Softwash for houses and decks

[sengsational]

The north side of my daughter's vinyl siding was kinda green, so she hired "Softwash" company to clean her house. They sprayed some stuff on, and rinsed it off a few minutes later with great results. She hired it out because it's a 2 story, and would have been a chore to get up to the top floor and gables.

Anyway, they got a little of that cleaning agent on the wood deck, and it worked wonders there to beautifully clean that small strip near the house. So she was looking for the formula for the specific cleaning agent they use, but to no avail. She did some Internet research, but came up empty on finding the specific stuff the Softwash company used.

She knows that there's dozens of choices at the big box home center stores, but figures it might be more effective to uncover what has been proven to work.

Anybody here figured this out?

 

[COcheesehead]

Simple Green?

 

[38Chevy454]

Maybe "Wet and Forget"? It is used to get rid of mold and algae growth. Pluls keep it form coming back.

 

[Sunset]

Maybe "Wet and Forget"? It is used to get rid of mold and algae growth. Pluls keep it form coming back.

That's what I was going to say...

 

[freedomatlast]

JOMAX is another alternative to Wet and Forget, although Wet and Forget is the one most people remember due to the catchy name.

 

[Midpack]

We used this to clean algae off our siding, worked wonders! Works on decks, fences and other outdoor surfaces. Bought at Lowe’s or Home Depot.

The sprayer reaches about 20 feet, so I can do our entire house without ladders or brushes. I bought one sprayer, and one large refill (dilute 1:1 with water) for about $40 - and some refill still left. I don’t see any reason to hire out the job anymore, nor to use my pole brush with Simple Green - this stuff is MUCH easier, and it did not harm my lawn or shrubs. The directions say don’t let it dry on windows, so work around them as possible and just rinse windows promptly and thoroughly. I used gloves and goggles and showered when I was done, but it didn’t irritate or harm my skin at all. It does act in minutes, no need to leave in on for long. Spray a section, wait a couple minutes, and rinse off with water using the same sprayer. You might have to go over heavy growth areas twice. As I understand it the solution is dilute bleach and some other cleaning agents.

Incidentally our house has Hardie Board, a fiber cement siding. Pressure washing is NOT recommended, though I see contractors in the neighborhood doing it all the time, evidently homeowners who don’t realize the damage it can do.

https://30secondscleaners.com/

[Wet & Forget is spray on and no rinse?]

 

[braumeister]

Maybe "Wet and Forget"? It is used to get rid of mold and algae growth. Pluls keep it form coming back.

My neighbor used that a couple of years ago and raved about it.

 

[old medic]

Simple Green?

Thats what we have used for years.

 

[CRLLS]

Maybe "Wet and Forget"? It is used to get rid of mold and algae growth. Pluls keep it form coming back.

I've been using it for years. Great stuff. We have a wooden picket fence painted white, probably around 150 ft run. I spray it once a year and am good. Spray it on and walk away. No scrubbing. No rinsing. I have recommended this stuff to many. It doesn't kill the grass, which is a good thing. There is a competitor's product called Spray and Forget. I don't know much about that.

 

[jazz4cash]

Based on experience of a neighbor 3 doors down it contains a healthy dose of bleach. They had Softwash branded vehicle wraps. He had them do house vinyl siding, brick facade, gutters, soffits and maybe roof. Fantastic results. They used plastic covers to protect lawn and shrubs. I’m guessing he paid $2K. We had ours done with some type of bleachy solution for $400 but no protective covering and one large arbor vitae was damaged.

 

[sengsational]

We used this [30 second cleaner] to clean algae off our siding, worked wonders! Works on decks, fences and other outdoor surfaces. Bought at Lowe’s or Home Depot.

DD used this. She said it worked, but kind of ate into the surface grey part of the deck boards and left a fuzzy coating that might need scrubbing before she applies the sealer.

So not as good as real Softwash, but good enough. And cheaper.