When it comes to pressure washing, not all washes are the same, and just because your roof or other surface may not be able to withstand the pressure from a good pressure wash, doesn’t mean you’re stuck with a surface you’re unable to clean. For these instances we use soft washing, which helps to remove the same fungi, mildew, mold, and debris from these softer surfaces, but without running the risk of damaging them if a standard pressure wash may.

For algae stains that accumulate on shingle roofs, soft washing is a method that has been used for some time. As a matter of fact, this was the circumstance that brought the concept of soft washing to life. The agitation and pressure from standard pressure washing replicates the same damage that causes these types of roofs to break down over time, and when trying to restore a roof to its original beauty and function, you don’t want to inadvertently damage it. So, instead of using high pressure washing to eliminate algae and other substances from the roof’s surface, and subjecting it to potential damage, soft washing allows the shingles to be cleaned gently, yet effectively.

Using around 400 psi or less, soft washing uses a combination of water and chemical compounds to remove algae, mold, or other stains or growth from your roof in a way that cleans without damaging, while full pressure washing uses a much higher psi and cleaning solutions. To measure, soft washing will typically use around 1/3 of the amount of pressure as a standard pressure washing, as well as softer or less harsh chemicals that aren’t like to damage the shingle roof’s surface.

Soft washing is slowly becoming the way to maintain and clean shingle roofs, when pressure washing these surfaces was the in-demand method of the past. With regular soft washings, your shingle roof will be free of the growth you want to remove, but also kept strong and resilient, so you can rest assured mold isn’t taking over and your shingles are left in good standing before that next big rain storm.