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.

Does softwash actually kill the growth or just wash it off?

It kills it. The treatment is left on long enough to work, which is why the surface keeps lightening for a week or two after the visit.

What about the windows afterwards?

Frames and glass in the spray path are wiped as the masking comes off.

Do you clean chimney stacks?

Where they can be reached safely from a position that keeps us off the roof covering.

Do you jet wash walls?

Not on render, pebbledash or paint. Pressure takes the finish off with the growth and brings the problem back sooner.

Do you clean under the eaves?

The soffit line is in the spray path and gets a pass as part of the work.

Can you get behind downpipes?

Yes, by hand. It is the part a sprayed pattern always misses.

Is the water mains-fed?

From your outside tap where there is one. Where there is not, we bring it with us.

Softwashing timber and painted render walls around Freathy

Chalet-beach community above Whitsand.

Most enquiries from Freathy start with one elevation that has gone darker than the rest. Nine times out of ten the reason is how long that face stays damp, not how dirty it is.

Working out what is wrong on a Freathy wall

01The condition of the cills tells you how much water has been running down the face.
02Where paint is peeling in flakes rather than powdering, adhesion has already gone.
03Whether the render is thin-coat or traditional is checked at a bead or a reveal.
04Any staining that continues below ground level is a drainage question, not a cleaning one.
05The elevation is read from the pavement first and from a metre away second.
06A fingernail drawn across the growth says more in a second than a photograph does.
07Whether the growth has spread onto glass and frames tells you how long it has been established.
08A wall that feels chalky under the hand is telling you the coating has aged, not that it is dirty.

Material first, method second

Coloured through-render fades gradually, so what looks like dirt on an older wall is sometimes age in the finish.
A rendered wall under a failed drip detail restains within a season however well it was cleaned.
Chalking paint is a rougher surface than new paint, which is why older painted walls green faster.
Painted plinths take splash and are worked as a separate band from the main face.

Why this keeps happening on PL10 elevations

A split downpipe puts a single wet stripe down an elevation, and that stripe goes green months before anything either side of it.
A blocked weep hole means the cavity drains through the face instead of out of the hole.
Growth on a painted wall often sits on top of a paint film that has already begun to chalk.
A cracked cill throws water back at the wall instead of clear of it.
Lichen anchors into the surface rather than resting on it, which is why brushing achieves nothing and pressure achieves damage.
Where a wall was cleaned without a biocide, the regrowth is often patchier and faster than the original.
A wall behind a dense fence panel is in still air permanently, and still air never dries anything quickly.
A wall shielded by a car port dries slowly because it never sees direct sun or driven rain.
The first sign is usually a faint grey cast rather than green, and grey is easier to ignore.

On site in Freathy

1.Beds and borders at the foot of the wall are soaked with clean water first, so any run-off arrives diluted.
2.Gutter faces and fascia boards are wiped as part of the same pass, since they sit in the same spray path.
3.Treatments are kept away from vegetable beds entirely, with those sections sheeted rather than diluted.
4.Where a porch roof sits mid-elevation, it is sheeted and its own tiles cleared before the wall above is touched.
5.Sheltered corners and inside angles hold growth longest and get worked before the open faces.
6.The mix is made up in small batches as the work moves, rather than one large batch that stands and weakens.
7.Between elevations the kit is rinsed so nothing dries in the line and blocks the fan pattern.
8.Any garden furniture within the spray arc moves before the mix is made up, not while the lance is running.
9.Paving, steps and paths below the elevation are rinsed clear at the end of the visit.
10.The job is worked one elevation at a time from end to end so that nothing dries out mid-wall.

Local detail that changes the job

Nearest full coverage hub: Cawsand (PL10), Cornwall Council.
PL10 covers 3 town hubs and 5 villages or districts in our radius.
Typical wall finish here is timber and painted render, which sets the cleaning method.
Typical roof covering here is slate and felt, which affects what washes down onto the walls.
Recorded character: coastal hamlet. Chalet-beach community above Whitsand.

See everywhere we cover in PL10

Preparing a coastal hamlet property

Note where hoses can be run without crossing a doorway.
Tell us if there is a low wall or a step at the base of the elevation that gets slippery.
Clear the base of the elevation of pots, ornaments and loose paving where you can.
Point out any window that does not seal properly, so it gets sheeted rather than sprayed near.
Say if you would prefer the front done on a different day from the back.
If a security light or camera covers the elevation, tell us so it can be isolated.
Tell us if there is a septic tank and where its outlet sits.
Tell us about pets in the garden before the day rather than on it.

Order of work, top down

Where the property is being sold, walls are the single most visible thing to do first.

Small repairs to pointing are best done after cleaning, when what needs doing is visible.

Where only walls are being done, the gutter line is still checked, because it is the usual culprit behind the worst staining.

If windows were cleaned recently, tell us, and they get sheeted rather than redone.

Practical questions answered

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.
Does softwash actually kill the growth or just wash it off?: It kills it. The treatment is left on long enough to work, which is why the surface keeps lightening for a week or two after the visit.
What about the windows afterwards?: Frames and glass in the spray path are wiped as the masking comes off.
Do you clean chimney stacks?: Where they can be reached safely from a position that keeps us off the roof covering.
Do you jet wash walls?: Not on render, pebbledash or paint. Pressure takes the finish off with the growth and brings the problem back sooner.
Do you clean under the eaves?: The soffit line is in the spray path and gets a pass as part of the work.
Can you get behind downpipes?: Yes, by hand. It is the part a sprayed pattern always misses.
Is the water mains-fed?: From your outside tap where there is one. Where there is not, we bring it with us.

Neighbouring places we work

Summary

Getting the order of work right protects the money already spent on the parts that were cleaned first. Low pressure is not a compromise. On render it is the only sensible option. The safest method is the one set by the weakest material on the wall, not the strongest. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.

Straight answer, no chasing

You get a price, then you get left alone to think about it.

Get the price 07830 242403

Quote for a Freathy property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm