Soft Washing vs. Pressure Washing: Which for What?

When it comes time to investigating your options for exterior cleaning and house washing, you may come across two particular terms: soft washing and pressure washing. But what is soft washing a house? How is it different from pressure washing? And when should you use one over the other?

Soft Washing: Gentle yet Effective

Soft washing employs a delicate touch with low- to medium-pressure water in a wide, soft fan. With the use of a combination of cleaning agents—including a salt-based product that kills mould, fungi, and algae, a citrus solution that cuts through grease, and an environmentally friendly detergent that dissolves dirt and grime—the beauty of soft washing lies in its ability to cleanse without causing harm. The spray is so soft, in fact, that you could easily run your hand through it without fear of injury.

Soft washing sprays water in a wide, soft fan

The most significant advantage of soft washing is its wide applicability. At The House & Building Wash Company, the soft wash is our standard go-to for most of our jobs, as it is effective on almost everything from painted walls to glass surfaces without the fear of causing damage. It’s the preferred choice for typical house and building exteriors, especially older structures like villas and bungalows. Soft washing not only restores the pristine appearance of these buildings but also preserves their integrity for years to come.

Pressure Washing: Forceful and Efficient

Pressure washing, on the other hand, is the heavy lifter of the exterior cleaning world. Using high-pressure water, pressure washing forcefully removes built-up dirt, grime, and even stubborn stains that soft washing alone won’t budge. Its efficacy lies in its ability to blast away debris with sheer power.

However, with great power comes great responsibility. The high-pressure spray can cause damage to delicate structures and painted surfaces. Nonetheless, in most cases, pressure washing shines brightest when it comes to tackling hard surfaces such as concrete driveways, stone pathways, and even raw timber decks, transforming them from grubby to gleaming.

Pressure washing is ideal for concrete surfaces such as driveways

Choosing the Right Method

So, which method is best for your property? As a general rule of thumb, painted surfaces should always be soft washed in order to preserve the integrity of the paint and even extend its lifespan, while concrete or raw timber surfaces benefit best from a pressure wash to effectively and satisfyingly scour away environmental build-up.

Of course, there are exceptions—such as a pre-paint wash, where the aim is to scour the surface to a clean finish to prepare for a new coat of paint, often blasting away old, flaking paint in the process. Furthermore, your property may even require a combination of the two methods; a soft wash for your house and a pressure wash for your driveway!

In any case, when you call or contact us to book an exterior property wash, you can be sure that we’ll pick the method best suited to the job to leave your property sparkling.