What’s the difference between Pressure Washing and Soft Washing?
Are you facing higher energy costs? Is your roof discolored or have streaks? Is the exterior of your home or business dirty? Are your gutters overflowing? Then it may be time to consider pressure washing your home or business. And by hiring a professional pressure washing company, you can expect to see some dramatic results!
When you think of a pressure washing company, your first thought is probably like most customers in Camden County, Georgia, and you expect to see us using a high-pressure nozzle firing water to clean. We absolutely do that, so your expectations are not wrong, but you’d be surprised to learn we use our Soft Wash system more often and effectively to clean most surfaces. Knowing the difference between the two is important when deciding which method is right for your home or business.
The big difference between pressure washing and soft washing, which you probably guessed from the name, is that one uses high pressure and the other uses a lower pressure. Pressure washing uses high-pressure water that runs up to 4000 PSI. Meanwhile, soft washing simply acts like a strong powered hose, similar to the pressure coming out of your garden hose.
Another difference is what comes out of the hose with soft washing vs. pressure washing. Soft washing systems use a combination of soaps, bleach, and water to ensure your exterior stays clean for long after we leave, while pressure washing relies on the high-pressure water to clean properly.
Here is a quick rundown on the difference between Pressure Washing and Soft Washing.
Pros and Cons of Pressure Washing
Pressure washing is exactly what it sounds like and you’d expect. It uses a high pressure nozzle to clean the surface. Pressure washing can dislodge deep-rooted contaminants within the surface, making it ideal for hard and porous surfaces like concrete. At Full Blast Pressure Washing, we primarily use our pressure washer for horizontal, hard surfaces like driveways, walkways, decks, pavers, stone and patios. It is extremely dangerous to use a pressure washer on your home siding or roof.
Another consideration is that the high psi of a pressure washer can be difficult for someone who is not knowledgeable and can hurt themselves or others. If you use high pressure on your siding, it can actually blow water underneath your siding and up into your soffit. This can lead to water getting into your attic and soaking your insulation.
Pros and Cons of Soft Washing:
As we mentioned, soft washing utilizes special cleaning solutions to break down dirt and organisms living on surfaces. These cleaning solutions are eco-friendly and will not strip protective coatings on your home's exterior. One of the great benefits to this is that it completely eliminates the organisms and keeps it from growing back. We use soft washing on homes siding, roofs, fencing, screens and other surfaces that will not handle high pressure. This ensures that there is no damage to your surface, maximizes the cleaning and ensures you enjoy your clean surface for a long time to come!
Because the mixture of chemicals required to properly eliminate the organisms depends on a variety of factors, we highly recommend using a professional when it comes to soft washing. There is a chance you can damage your siding, ruin the paint, kill plants or damage your roof if you try to soft wash without proper knowledge of chemicals. Our staff at Full Blast Pressure Washing take continuing education to learn the latest techniques and ensure they are properly certified to take care of your home or business.
