Can you clean a wall with an electric meter on it?

Yes. The box is bagged before anything is applied around it.

What about the smell for neighbours?

Mild and short-lived, and we avoid boundary elevations when someone next door has washing out.

Is the finish even across the wall?

That is the main reason we work bottom-up and one elevation at a time.

Can you clean a wall before painting?

Yes, and it should be done first. Paint over live growth fails from underneath.

Do you take the waste away?

There is very little on a wall job. What comes off the surface is rinsed to a drain that can take it.

Can you clean a wall covered in ivy?

The ivy needs removing first. Once it is off, the shaded face behind it is treated as normal.

Do you use a pressure washer at all on a wall visit?

Only on hard surfaces below it, like paving, and never on the wall finish itself.

PL11 - Cornwall - 7.4 miles from PL3

Antony wall cleaning without high pressure

We work Antony as part of the Torpoint round, which keeps travel down. Wall softwash is the service most often asked about here because painted render and stone shows growth earlier than brick does.

Quote for a Antony property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

What helps before we arrive

Mention shared access or a right of way that we will be crossing.
Say if there is a wasp or bird nest under the eaves, and we will plan around it.
Tell us about any planting you particularly care about at the base of the wall.
Say whether the property is occupied during the day, since that changes nothing technically but helps the plan.
Say if the elevation is overlooked by a neighbouring window that should stay shut.
Bring in washing, cushions and anything fabric that lives against the wall.
Mention any glazing you already know is cracked before work starts.
Close and latch every window on the elevations being worked, including any small top lights.

Wall build-ups common in PL11

Thin-coat systems are thinner than people assume, and a jet held still in one place leaves a permanent shadow.
Render that has lost its water repellency absorbs surface water instead of shedding it, which extends every damp spell.
Painted plinths take splash and are worked as a separate band from the main face.
A weaker mix and a longer wait suits paint better than anything stronger and faster.
A stone wall in deep shade holds moss in the joints long after the faces have dried.
Copings on stone boundary walls take the worst of the weather and the worst of the growth.

Diagnosis before treatment

01The presence of moss rather than algae suggests standing water rather than damp air.
02Whether the property is exposed or sheltered is judged on the day, not from a map.
03A wall that is warmer than its neighbours on a cold morning is likely holding moisture.
04The angle of morning sun on the elevation tells you how long it stays damp.
05Any staining that continues below ground level is a drainage question, not a cleaning one.
06The condition of the cills tells you how much water has been running down the face.
07The first question is whether the staining sits on the surface or has gone into the material, because only one of those cleans off.
08A short section of hose test shows whether run-off drains away or ponds at the base.

Damp, airflow and what feeds growth

Cracked render lets water sit behind the face as well as on it, so the staining pattern follows the crack.
A blocked hopper head can soak the same square metre of wall for an entire winter without anyone noticing.
An untreated wall carries a spore load already, so regrowth after a rinse is faster than first growth ever was.
Guttering that has dropped at one end holds standing water and drips continuously at the low point.
Lichen anchors into the surface rather than resting on it, which is why brushing achieves nothing and pressure achieves damage.
Growth that appears in a neat rectangle usually marks something that was leaning against the wall.
Where a wall carries a heavy climbing plant, the fabric behind it is nearly always damper than the rest.
Where a hose reel or water butt overflows against a wall, the staining follows the overflow path exactly.
Algae needs moisture far more than it needs dirt, so the wettest elevation greens first regardless of how clean the house is.

Why order matters more than speed

Anything that involves opening a gutter is done before the ground beneath it is cleaned.

Where a soakaway is already struggling, wall work is planned for a drier stretch.

Fascia and soffit cleaning is folded into the wall visit rather than being priced as a separate trip.

Conservatory roofs go before the wall above them, then get a final rinse afterwards.

How a softwash visit runs

1.Where a wall meets a conservatory or lean-to, the roof glazing is sheeted before anything is applied above it.
2.A pass is made along the wall head where it meets the soffit, since that band greens first and is seen least.
3.Where a wall abuts a neighbour's boundary within a metre, the fan is narrowed and the pass slowed.
4.The elevation is walked first and anything loose, open or already failing is noted before a drop of water goes near it.
5.Timber decking or a doorstep directly under the work is covered rather than rinsed afterwards.
6.External light fittings are switched off at the consumer unit before the elevation around them is treated.
7.On thin-coat systems the lance is kept moving, because holding it still in one place is how a shadow mark gets left behind.
8.Between elevations the kit is rinsed so nothing dries in the line and blocks the fan pattern.
9.Water is drawn from an outside tap where there is one, and carried on the van where there is not.
10.Any surface that will be walked on afterwards is left rinsed rather than left with residue.

Common questions about wall softwash

Do you need my electricity?: No. Kit runs off the van.
Can you clean a wall with an electric meter on it?: Yes. The box is bagged before anything is applied around it.
What about the smell for neighbours?: Mild and short-lived, and we avoid boundary elevations when someone next door has washing out.
Is the finish even across the wall?: That is the main reason we work bottom-up and one elevation at a time.
Can you clean a wall before painting?: Yes, and it should be done first. Paint over live growth fails from underneath.
Do you take the waste away?: There is very little on a wall job. What comes off the surface is rinsed to a drain that can take it.
Can you clean a wall covered in ivy?: The ivy needs removing first. Once it is off, the shaded face behind it is treated as normal.
Do you use a pressure washer at all on a wall visit?: Only on hard surfaces below it, like paving, and never on the wall finish itself.

Where Antony sits on our round

Postcode district: PL11. County: Cornwall. Approx 7.4 miles from the PL3 base.
PL11 covers 4 town hubs and 12 villages or districts in our radius.
Recorded character: village. Estate village near Antony House.
Nearest full coverage hub: Torpoint (PL11), Cornwall Council.
Access is usually via A374 and Torpoint Ferry.

See everywhere we cover in PL11

Nearby villages and districts

Send the postcode and finish type

Those two things get you a written price without a site visit in most cases.

Send the details 07830 242403

In a sentence or two

The safest method is the one set by the weakest material on the wall, not the strongest. The wall dictates the method. Everything else on this page follows from that one rule. The visit is quiet, low pressure and unremarkable to watch. The result is the interesting part.