Soft washing is becoming a preferred way to perform maintenance cleanings to roofs and other building surfaces while implementing good environmental stewardship.
What is soft washing?
Soft washing is a quick and effective alternative to pressure washing.
By applying biodegradable chemical solutions to building surfaces without pressure, it treats and cleans away any organic-based stains.
Fragile or delicate surfaces can now be cleaned without applying pressure.
Soft Washing = Savings for You and the Environment
Savings: No more cracked tiles because someone is walking on your roof.
Savings: Increased life span of your building surfaces by gently removing deteriorating elements.
Savings: Your roof warranty remains intact.
Savings: Biodegradable chemicals help make soft washing an environmentally responsible choice.
Savings: Soft washing uses two-thirds less water than a pressure washer.
Savings: Soft washing’s long-lasting clean means less frequent maintenance.
Soft wash vs. pressure wash?
While pressure washing works on many non-organic stains like rust, oil, grease, and minerals, soft washing works best on delicate surfaces and removes organic-based stains. (Ask us which option is best for your project.)
Soft washing treats and cleans away organic-based stains such as mold, mildew, algae, fungus, bacteria, viruses, germs, mosses, lichens, insects, and organic soiling via biodegradable chemical solutions.
How does soft washing work?
Soft washing was initially created as a cleaning technique for safely removing algae stains from shingle roofs. Except for the aggregate on top, much of the material used to create shingle roofs degrades quickly. When weather strips away enough aggregate (like during a hailstorm or erosion from UV degradation), algae, mold and mildew find great conditions in which to grow.
Soft Washing kills these rooftop infestations while leaving behind inhibitors that help keep the fungus from coming back.
Many believe that merely spraying a bleach-and-water solution on a roof’s surface will achieve the same thorough and lasting clean as soft washing, but it will not.
Though many soft wash solutions contain some sodium hypochlorite (bleach), bleach alone will not obtain a 100% kill ratio against the microbes that cause rooftop staining. In a true soft wash application, bleach is only used to aid the soft-washing pro in determining what surfaces have been treated thoroughly. In actuality, most of the algae, mold, mildew and bacteria is left behind on the surface and is now just bleached clear. Rain and other weathering elements will remove the dying microbes later.
What was conceived as an answer for safely and effectively cleaning roofs is now a way to perform maintenance cleanings on many building surfaces.
Soft washing is a quick and effective way to treat and clean away any organic-based stain from a building’s surface, especially where pressure washing would damage roofs, paint, wood, EAFIS or other delicate surfaces. Mold, mildew, algae, fungus, bacteria, viruses, germs, mosses, lichens, insects, organic soiling and more are easily removed with the soft washing technology.
The Soft Washing Process for Homes and Other Buildings
In the same way you cannot treat simply half of a home to cure a roach problem, you cannot treat just half a roof or half a wall to achieve any kind of lasting result against these microbial invaders. Soft wash solutions go deeper than just the surface of the building material and/or roof; it seeps into every crevice and pore. That’s why it can last up to four to six times longer than pressure washing.
Pro Form Window Cleaning professionals use special soft washing equipment and custom mix potent solutions per job.
With wastewater laws (Clean Water Act), water restrictions, and fossil fuels issues, soft washing is an alternative to using gas-driven cleaning platforms. Pro Form Window Cleaning stands with our customers when it comes to stewardship of resources.
Biodegradable chemicals make soft washing even more environmentally responsible. Soft washing uses one-third the water a pressure washer will use. In fact soft washing, because of its long-lasting clean, allows a surface to stay clean with less frequent visits from the cleaning company, further reinforcing less visits, meaning less water and less chemicals. In soft washing, less is definitely more when it comes to being good stewards of our environment.
The Positive Bottom Line
Soft washing is a cost-effective and environmentally sound alternative for maintaining your building surfaces. Let Pro Form Window Cleaning show you how to make a positive impact to your bottom line.
