Is your home exterior looking a little dirty? You may have noticed a dusty residue over the entire thing. Or, there may be some places where your home has accumulated gunk and grime. It's a good idea to find a company that offers exterior soft washing and hire them to clean your home. Here are some questions you may have about that process and about soft washing services in general.

What is soft washing?  

Soft washing is similar to pressure washing, but it is performed at a lower pressure. The soft washing company will use a special wand to shoot water over your home. The water will come out of the soft washer with enough force to remove surface-level dirt and grime, but it won't blast it away and cause damage to your home's materials. 

Since soft washing is performed at a low pressure, your contractor will add a detergent to the water to make it more effective at cleaning. Which detergent they add will depend on the material your home is made from and the type of cleaning that is needed. For example, if your siding has some algae on it, they may add an algae-fighting detergent to your soft washer. If you have wood siding, they may use a detergent that is gentle on paint or stain.

Are there any surfaces that can't be soft washed?

Not really! This is one reason why it's often better to opt for soft washing than pressure washing. Vinyl and aluminum siding respond well to soft washing. Wood can also tolerate this cleaning approach. If you have wood siding that is quite rotten, you may not want to soft wash it, but that wood siding really should be replaced soon, anyways.

If you have some concrete surfaces, like a patio or walkway, those really need to be power washed for more complete cleaning. Luckily, many companies that offer soft washing also offer power washing. Sometimes, they even use the same equipment on different settings to perform both types of cleaning. If you tell the company what surfaces you need to be cleaned, they can decide which method is appropriate for each surface.

Soft washing is a great cleaning method for an array of materials, including vinyl siding, wood fencing, and more. The detergents used in the water are quite effective and allow for cleaning at a lower pressure. Talk to a cleaning company to learn more.