House Washing & Soft Washing

What house washing is (and why it isn’t pressure washing)

Florida humidity grows a gray-green film of algae and mildew on exterior walls, especially on the shady sides of a house and under the eaves. Blasting it off with high pressure can chip paint, scar stucco, force water behind trim and window seals, and tear screen panels.

Soft washing takes a different approach. A cleaning solution is applied at low pressure — closer to a garden hose than a pressure washer — and left to work on the growth. The surface is then rinsed. The solution does the cleaning, not the force of the water, which is why it’s the standard method for house exteriors and roofs.

What we clean

• Stucco and painted concrete block
• Vinyl, fiber-cement and wood siding
• Soffits, fascia and the undersides of overhangs
• Screen enclosures and pool cages
• Exterior trim, railings and entry areas

How the job goes

1. Walk-through. We walk the property with you at the start so we agree on what’s being cleaned and note anything delicate.
2. Soft-wash application. Walls, soffits and screens are treated with soft-wash equipment at low pressure.
3. Rinse. Everything is rinsed down once the solution has done its work.
4. Final walk-through. We walk it again with you at the end, and we take before-and-after photos of the work.

What to expect

Algae, mildew, dirt and cobwebs come off. Some marks are a different problem: rust from irrigation water, paint oxidation (the chalky residue on faded paint) and water staining under windows may lighten but not fully disappear with a wash. If we see those on your house, we’ll tell you when we quote.

Not sure whether you need a house wash or a roof cleaning? Many homes need both — see roof cleaning.