Soft Washing in Macomb Township
Soft washing is the method, and house washing is one of the jobs it does. In Macomb Township it also cleans the brick fronts, the vinyl fences between lots, the shed, the roof and the north side of the garage, all at the pressure of a garden hose, because the surfaces here are too new to spend on force.
A soft wash is a chemical clean with a rinse, not a pressure clean with soap. The solution is a diluted sodium hypochlorite mix with a surfactant that holds it on a vertical surface, applied with a pump that never exceeds a few hundred PSI. It kills the algae, mildew and lichen that pressure only shaves, then rinses off at hose pressure with the dead growth. The result stays clean for two to three years because nothing is left alive in the siding texture to regrow.
The township is the right place for it because almost everything here is either young vinyl, which cracks and lifts under pressure, or brick and stone veneer with mortar that is still shedding its haze. Soft washing handles both, and it handles the white vinyl privacy fences that run between lots in most of the plats, the composite decks, the painted porches, the vinyl-wrapped columns and the shed behind the garage. Where the growth is heavier, on the shaded farm lots near Waldenburg and Meade or along the Middle Branch of the Clinton River, the same process works with a stronger mix and a longer dwell.
Plants are the main thing to protect. The crew wets the beds before and after, covers what is sensitive, and neutralizes runoff, and on the township's builder-planted foundation shrubs that is enough. Roofs get the same chemistry at an even lower pressure, which is why our roof cleaning page exists separately. Soft washing a house starts at $349, and fences, sheds and outbuildings are quoted per surface on the same estimate, a short run up Romeo Plank from the Hall Rd shop.
Solution, Dwell, Rinse
Every job starts with a walkaround to sort surfaces by material, then the landscaping is pre-wet. Solution is mixed for the surface, stronger for a north wall with lichen, milder for painted trim, and sprayed on from ground level by a low-pressure pump, through a wand that reaches second-story eaves without a ladder. It dwells for ten to fifteen minutes while the growth dies, and we watch it rather than leave it. The rinse comes from the top down at garden-hose pressure until the water runs clear. Metal fixtures, windows and doors are rinsed a second time, and the beds get a final soak. A full house runs two to three hours; a fence or shed an hour or less.
Where Soft Washing Goes Wrong
Mix strength and plants. A solution too strong for painted trim or for oxidized aluminum leaves a bleached patch, and one too weak for lichen on a shaded wall leaves the growth alive with its color knocked back, so it returns in a season. Runoff that reaches an unprotected bed browns the leaves within a day. The other failure is calling a pressure wash a soft wash: if the machine is a pressure washer with a soap tip, it is not soft washing, and on young vinyl the difference shows up as cracked panels and water behind the wall. Ask what pressure the rinse runs at; the answer should be about what your hose delivers.
Timing It Right
Soft washing works in any month above freezing, because the chemistry does the work and does not need heat. April and May fill up fastest, as the township's spring inspections go out, and September is the second wave. Fences and sheds fit into midsummer easily. If a wall has heavy lichen, a warm day helps the dwell, so we schedule those for June through September.
Price Soft Washing for Your Macomb Township Home
Pick your property size and condition for a real range in about twenty seconds — bundle other services to watch the visit price drop.
1 · What do you need cleaned?
2 · Home size
3 · Condition
Soft Washing in Macomb Township: FAQs
Is soft washing safe for a house that is under builder warranty?
Yes. The pressure at the surface is what a hose delivers, the solution is the one siding manufacturers describe in their care sheets, and nothing is applied that would affect caulk, paint or the roof. What voids warranties is high pressure, which we do not use on siding at all. We leave a dated invoice with the method noted, which is useful if a claim ever comes up.
Can you soft wash the vinyl fence between the yards?
Yes, and it is one of the most common add-ons in the township. White vinyl privacy fence greens on the north face and grays under sprinkler spray, and it cleans up with the same solution as the siding at a fraction of the house price. Both sides can be done if your neighbor is agreeable, and the two lots often split the cost.
How long does a soft wash keep a Macomb Township house clean?
Two to three years on the north side and longer on walls that get sun, which in the township's young subdivisions is most of them. Lots on the older farm parcels and near the Middle Branch of the Clinton River sit at the shorter end because they hold shade and moisture. Between full washes, one north wall can be refreshed on its own.
What is the difference between soft washing and your house washing service?
House washing is the package for the full exterior, and soft washing is the method it uses. This page exists because owners search for the method by name and because the same low-pressure process covers surfaces the house wash does not: fences, sheds, play structures, retaining walls and the fronts of detached garages. If you want the house, book house washing; if you want the fence and the shed, book this.
More in Macomb Township
Deeper reading: Soft Washing vs. Power Washing: Which Does Your Home Need? and Why One Side of Your House Is Always the Green Side.
Book Soft Washing in Macomb Township
Request a free, no-pressure estimate today. Most quotes are delivered within 24 hours, and every job is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Get My Free Estimate or call (586) 284-3810 — Mon–Sat, 8am–10pm