Pressure washing vs soft washing which method is right for your property

When it comes to cleaning solutions for the outside of your property, whether that's the exterior surfaces, outdoor furniture, your patio or anything else, it's important to make sure you know the best method. Pressure washing works great sometimes, but sometimes you're better off putting the pressure washer away and opting for a soft wash. If you're not sure whether pressure washing or soft washing is best for your property, here's everything you need to know.

What is soft washing?

Soft washing uses a low pressure washer in addition to numerous soaps, solutions and disinfectants to effectively clean surfaces and exteriors. It relies on the cleaning solutions settling into the layers of dirt, grime and mould and eating away at them from the inside. The water used works merely to rinse these cleaning solutions and the grime away when done.

What are the benefits of soft washing?

There are a number of benefits to soft washing, such as:

Soft washing is effective

If you want to effectively clean surfaces, soft washing is a great choice. It has long lasting results and can work very well to remove dirt that has been on a surface for a very long time.

The soft wash method is gentle

In comparison to other cleaning methods, the soft washing method is much gentler. It can be used on surfaces that power washing and pressure washing would damage. For example, roof cleaners often use soft washing so that they do not allow any tool to damage surfaces.

Soft washing is easy to handle

Soft washing is a safer method of cleaning than pressure washing. It is not a risk to anyone, the equipment is easy to use, there's no need for concern when cleaning a concrete driveway. Soft washing is less likely to hurt the person doing it, and less likely to damage the surfaces it's used on.

Soft washing can prevent mould growth

When used on porous substances or broken surfaces, trying to get those surfaces clean with a pressure washer can lead to water getting into the surface or trapped behind vinyl siding. As a result, it creates a breeding opportunity for mould growth which can cause long-lasting structural damage to properties.

What are the negatives of soft washing?

That being said, there are a few downsides to soft washing. They are:

Soft washing may not tackle stubborn stains

Relying on cleaning solutions for stain removal is a good idea, but unfortunately soft washing isn't always able to remove dirt that's stained or other stains on surfaces.

Soft washing method is much slower than pressure washing

Pressure washing is a faster technique, and so whilst the soft washing method is effective and useful, it's quite often tedious, and so many people choose to opt for the power washer instead.

What is pressure washing?

Pressure washing is a technique that relies on a small amount of soap or detergent and a high pressure water stream to clean surfaces. We covered this in more detail in our post entitled “Pressure cleaning and why your house needs it”. The main difference between pressure washing and soft washing is that pressure washing is much faster and uses a constant stream of water.

What are the benefits of pressure washing?

There are numerous benefits to pressure washing, and they are:

Pressure washing is really effective on stubborn marks and other stains

Due to the force behind a pressurised water stream, pressure washing can remove the most stubborn of marks really easily. Even with stains, pressure washing companies can simply pre-treat them and then pressure wash them away.

Using a pressure washer is much faster than soft washing

Since pressure washing involves such a pressurised water stream, it can remove marks and stains much faster than soft washing. A pressure washed surface is likely to be not only clean, but cleaner much quicker, and with arguably less effort, too.

Pressure washing works well on stiff stains and surfaces like concrete, picking up the slack in areas that soft washing lacks. For petrol or paint stains, pressure washing is definitely the right choice.

What are the disadvantages of power washing?

There are, of course, negatives to pressure washing. They are:

Pressure washing can cause damage

On soft surfaces and porous surfaces, power washing and pressure washing can cause damage to the material. This may also happen if the equipment is used too close to the surface. Pressure washing can also cause injury if used incorrectly, and should only be used by those who know what they're doing.

Pressure washing may not prevent regrowth

Regular pressure washing is great, but it is unlikely to stop mould and mildew from returning, whereas soft washing can. This is because of the cleaning solutions that are used with soft washing vs the lack thereof with pressure washing.

Pressure washing will be able to remove the growth, but there's every chance that after the power washing is done, the issue will return again and again.

Is soft washing or pressure washing better for your property?

In order to decide whether you should be pressure washing or soft washing your rendered property, you will need to determine what material it is that you're trying to clean.

Materials that should be soft washed:

These materials are fragile surfaces, and as a result should never be cleaned with power washing or pressure washing. They should strictly be soft wash surfaces.

• Vinyl sliding

• Silicone render

• Acrylic render

• Wood panel sliding

• Roofs

• Paver

• Brick

• Tile

• Stucco

Pressure washing these will likely just cause damage and will not clean them. Soft washing will help to remove any stains or marks you have. If need be, try pre-treating stubborn stains.

Materials that should be pressure washed:

These surfaces can be pressured washed, and benefit most from pressure washing. If you need to clean them, high pressure water and your power washing skills will be just fine as they are not delicate surfaces.

• Concrete driveways or paths

• Treated wooden decks

• Vehicles

Related Article:

• Why Your Business Needs Professional Commercial Pressure Washing Services
• What Is Pressure Cleaning and Why Your House Needs It