Blog

When you hire a team to pressure wash your home, you are taking a great step towards a cleaner and more beautiful exterior. However, pressure washing can be dangerous to plants in the right circumstances. Pressure washing companies are typically very careful not to trample on plants as well as not to spray the highly pressurized water on plants either. The problem comes from the fact that most pressure washing companies use a technique called soft washing to safely clean houses.

Soft washing uses a lower water pressure that poses less of a risk to the exterior but uses additives like bleach to clean effectively. As you would expect, bleach can be harmful plant life. In most homes, the vegetation should be planted far enough from the home to avoid direct exposure to soft washing, but steps still need to be taken to protect from splash back.

When soft washing the exterior of the home, typically the best protection from splash back is to wet the plants before soft washing. This layer of moisture will protect the leaves from chemical burns caused by the bleach additive. As the amount of bleach used is typically not enough to cause serious damage, a coat of water is more than enough protection.

In some cases, companies may also use tarps to protect any landscaping. However, tarp usage is more common with soft washing roofing when a lot of water has the potential to spill over gutters and onto the plants below. Tarps are only used when there is a large potential of exposure and a coat of water will not be enough to protect the plant.

You put a lot of effort into your landscaping, and you deserve a home that looks just as good. If you are looking into pressure washing for your home, contact us today to see what we can do for you.