Cleaning The Facade And Roofs Of Homes And Commercial Buildings

When it comes to the cleaning of the exterior claddings or render cleaning of a building, the most common method used was pressure washing. Though it has been noted that in the long run pressure washing may very well be damaging to the claddings and especially the render of buildings or homes. And the replacement of these claddings and render can prove to be quite expensive. In addition to this, for windows there needs to be a separate and different method used in order to ensure it is intact and does not break due to the extreme pressure from the pressure washing. As such, soft washing and soft washing services are becoming quite common around the world. As the issue of the dirt and other stains can be removed from the buildings and roofs while ensuring that no damage is caused in the process.

 

Pressure washing

This method of washing uses high pressure water jets blasted on to the dirty surfaces in order to clean it. With this method, there is no form of soap or any other cleaning agent used. Only the pressure from the water jets causes the dirt and other stains to run off with the water. This high pressure damaged claddings and render as well as glass windows. In addition to this possibility of damage, the root of the bacteria, moss or algae is left behind unreachable by the jets, thereby causing it to occur again sooner than expected. Consequently, it needs to be pressure washed again. This can be quite damaging, especially to claddings as the small cracks left behind and destroy the insulation of the building as well as leave the inner part unprotected and may lead to further damage from the natural elements as well as easy to catch fire.

 

Claddings and Render

 

Before going further, it might be better if there is an understanding of what a cladding or a render is established.

Cladding – This can be of many types, stones, glass, vinyl, fiber cement and even metal claddings. These are put as a top layer on walls in order to prove thermal insulation, and to protect the insides from weather damage and even for the aesthetics. In addition to this, industrial buildings may have claddings to reduce the noise from getting out as well.

As such it needs to be cleaned regularly to maintain its health as well as appearances. It can be susceptible to pollution, dirt, algae, moss and bacteria and hence it requires regular cleaning to maintain its integrity.

Render – Render or sometimes known as cement render is typically a layer of cement that is brushed on walls to give it a protective layer. This is done for the looks mostly and is often textured or painted in appealing colors. This is very easily damaged by pressure washing. Soft washing in turn will be the better option for this as it will be cleaned with soap while ensuring it is intact.

 

Soft Washing

 

This is a similar method of washing as pressure washing. But instead of using the high pressure to clean the surfaces, soaps and other chemicals depending upon what is needed at the time is used. For instance, for plain dirt and other pollutants just soft washing with water is usually sufficient. But when it comes to algae, moss or bacteria it needs to be thoroughly removed in order to ensure that it does not return quickly. As such, specialized chemicals or soaps are applied to the surfaces and left soaking for a while. After it is soaked sufficiently it is washed with soft washing services and sometimes antibacterial solutions are sprayed on the top layer using the same jets that are used for soft washing.

 

The Equipments

 

While trained and professional pressure washing or soft washing services would typically use  specialized equipment for both, the jets used for pressure washing can be re-adjusted and used for soft washing as well. As such a pressure washing machine can be used for soft washing as well but it cannot be used the other way around.

 

Why soft washing is better

 

While both have their benefits, the long term benefits can definitely be derived from soft washing as compared to pressure washing. With pressure washing, the dirt and bacteria that are removed will always come back as it is not removed from the root, thereby needing to be washed more often. Consequently, such regular exposure to the pressure will  eventually lead to damaging the surface as well as the cost of washing more regularly. Moreover, the windows will need to be washed separately as the pressure can cause damage to the windows.

With soft washing services, the bacteria, algae and moss is removed thoroughly with the aid of the chemicals and soaps and as such it will be a long time before they grow back. Furthermore, soft washing does not put any pressure on the surfaces and therefore does not cause any damage even with regular washing.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *