Power Washing vs. Soft Washing a Long Island Home
At Harbor Paints & Power Washing, homeowners sometimes use “power washing” to describe every exterior cleaning job.
They're not necessarily the same process.
Power Washing
Pressure washing relies heavily on water pressure to remove contaminants.
It can work extremely well on appropriate durable surfaces.
But more pressure isn't automatically better.
Too much pressure can damage certain siding, force water where it doesn't belong, scar wood or affect failing coatings.
Soft Washing
Soft washing relies more heavily on an appropriate cleaning solution and lower-pressure rinsing.
That makes it useful when we're dealing with organic growth or surfaces where aggressive pressure isn't desirable.
Which Does Harbor Paint Use?
The house decides.
We evaluate:
- Substrate
- Age
- Condition
- Mold/mildew
- Existing coatings
- Wood condition
- Areas of water intrusion
- Landscaping
- Whether the house is being cleaned or prepared for painting
A concrete walkway can tolerate a different cleaning approach than old cedar siding.
Washing Before Painting
Cleaning is often an essential part of exterior paint preparation because paint needs a sound, clean substrate. If you don't wash before you paint the substrate may get bubbles and cracks from the dying mold and mildew.
But washing creates another issue:
drying time.
Painting wet wood is asking for trouble.
Harbor Paint Seagull Rule
Use enough pressure to do the job—not enough pressure to create another job.
That's particularly important with older Long Island homes.
Harbor Paints & Power Washing provides both the cleaning and painting sides of the project, which means we're thinking about what happens to the surface after it has been washed.