Soft Washing and House Washing

Soft washing is low-pressure exterior cleaning. We apply a contractor-grade surfactant at under 500 PSI, give it time to soak into the algae, mold, and mildew, then rinse with gentle water. The solution does the cleaning, not the pressure. That is what makes it safe for stucco, vinyl siding, painted wood, EIFS, and any other finish that a pressure washer running up to 3,000 PSI would gouge.

Soft washing vs pressure washing

Pressure washing knocks buildup loose with water force. It belongs on concrete, pavers, and brick. On walls it etches stucco, strips paint, and pushes water behind siding, so we keep it off houses. Anyone who has lived in Central Florida for a year knows the other half of the problem. North-facing walls go green, stucco turns gray-brown, and dark streaks form under the eaves. That is a living colony rooted in the finish, not dirt you can hose off. Blast it and the surface layer comes off while the roots stay, so the growth comes right back. Kill it with the right chemistry and the wall stays clean until the climate grows a new colony, which in Central Florida means a wash every 12 to 18 months.

We use this method on stucco, vinyl siding, Hardie board, painted wood, EIFS, and brick, plus fences, pergolas, outdoor kitchens, and any other surface high pressure would damage. On roofs we use the soft wash method ARMA, the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, recommends for asphalt shingle roofs; our roof cleaning page covers that job. The surfactant is biodegradable. We pre-wet the plants near the work area before we start and rinse them when we finish.

What to expect on cleaning day

Clark Sabo, the owner, walks the property with you for the free estimate and gives you an exact price before anyone unloads a hose. On the day, the crew handles everything from the roofline to the foundation in one visit: walls, soffits, fascia, gutters, downspouts, and trim. Most house washes take two to four hours. If your HOA sent a letter, you are preparing to sell, or the house no longer matches the neighborhood, one visit handles it.

A house wash is the whole exterior, roofline to foundation, cleaned in one visit. Walls, soffits, fascia, eaves, window frames, shutters, entry columns, and the base trim at the slab. We soft wash every house we touch, so stucco, painted block, vinyl, and Hardie board all get the same low-pressure treatment.

You stop noticing your own house. Then the neighbor paints, or a listing sign goes up next door, and the dark streaks under every window sill are all you can see, along with the green algae climbing the north wall and the oxidation that turned white stucco a dull gray. In Volusia County the climate does this to every home: humidity, daily summer rain, and warm nights feed algae and mildew twelve months a year, from inland Orange City to whole-house soft washing in New Smyrna Beach. The only variable is how long you let it go.

How we wash a house

We apply the surfactant solution to every wall, soffit, and fascia board and let it dwell long enough to break the bond between the growth and the surface. Then we rinse section by section from the top down, so dirty runoff never crosses a clean wall. Low pressure the whole way, under 500 PSI, which protects stucco texture, paint, caulk, and window seals. Most house washes take two to four hours.

Selling the house, or answering the HOA

Realtors across Volusia, Seminole, and Orange counties put a house wash on the pre-listing list because buyers judge the exterior before they get out of the car. For active listings we schedule within 48 hours and send same-day before-and-after photos; see our pre-listing service for realtors. If your HOA sent a letter about algae on the walls or streaks on the fascia, one wash puts you back in compliance, and the result holds 12 to 18 months. Our guide to HOA exterior cleaning letters covers what associations ask for.