Soft washing vs High pressure cleaning
jknight • August 22, 2025
Which method suits best?
Soft washing
- Method: Uses low water pressure (usually under 500 PSI) combined with specialized cleaning solutions (biodegradable detergents, algaecides, or sodium hypochlorite mixes).
- Purpose: Designed to kill and remove organic growth like mould, algae, moss and lichen.
- Best for:
- Roofs (Tiled or metal roofs)
- Painted surfaces
- Fragile surfaces
- Wood fences and timber decks
- Advantages:
- Gentle on delicate surfaces (won’t strip paint or damage roofing)
- Cleans at a deeper level by killing spores, enabling a clean to last longer
- Uses less water overall
High pressure cleaning (Pressure washing)
- Method: Uses high-pressure water (1300-4000+ PSI). It can be hot or cold water to blast away dirt, stains.
- Purpose: Best for removing surface level contaminants like dirt, mud, old paint, grease and organic growth.
- Best for:
- Roofs (Tiled or metal roofs)
- Concrete driveways, pathways, and patios
- Brick and stone
- Metal surfaces
- Advantages:
- Excellent for tough, stuck-on organic growth, debris and stains
- Uses a lot less of cleaning solution
- Faster for large, hard surfaces
Combination of both methods
- Method: Of course, both methods can be coupled together to achieve the desired end result.
