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.

Do you move furniture and pots?

Anything within the spray arc is moved and put back where it was found.

What if the render is hollow in places?

It is tapped and mapped first, and hollow sections are treated dry-side only rather than soaked.

What if part of the wall does not come up?

It is left to weather rather than pushed harder, and we will say what we think is happening.

How do you price the work?

By elevation area and access, put in writing before anything starts.

What about air bricks and vents?

Covered for the duration, uncovered before we leave.

Will it strip my paint?

Sound paint is unaffected. Paint that has already lost adhesion may lift, which is why a test patch goes on first.

Do you clean garages and outbuildings?

Yes, if they are part of the same visit and take the same method.

PL7 - Devon - 4.5 miles from PL3

Newnham wall cleaning without high pressure

This page covers wall and render softwash for Newnham only, roughly 4.5 miles from our PL3 base and worked with the Plympton round. Roofs, gutters and hard surfaces have their own pages.

Quote for a Newnham property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

What helps before we arrive

Tell us where the drains run if the garden has a soakaway rather than a mains connection.
Say if the elevation is overlooked by a neighbouring window that should stay shut.
Say if the property has a flat roof section that we would be working above.
If a security light or camera covers the elevation, tell us so it can be isolated.
Say whether the side passage is wide enough for a wheeled kit trolley.
Say if any part of the wall has been jet washed before, and roughly when.
Point out any alarm sensor mounted externally on the elevation.
Tell us about pets in the garden before the day rather than on it.

Wall build-ups common in PL7

Render cleans up well at low pressure and badly at high pressure, because pressure removes the finish along with the growth.
Cracks in render change the staining pattern, because water then sits behind the face as well as on it.
Painted brick is treated as paint, not as brick, and the test patch decides the strength.
Engineering brick and facing brick behave differently, and the softer one sets the method.
A test patch low down and out of sight is how failing paint is found deliberately.
Where a painted wall has been patch-repainted, the patches clean at a different rate.

Diagnosis before treatment

01The state of the pointing is judged at the most exposed corner, not the most convenient one.
02Where the pattern is vertical and narrow, plumbing is looked at before chemistry is.
03Where the pattern is even across the whole face, exposure and aspect are the cause.
04Anything that cannot be explained by water is treated with more caution, not less.
05Where the pattern is a band at the top, the gutter line is doing it.
06Efflorescence is distinguished from lichen before anything is applied, since one is salt and one is alive.
07Where the wall carries a previous coating over render, its edges are inspected for lifting.
08A test patch at low strength shows what the surface will do before the full elevation commits to it.

Damp, airflow and what feeds growth

Growth that appears in a neat rectangle usually marks something that was leaning against the wall.
Mild damp winters here keep growth metabolising through months that would stop it in a colder, drier county.
Silt washed down from the roof leaves a thin feeding layer on the render below.
Airflow along a terrace is different from airflow around a detached house, and the drying patterns follow.
Any surface that holds a drop of water long enough to be seen will hold it long enough to feed growth.
Spores travel on the wind and land everywhere. What decides whether they take hold is whether the surface stays damp.
Nutrients from a nearby feeding lawn or planting drift onto a wall and give growth something to work with.
A downpipe discharging onto a hard surface next to the wall sends the water straight back at the brickwork.
Airflow through a passage between two houses is fast but the passage itself is in permanent shade.

Why order matters more than speed

Block paving cannot be re-sanded until it is dry, which decides the running order in a wet week.

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

Roof work always precedes wall work, because everything released from the slope lands on the elevation below it.

A first clean is heavier work than the ones that follow, so the interval afterwards can be longer than people expect.

How a softwash visit runs

1.The wall is left to dry naturally rather than being wiped, which is what keeps the finish even.
2.Paving, steps and paths below the elevation are rinsed clear at the end of the visit.
3.Cable clips, aerial brackets and old fixings are noted, and loose ones are left rather than pushed further.
4.Growth in a shaded return is treated on the same visit even when only the front was asked about, if access allows.
5.Waste water is directed to a soakaway or drain that can take it rather than allowed to pond on a lawn.
6.Between elevations the kit is rinsed so nothing dries in the line and blocks the fan pattern.
7.A final walk of each finished elevation happens with the property owner where they are home, and by photograph where they are not.
8.The same operator works a whole elevation so the application rate stays consistent across it.
9.The colour keeps improving for a fortnight after the visit as dead growth loses its grip and weathers away.
10.Where a pond or water feature sits below an elevation, it is covered and the run-off diverted well away from it.

Common questions about wall softwash

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.
Do you move furniture and pots?: Anything within the spray arc is moved and put back where it was found.
What if the render is hollow in places?: It is tapped and mapped first, and hollow sections are treated dry-side only rather than soaked.
What if part of the wall does not come up?: It is left to weather rather than pushed harder, and we will say what we think is happening.
How do you price the work?: By elevation area and access, put in writing before anything starts.
What about air bricks and vents?: Covered for the duration, uncovered before we leave.
Will it strip my paint?: Sound paint is unaffected. Paint that has already lost adhesion may lift, which is why a test patch goes on first.
Do you clean garages and outbuildings?: Yes, if they are part of the same visit and take the same method.

Where Newnham sits on our round

PL7 covers 3 town hubs and 7 villages or districts in our radius.
Nearest full coverage hub: Plympton (PL7), Plymouth City Council.
Access is usually via A38 and A374.
Typical wall finish here is render and painted brick, which sets the cleaning method.
Typical roof covering here is concrete tile, which affects what washes down onto the walls.

See everywhere we cover in PL7

Nearby villages and districts

Painting soon?

Walls should be treated and fully dry before a brush goes near them. Tell us the decorating date and we will work back from it.

Line it up 07830 242403

In a sentence or two

Cleaning reveals condition. Sometimes that means finding a repair, and it is better found than hidden under moss. Written price first, method matched to the surface, then the work. In that order. An honest no is worth more than a job that was never going to work.