Twenty years back, people mixed bleach and water with surfactants, algaecides and residual inhibitors and applied this solution to wipe out bacteria, mildew and other organic stains on roofs and house’s exterior surfaces.
The soft washing industry later developed revolutionizing effective chemical solutions to wash out the stains from surfaces successfully. This advanced method replaced the high pressure used to clean the exterior surfaces of the house. With such developments, the mobile exterior cleaning industry has tremendously improved over the last two decades away from the use of a downstream injector.
What is Soft-Washing?
People have some controversies about soft washing techniques and equipment. Before moving on to soft-washing methods and tools, we will first have a basic idea about this new approach. For that, we need to know the advantages and its limitations, which establishes a plan about the use of utilizing the soft-washing in daily cleaning chores.
Soft washing was first used to safely clear out the algae streaks on the shingle layer of the roof. Shingle roofs served to protect the interior of the house by functioning as a strong resisting barrier against the weather factors, unlike ordinary roof materials. The shingle roofs contain three layers as fiberglass sheets, petroleum adhesive and ceramic or stone aggregate. Under the shingle, layer is the petroleum-based tar-paper often called the roofing felt. The roofing felt keeps the deck of the roof safe from the moisture. All these sections of the roof structure wear away quicker except for the strong aggregate of the shingle roof.
Roofing aggregate is tightly passed to the petroleum-based adhesive on top of a shingle. It maintains the generally predictable life cycle of the shingle roofs by barricading against the natural weather conditions. The roofing aggregate has to defend the shingle roof from three main weather conditions as in rain, storm and the impact of the UV rays. The shingle usual service finishes after thirty years. In certain regions in Canada, the shingle roofs are often subjected to the natural phenomenon of hailstorms. The aggregate of the roof gets severely damaged and causes the service life of the roof to decline quickly.
Pressure washers’ impact on the roof is no different from the consequences of the hailstorms to the shingle roof. Many shingle roof manufacturers are aware of the damage caused by the use of pressure washers on the shingle roofs. Thus they have warned in the warranty that they won’t take responsibility for the impairment caused by the use of pressure washers on the shingles.
Soft washing came upon into the professional cleaning industry as a solution to this issue of using pressure washers. I worked in the pressure washer industry for seven years. With the experience I gained through pressure washing, I could open Top Roof Cleaning, one of the leading company for roof cleaning Vancouver
What is The Mallard System?
The general application of bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and water cannot correctly destroy the microbes on the roof. Bleach only serves to identify the thoroughly cleaned surfaces and to bring an immediate clean effect. As a result of the use of bleach, the surface gets bleached without clearing the residual microbes. The soft washing solutions which constitute bleach is a far more advanced promising surface cleaner than the mere application of bleach.
With time, the usage of soft cleaning potential was extended to be applied to driveways, wood fences, soffits, pool decks and more. People began to see the efficiency and safety of utilizing the soft-cleaning solution to successfully deal with the maintenance tasks of houses and business properties. This is because the soft washing chemicals were more developed to be able to remove the organic-based stains and infestations without harming the property roofs, paint, and wood, EAFIS or other delicate surfaces.
Soft washing did not require the application of pressure on the surface to the cleaning and removing of the microbes on roofs. Irrespective of the surface type, It kills the microbes once it reached the contaminated area.
Soft-washing Tools
Soft-washing method for shingle cleaning is very beneficial because it reaches the crevices and pores of the surface, which we cannot clean with the pressure tools. Therefore the soft-washing leaves no chance for the microbes to return for a long time.
A simple soft washing rig contains the tank, the pump, the hose and finally, the spray gun. The modern industry has developed far more advanced tools to facilitate the various soft-wash mixtures. Nevertheless, the typical tank sprayer will also do the same job, because you have to apply the soft-washing solution on the damaged surfaces. This does not require additional effort to clean off with pressure.
Apart from the tools, we need to be responsible enough to choose biodegradable solutions available on the market. Soft washing saves you from frequently using chemicals since it yields a lasting effect. Therefore soft washing is the most positive and sustainable choice you can make when it comes to house maintenance. If you would like to get your roof cleaned by our roof cleaners using soft washing method, feel free to give us a call.