Is pressure washing or soft washing better for a roof?

What is pressure washing?

When you are looking to clean your roof, you may immediately turn to the old method of either pressure washing or power washing. These are commonly used by DIYers when they don’t want to spend a lot of money and when they don’t know what they are doing. Pressure or power washing (they are the same thing) takes your average garden hose and pumps the water through a generator that increases the PSI of the water.

Basically, the average home faucet PSI is between 40 and 60. If you get a fancy nozzle for your outdoor hose you could jack it up to 300 PSI. If you rent a pressure washer, the water will exit the specialized nozzle anywhere between 2000 and 4000 PSI, depending on the rating of the motor. So, basically, you could be multiplying your faucet pressure by upwards of 100 times. Do you think your tar paper shingle roof would actually withstand those pressures? You are probably damaging your shingles and damaging the value of your home. You may even have to replace your roof sooner if you pressure wash it too often.

What is soft washing?

Soft washing is the principle of soap and water. It is revolutionary. You think I would be joking but this simple technique has been completely looked over in the past. Instead of forcing dirt and grime off a surface that can’t withstand the pressure, soft washing simple uses detergents to kill the bacteria and algae growing on your roof.

The water is low-pressure and is used to simply rinse the roof clean. A professional experienced it the technique will be able to bring all of the right chemicals and the right pressurized equipment to complete the job right the first time without damaging your roof. In the long run you will be saving money by having a clean roof that lasts longer.