Pressure Washing vs Soft Washing
Let’s go ahead and end the debate – there is a HUGE difference between pressure washing vs soft washing. Oftentimes, when a homeowner is in search of exterior home cleaning, they search for a “Pressure or Power Washing” company, which is a standard term to use for the exterior home surface washing industry.
However, what many homeowners typically don’t even know is, that most of the time what you’re really looking for is a “Soft Wash” or a soft washing company. If you want your home’s roof and siding cleaned – the process is actually soft washing – not pressure washing.
But, we understand how this can be a bit confusing. Let’s cover the key difference between pressure washing vs soft washing and when it’s best to use one or the other.
Pressure Washing | Soft Washing | Power Washing
Uses highly | Forgoes pressure | Application of HOT pressurized water | instead uses cleaning | water using PRESSURE | agents and surfactants | washing
Great for sidewalks | Great for siding | patios, decks, hard | stucco, cedar shakes | surfaces, brick, | wood, screens, roofs | concrete and driveways
DO NOT use pressure | Soft washing is not | washer on roofs and | ideal for super hard | most siding | surfaces that need the | | aide of pressure
What is the difference between pressure washing and soft washing?
When it comes to getting your home’s exterior cleaned, or commercial property for that matter, it’s important to know the difference in what best suits your project.
While pressure washing is a term that is typically used generically, the first key difference to recognize is that:
Pressure Washing: Uses highly pressurized water to wash the surface.
Soft Washing: Uses light pressure with the aide of cleaning agents and surfactants to softly wash the surface.
It’s simple to see the difference between PRESSURE washing and SOFT washing, with an emphasis on the words pressure and soft!
Pressure and power washing, using highly pressurized water, forcefully removes dirt, grime, stains, build-up, and anything it comes in contact with. This is very effective for cleaning hard surfaces, however there are risks involved if you pressure wash the wrong surface.
On the other hand, soft washing is great for siding and roofs because it uses a combination of cleaning agents and surfactants to help break down and clean grime/build-up.
Having reviewed the key differences between pressure washing and soft washing let’s discuss when it’s best to use each!
When to use pressure washing:
Pressure washing is ideal for hard surfaces as it uses pressurized water to remove deep stains, streaks, and grime build-up.
Here are some areas where pressure washing is ideal:
- Patios
- Walkways & Sidewalks
- Driveways
- Dumpster Pads
- Restaurant Pads
- Brick, Concrete
- Any durable surface
- Pool Decks (certain types of concrete, including stained concrete, require extreme care)
When to use pressure washing:
While pressure washing is ideal for removing tough stains on durable surfaces, soft washing is the gentle destroyer of algae, mold, and other organic build-ups/stains you might see on your roof, siding, and other more delicate surfaces. Your property will benefit from soft washing’s use of cleaning agents and surfactants delivered via a stream of low pressure water. Once these agents complete their cleaning job on your project, they are rinsed away gently.
Soft washing is great for the following surfaces:
- Roofs
- Siding
- Stucco
- Cedar Shake
- Some wood panel siding
- Screens and screened-in porches
- Any other surface that is delicate
- When to avoid using pressure/power washing:
- Let’s discuss when you should NOT use high-pressure washing.
The answer is actually really simple. What you soft wash never pressure wash, and what your pressure wash never soft wash. Most professional power washers know when to make use of soft washing systems vs using a pressure wash method.
