What is the difference between this and a wash down?

A wash down removes what you can see. A treatment removes what is growing, which is not the same thing.

Is the method different on a listed building?

The approach is gentler still, and lime finishes are treated with the lowest strength that will work.

Is a lower price ever a bad sign?

Not automatically, but ask what method is being used. Speed on a delicate finish usually means pressure.

Can I get the roof done at the same time?

Yes, and the roof goes first so what comes off it does not land on clean walls.

Will the colour come back?

If the original finish is sound, the colour underneath is usually still there and comes back with the growth removed.

What about the smell for neighbours?

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

Do you clean chimney stacks?

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

Do you treat mortar joints separately?

The method is set by the mortar because it is nearly always the softest thing on the wall.

Softwash for walls in and around Kingston

Devon Kingston, above the River Erme mouth.

A wall in Kingston that has greened over is telling you where water sits. Devon Kingston, above the River Erme mouth, so the pattern of staining tends to repeat from one property to the next.

Working out what is wrong on a Kingston wall

01Old repair patches are identified early, because they take treatment differently from the surrounding finish.
02Where paint is peeling in flakes rather than powdering, adhesion has already gone.
03Anything that cannot be explained by water is treated with more caution, not less.
04A damp meter reading inside a stained corner separates a cleaning job from a building problem.
05Colour matters: green suggests algae, black suggests fungal spotting, grey-white crust suggests lichen.
06A short section of hose test shows whether run-off drains away or ponds at the base.
07Where the pattern is vertical and narrow, plumbing is looked at before chemistry is.
08Hollow-sounding render is checked by tapping before any water is put onto it.

Material first, method second

A rendered wall under a failed drip detail restains within a season however well it was cleaned.
Render responds to dwell time better than almost any other finish, which is what makes softwash suit it.
Growth on cob is usually treated in light passes with long gaps rather than one wet application.
The base of a cob wall is the most vulnerable part and is often left alone entirely.
Lime surfaces take a weaker mix and a longer dwell than cement-based finishes.
Lime walls are worked in cooler conditions so nothing dries before it has acted.

Why this keeps happening on TQ7 elevations

Growth that appears in a neat rectangle usually marks something that was leaning against the wall.
A downpipe discharging onto a hard surface next to the wall sends the water straight back at the brickwork.
Driven rain sticks to a wall face rather than running off it, which keeps the surface wet long enough for spores to settle.
Cold bridging at a lintel can keep a narrow band of render damper than everything around it.
Washing without a biocide simply resets the clock and leaves the roots in place.
A patio laid up against a wall reflects splash onto it every time it rains hard.
A single missing tile above an elevation can put water onto the same square metre for years.
Once lichen is established it holds water itself, which makes the surface beneath it wetter than it started.
Algae needs moisture far more than it needs dirt, so the wettest elevation greens first regardless of how clean the house is.

On site in Kingston

1.The lance is held at a distance and an angle that lets the fan open fully instead of hitting the wall as a jet.
2.Any garden furniture within the spray arc moves before the mix is made up, not while the lance is running.
3.Painted elevations get a small test patch first, low down and out of sight, so failing paint is found deliberately rather than by accident.
4.Anything applied is applied once and given time, rather than applied twice in a hurry to look busy.
5.A pass along the underside of the soffit catches the black spotting that everyone forgets until the wall is clean.
6.Water is drawn from an outside tap where there is one, and carried on the van where there is not.
7.Waste water is directed to a soakaway or drain that can take it rather than allowed to pond on a lawn.
8.Chimney stacks are treated from a position that keeps the operator off the roof covering entirely.
9.A hose test on the nearest outside tap happens before anything is mixed, because flow rate changes how the day is planned.
10.Where a property has solar panels on a wall-facing slope, the array is sheeted before treatment starts below.

Local detail that changes the job

Nearest full coverage hub: Bigbury (TQ7), South Hams District Council.
Postcode district: TQ7. County: Devon. Approx 13.7 miles from the PL3 base.
Recorded character: village. Devon Kingston, above the River Erme mouth.
TQ7 covers 7 town hubs and 29 villages or districts in our radius.
Access is usually via B3392.

See everywhere we cover in TQ7

Preparing a village property

Mention any planned decorating so the drying window can be built into the date.
Point out any window that does not seal properly, so it gets sheeted rather than sprayed near.
Point out ground-floor windows that are painted shut, as they need different masking.
Let us know whether the gutters have been cleared in the last couple of years.
Tell us about any previous treatment that came back quickly, and how quickly.
Flag any recent repair or repaint, because fresh work is treated more gently.
Tell us where the drains run if the garden has a soakaway rather than a mains connection.
Let us know if a neighbour parks under the wall on certain days.

Where wall work sits in a Kingston visit

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

A wall treated in autumn goes into winter clean, which is when it matters most.

Driveways come after walls so that run-off from the elevation is rinsed away as part of the drive work.

Where gutters need repair rather than clearing, that goes ahead of any cleaning at all.

Straight answers before you book

What is the difference between this and a wash down?: A wash down removes what you can see. A treatment removes what is growing, which is not the same thing.
Is the method different on a listed building?: The approach is gentler still, and lime finishes are treated with the lowest strength that will work.
Is a lower price ever a bad sign?: Not automatically, but ask what method is being used. Speed on a delicate finish usually means pressure.
Can I get the roof done at the same time?: Yes, and the roof goes first so what comes off it does not land on clean walls.
Will the colour come back?: If the original finish is sound, the colour underneath is usually still there and comes back with the growth removed.
What about the smell for neighbours?: Mild and short-lived, and we avoid boundary elevations when someone next door has washing out.
Do you clean chimney stacks?: Where they can be reached safely from a position that keeps us off the roof covering.
Do you treat mortar joints separately?: The method is set by the mortar because it is nearly always the softest thing on the wall.

Other Devon places on the same round

Where to go next

The essentials

A treated wall keeps changing for a fortnight, which is the sign the method worked. The wall is nearly always sound. What has changed is what is living on it. One elevation done properly is better than four done quickly.

Check the gutter line too

If the staining starts at the top, the gutters are worth looking at in the same visit.

Add the check 07830 242403

Quote for a Kingston property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm