Like most "DIY'er" homeowners I see around my neighborhood, I mistakenly thought when you "pressure washed" homes you used a lot of pressure to blow the dirt off. Well, I found out that's actually not really how the pros do it and after watching some guys started doing some research.
The phrase is "soft washing" and it's the "new thing" (as in 15 years ago) that pros do so they don't have to use a ladder to clean the house.
In the past, I had to use a pressure washer on my 2 story house and had to go up and down a ladder, even getting strung out to the point of almost falling, to clean the dirt off. No more. What I found was using a combination of soap and bleach, the mixture sticks to the house and then waiting 10 mins or so, rinses right off with regular hose pressure!
Guys on the auto detailing forums are using this MTM Hydro Foam Cannon to apply foam to their cars. Check youtube for an example. I had the sudden idea, what if I filled the bottle with dish soap and bleach?
I couldn't find an example of anyone using this product on their house, just cars, but I figured I wouldn't lose much by trying.
For those of you who use the soap dispenser on their PW's (and knew to use a mix vs. just blowing off the gunk), you'll know the soap nozzle throws the mixture about 10' at best. Meaning, for 2 story homes with gable ends, you're up 25-30' or so - which means you're on a ladder as well. *****!
With this foam cannon, the only time I had to go up on a ladder (about 8' or so) was when using the regular garden hose sprayer to rinse the soap mix off the home on the peaks. Made doing the house quick, and much safer, and kinda fun to throw all that foam over it. The nozzle has an adjustment, allowing a wide path of soap down low and concentrated stream for the higher points.
For the soap mix, I used:
.
Mixed about 20 oz of bleach and 3 oz of dish detergent into the bottle, topped off with water, and swished it around to distribute it. In the future, I will remove the 32 oz bottle and get a 15' or so length of tubing, and make up about a gallon at a time so I can do two sides of the house at once.
Some tips:
.
The phrase is "soft washing" and it's the "new thing" (as in 15 years ago) that pros do so they don't have to use a ladder to clean the house.
In the past, I had to use a pressure washer on my 2 story house and had to go up and down a ladder, even getting strung out to the point of almost falling, to clean the dirt off. No more. What I found was using a combination of soap and bleach, the mixture sticks to the house and then waiting 10 mins or so, rinses right off with regular hose pressure!
Guys on the auto detailing forums are using this MTM Hydro Foam Cannon to apply foam to their cars. Check youtube for an example. I had the sudden idea, what if I filled the bottle with dish soap and bleach?
I couldn't find an example of anyone using this product on their house, just cars, but I figured I wouldn't lose much by trying.
For those of you who use the soap dispenser on their PW's (and knew to use a mix vs. just blowing off the gunk), you'll know the soap nozzle throws the mixture about 10' at best. Meaning, for 2 story homes with gable ends, you're up 25-30' or so - which means you're on a ladder as well. *****!
With this foam cannon, the only time I had to go up on a ladder (about 8' or so) was when using the regular garden hose sprayer to rinse the soap mix off the home on the peaks. Made doing the house quick, and much safer, and kinda fun to throw all that foam over it. The nozzle has an adjustment, allowing a wide path of soap down low and concentrated stream for the higher points.
For the soap mix, I used:
.
- Gain Ultra dish detergent - NOT antimicrobial (that contains alcohol and would react with the bleach)
- Regular "concentrated" Clorox bleach
Mixed about 20 oz of bleach and 3 oz of dish detergent into the bottle, topped off with water, and swished it around to distribute it. In the future, I will remove the 32 oz bottle and get a 15' or so length of tubing, and make up about a gallon at a time so I can do two sides of the house at once.
Some tips:
.
- In retrospect, I probably used too much bleach. I could've easily cut it down to half or so of the amount I used. I mistakenly thought the spots that required a second application were mold, but it was dirt.
- Apply the soap mixture at a ratio more tilted toward the water side. In other words, turn the ratio mixture knob down so you don't have completely fluffy white foam coming out. You need a soap mix to drain down the siding and scrub it as it runs down.
- You most likely will have to do a second application for the really soiled spots. Don't fret, apply a second coat and wait 10-15 mins and the rest should come off.
- Using the MTM foam cannon, you can actually use an electric pressure washer to clean your house. I'm not sure how far it would throw the mix, but I can't imagine it not working similar to how it did for me.
- You can use the empty bottle nozzle to apply water to rinse, but I found it saved wear and tear on my pressure washer and additionally was much quieter if I just used the hose. So I just used a nozzle on my garden hose and rinsed with that and shut my PW off. In fact, it took longer to rinse the house than apply the mix.
Attachments
Last edited:
It will clean better without relying so much on the bleach to clean. It will be pricey, but it will be better for the siding.