Soft Washing in the Lower Mainland
The low-pressure way to clean siding, stucco and painted surfaces — lifting the mould, algae and green film our climate grows, without forcing water where it shouldn't go.
Soft washing does the work chemically, not by force
A pressure washer cleans by hitting a surface hard enough to knock the dirt off. On concrete that's fine. On siding it's a problem: high pressure drives water up behind lap siding and into wall cavities, cracks stucco, strips paint and leaves permanent scarring on cedar.
Soft washing solves it differently. We apply a diluted cleaning solution with a surfactant that clings to the surface, give it time to work, then rinse at roughly garden-hose pressure — typically under 500 PSI rather than the 3,000-plus a pressure washer puts out. The chemistry does the cleaning; the water just carries it away.
It also lasts considerably longer
This is the part most people don't expect. Pressure washing removes what you can see, but the spores and root structures sit down in the pores of the substrate, untouched. Within a season the green is back.
A soft wash kills the organism itself, which is why a properly soft-washed wall typically stays clean two to three times longer than the same wall blasted with pressure. You're paying for a longer interval between cleanings, not just a better afternoon.
Surfaces that should be soft washed
- Vinyl siding and vinyl shakes
- Fibre cement board (Hardie and similar)
- Stucco and EIFS
- Painted wood and cedar siding
- Soffits, fascia and eaves
- Gutter exteriors, including black “tiger striping”
- Composite decking, railings and pergolas
- Fences and garden structures
- Asphalt shingle roofs (see roof cleaning)
How we do it
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Inspect and test
We identify the substrate and look for anything that needs attention first — failing caulking, gaps around penetrations, open weep holes, damaged boards. Then we test a small inconspicuous area.
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Soak the landscaping
Plants and beds are thoroughly pre-wet before anything is applied, and covered where they're close to the wall. Wet foliage doesn't absorb solution.
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Apply at low pressure
The solution goes on from the bottom up, which prevents the streaking you get when cleaner runs down a dry wall ahead of the application.
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Let it dwell
Ten to twenty minutes, depending on how heavy the growth is. This is where the actual cleaning happens — rushing this step is why some jobs come out patchy.
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Rinse top down
A thorough low-pressure rinse from the roofline down, taking the dead growth and solution with it, followed by a second rinse of all surrounding landscaping.
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Walk it with you
We go over the finished work together and flag anything we noticed along the way.
An honest word about your plants
The solutions used in soft washing are heavily diluted, but they aren't plant food. Anyone who tells you their mix is completely harmless to landscaping is overselling it.
What actually protects your garden is process: soaking beds thoroughly before we start so foliage can't take anything up, covering the plants closest to the wall, keeping the application controlled rather than blanket-spraying, and rinsing everything down again afterward. Done properly, healthy landscaping comes through a soft wash without issue — and we'd rather explain how we manage it than pretend there's nothing to manage.
Those black streaks on your gutters
The vertical black stripes that show up on white gutters have a name — tiger striping — and they're one of the most common things we get asked about. They aren't dirt, which is why washing the house never seems to shift them.
What's actually happening is that a fine film of oxidised aluminium, road grime and airborne pollutants bonds electrostatically to the gutter face, concentrated where rainwater sheets over the front edge. Pressure won't remove it and neither will a standard house-wash mix. It needs a dedicated gutter brightener applied and agitated by hand, section by section. It's slower work, so we quote it separately — but it makes a dramatic difference on a house that otherwise looks clean.
What affects the price
- Size and number of storeys. Wall area is the main driver, and three-storey work needs different access.
- Substrate. Stucco holds growth in its texture and takes more dwell time than smooth vinyl.
- How heavy the growth is. A wall that's gone properly green may need two applications.
- Access. Narrow side yards, steep lots and dense planting against the house all slow things down.
- Add-ons. Gutter brightening, roof treatment or window cleaning bundled into the same visit.
How often should it be done?
Every one to two years suits most Lower Mainland homes. North-facing walls, houses under heavy tree cover and properties close to the water tend toward the annual end, since they stay damp longer and never really get a dry spell to knock the growth back. South-facing walls in an open lot can often go two years or more.
Frequently asked questions
Is soft washing safe for vinyl siding?
Yes — it's the method vinyl siding manufacturers actually recommend. The risk to vinyl comes from high pressure forcing water behind the laps, which soft washing avoids entirely by rinsing at roughly garden-hose pressure.
Will it hurt my plants and lawn?
Not when the job is done properly. Beds are soaked thoroughly before we start, plants closest to the wall are covered, application is controlled rather than blanket-sprayed, and everything is rinsed again afterward. We'd rather walk you through how we manage it than claim there's nothing to manage.
Will the green and black come back?
Eventually — this is a wet coastal climate and nothing stops growth permanently. But because soft washing kills the organism rather than just knocking off what's visible, regrowth typically takes two to three times longer than it would after a pressure wash.
Can you soft wash in the winter?
Most of the year, yes. We need temperatures above freezing and no heavy rain during the dwell period, which our mild winters allow more often than people expect. Prolonged cold snaps and steady rain are the two things that push a booking back.
Do you clean the soffits and eaves as well?
Yes. Soffits, fascia and eaves collect a surprising amount of growth and cobwebbing, and they're included in a standard house wash. Gutter faces with heavy tiger striping are quoted separately because they need a different product and hand agitation.
Other services
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