Soft Washing vs. Pressure Washing: Which is best?

Dirt, algae, mold and grime build up on the exterior surfaces of your house over time. On top of not looking pretty, these contaminates can damage the surfaces of your house over time, so it’s important to have them safely removed.

What’s the difference between Soft Washing and Pressure Washing?

Answering this question can be tricky if you’re not familiar with these terms.
Soft washing and pressure washing are both techniques used to clean exterior surfaces of homes and buildings. The main differences between them are the water pressure, or PSI, and chemicals that are used.

Soft Washing

Soft washing is a technique that has been around for many years, but the term has just recently gained popularity. You may even begin to notice that some business have chosen “soft washing” in their name over “pressure washing.”
A proper soft wash incorporates low end pressure nozzles and special chemicals that are used to help dislodge dirt, pollen, mold, and other contaminants. The chemicals combined with a lower pressure wash between 150-300 PSI create a safe and effective way to clean the parts of your house that won’t withstand the high PSI of pressure washing, making soft washing a great way to safely clean surfaces like siding, soffits, roof shingles, pavers, and siding.

Pressure Washing

Pressure washing is a traditional exterior cleaning technique. Like with soft washing, chemicals can be used to aid with ridding surfaces of dirt and other contaminants, but with much higher water pressure. Any PSI over 500 is considered pressure washing, and the usual PSI range for pressure washing is 1300 to 3100, with full bore at 4000 PSI. Using a PSI at that level should only be used on surfaces that can withstand it because it can damage less resistant surfaces and even strip paint.

What about Power Washing? 

Power washing is just like pressure washing, but the water is heated. This is a more heavy duty option for highly saturated areas, tough stains, and gum spots.

So is Soft Washing or Pressure Washing better?

That completely depends on the surface being cleaned and how dirty it is. Surfaces that benefit from the lower PSI of soft washes are roofs, siding, stucco, soffits, and windows. Concrete walls, brick, and driveways are safe for higher PSI of pressure washing. As for power washing, industrial environments and heavily saturated sidewalks benefit greatly from the combined power of high pressure and heated water.

As always, it’s a good idea to hire a professional pressure washing company to do the hard work for you. Without proper training, pressure washing can be very dangerous, especially when using a higher PSI. It is important to keep yourself safe and prevent unintentionally damaging the surfaces of your home.

We offer over 17 years of expertise in the pressure washing business, so give us a call for a free quote!