you should always opt to use biodegradable chemicals that won’t be harmful to the environment.

If you plan to do the cleaning yourself, be sure to cover all your plants in plastic wrap before you start cleaning. A lot of chemicals used during both pressure cleaning and soft cleaning can be quite harmful to plants.

 

Which Pressure Cleaning Method Is Best?

Recap

Both cleaning methods have advantages and disadvantages. What you have to do is choose the one that suits the surface you want cleaned. Some surfaces can take more pressure while others are too delicate and need a gentler approach.

Still Not Sure? Speak to A Professional

Simply hire a professional who will let you know which method will work best for your needs. Even if you think you can do it yourself, it’s always better to call in a pro in case you accidentally damage the surface you are trying to clean or injure yourself. The machines can be dangerous in the hands of an untrained user. Because of this, it’s better to get someone who’s skilled and who will get your home cleaned the first time round without any hassle!

how to clean roof shingles

How to Clean Roof Shingles: Best Methods to Protect Your Roof

Posted by seoteam on with 26 Comments

Roof shingles aren’t all the same. Different types of roof shingles are made with a variety of materials. However, when it comes to cleaning your roof shingles, the cleaning methods you use will be similar regardless of what material your shingles are made from. It’s important to know how to clean roof shingles the right way. Even if you plan on hiring a roof cleaning service, learning about proper roof cleaning techniques will help you choose the right people for the job.

What Are Roof Shingles?

Not all homeowners are familiar with different roofing materials. Perhaps you aren’t even sure whether you have a shingle roof. Luckily shingle roofs are easy to spot.

Shingles are used as a roofing material for sloped roofs, so if your roof is flat, you can already know it’s not made with shingles.

Although shingle roofing is the most common choice of material in the U.S, sloped roofs can also be built with other materials. Other popular materials for sloped roofing include:

  • Corrugated metal
  • Thatching
  • Roof tiles

Corrugated metal and thatching are easy to distinguish from shingles. Metal roofs don’t consist of individual tiles or shingles. Instead, each section of the roof will consist of one large sheet of metal. Thatching is also easy to tell apart, as thatched roofs are made from straw or reeds.

roof tiles look similar to shingles, but they're not entirely the sameThe only roofing material that can be a bit tricky to distinguish from shingles is tiles. With both shingles and roofing tiles, the roof will have a tiled appearance. The roof will consist of various tiles or shingles that overlap at the edges. Because of this, many people consider roof tiles to be a form of shingle. What distinguishes roof tiles from regular shingles is the material they’re made from.

In America, most roof shingles are made from asphalt. Occasionally, shingles can also be made from slate or even wood. Roof tiles are specifically made from clay. It’s easy to see the difference between asphalt shingles and clay tiles if you know what to look for.

Clay roof tiles are normally much thicker than shingles, creating a more textured look where the tiles overlap. Shingles are normally much thinner than clay tiles, so the areas where asphalt shingles overlap isn’t always as noticeable.

Luckily maintenance and cleaning are similar for clay tile and asphalt shingle roofs.

Should You Pressure Wash Your Roof?

One of the most popular and widely used methods for cleaning roofs is pressure washing. There are some advantages to pressure washing, seeing as it’s a quick way to clean a roof. The powerful pressure washer beams also deep clean the roof surface, getting rid of a lot of algae spores and tough stains.

Unfortunately, there are also some disadvantages to cleaning a roof with a pressure cleaner. Although roof shingles are made to withstand extreme weather conditions and powerful gusts of wind, they aren’t necessarily made to withstand pressure washing.

The beams from most pressure washers are powerful enough to cause injury – any beam that powerful can certainly damage your roof as well. Many people claim that pressure washing blasts away roof shingle granules, stripping away the longevity of your roof one wash at a time.

Another problem with pressure washing is your roofing warranty. If your roof is new, pressure washing could possibly cause you to lose the warranty on your shingles. Check with the supplier where you bought your shingles before having your roof pressure washed.

Is Pressure Washing a Roof Bad?

While the disadvantages of pressure washing seem disastrous, pressure washing a roof might not be all bad. Many homeowner’s insurance companies will require you to pressure clean your roof regularly if you want to claim for any roof damage. This is because removing moss and algae from your roof increases its lifespan and prevents leaks.

As a homeowner, it’s your responsibility to decide what’s best for your home. While not everyone agrees that pressure washing is a good way to clean a roof, many people who oppose pressure washing advise not cleaning a roof altogether, insisting that moss and algae growths are simply a cosmetic problem. Others suggest washing roofs with lower pressure, such as with a garden hose or garden sprayer.

How to Clean Roof Shingles without Damaging Your Roof

The safest way to clean your roof is to clean it at a low pressure. Many roof cleaning services focus on cleaning roofs at low pressures. They do this either by using special pressure washing equipment, or by foregoing power cleaning altogether in favor of using a garden hose or sprayer.

To avoid damaging your roof during cleaning, it’s best to hire a roof cleaning expert. There are several benefits to hiring a professional roof cleaning service:

  • You’ll stay safe and prevent serious injury from falling
  • Experts are trained and equipped to stay safe on the job
  • Trained professionals deliver impeccable results while protecting the integrity of your roofing system
  • A reputable company will have the necessary insurance to protect your best interests

Keeping safe and staying out of harm’s way is one of the most important reasons to hire professionals. Walking on a sloped roof that’s wet and possibly even slippery with soap can easily lead to a fall.

According to statistics released by The Center for Construction Research and Training in 2013, falls from roofs accounted for one-third of the fall fatalities in the construction industry between 1992-2009. That’s a significant amount, considering that constructors are legally required to adhere to safety standards that aim at preventing such deaths.

Considering how many deaths occur in the professional sector, it should be clear to see why cleaning your own roof is a risky undertaking.

That said, when hiring a professional, you still want assurance that they’ll do the job the right way. There are some things you can ask to ensure you’re getting a good service.

Questions to Ask Your Roof Cleaning Service

The best way to ensure your roof cleaning service will clean your roof properly is to ask the right questions. Knowing what questions to ask will help you choose a company that will clean your roof in a way that’s safe and effective. Some of the questions you should ask include:

  • What insurance does your company have? In most states, contractors such as roof cleaners are required to have at least some insurance. Ideally, you want to work with a company that has both worker’s compensation cover and general or professional liability insurance. At the very least, a company should have worker’s compensation cover, as it’s a legal requirement in most states.
  • What roof cleaning methods do you use? Simply ask the question without mentioning any concerns you have with pressure washing. A good company will mention that they use soft cleaning methods that aren’t damaging to your roof when answering this question.
  • What cleaning detergents do you use? Most companies will use bleach, as it kills of algae and moss. However, some detergents can be harmful to your garden, so ask what precautions they’ll take to protect your garden.
  • What safety precautions will you take? Even if a company has the necessary insurance, you don’t want someone to get injured while cleaning your roof. Safety precautions are an important part of professionalism in any industry.

Stay away from any company that doesn’t have insurance. Roof cleaning services are required to have insurance in most states, so companies without insurance usually operate illegally. As a result, you might be held accountable if an incident occurs and one of the workers get injured on the job. Additionally, an uninsured cleaner won’t be able to compensate you for any damages to your property as a result of their negligence.

Cleaning your roof keeps it looking brand new. In most cases, getting your roof cleaned on a regular basis will also extend its lifespan. When it comes to how to clean roof shingles, it’s best to hire a professional to ensure your roof doesn’t get damaged during the cleaning process. Just be sure to hire a reputable company that will offer you a premium service at a competitive price.