Will the colour be even afterwards?

Working bottom-up and one elevation at a time is what keeps it even.

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.

Is it worth cleaning a wall in winter?

Yes. Cool damp conditions suit the method, and heavy rain during application is the only real obstacle.

Do you clean under the eaves?

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

Do you cover air bricks the whole time?

Covered while the wall around them is worked and uncovered before we go.

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

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

Do you need scaffolding?

Rarely. Most elevations are reached from the ground with a telescopic lance.

Does anyone need to be home?

No. It is outside work. Access to the elevations, ideally an outside tap, and windows shut for the visit.

No Man's Land wall cleaning without high pressure

No Man's Land, Cornwall - PL13

We work No Man's Land as part of the Looe 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 No Man's Land property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

How the work is actually carried out

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.Application is by low-pressure fan, closer to a garden sprayer than a washer, and the wall is wetted evenly rather than saturated in patches.
3.Where a wall carries a satellite dish or cable run, the fixings are checked before they get wet.
4.Expected rain is considered before application because the treatment needs suitable dwell time on the wall.
5.The lance tip is changed rather than the pressure raised whenever coverage is not even enough.
6.Sheeting comes off from the top down so nothing collected on it lands on cleaned work.
7.Any surface that will be walked on afterwards is left rinsed rather than left with residue.
8.Gutter faces and fascia boards are wiped as part of the same pass, since they sit in the same spray path.
9.Growth in a shaded return is treated on the same visit even when only the front was asked about, if access allows.
10.Paving, steps and paths below the elevation are rinsed clear at the end of the visit.

Reading the finish on a No Man's Land elevation

Patched render takes treatment differently from the original, which is why patches are identified before work starts.
Render responds to dwell time better than almost any other finish, which is what makes softwash suit it.
Masonry paint over render adds a film that traps moisture if the substrate was damp when it was applied.
Peeling in flakes means adhesion has gone; powdering under the hand means the surface has simply aged.
Slate-faced walls shed water quickly but the bedding mortar does not.
A stone wall in deep shade holds moss in the joints long after the faces have dried.

The reasons behind the staining

Any surface that holds a drop of water long enough to be seen will hold it long enough to feed growth.
Roof debris shed from a mossy slope lands on the same band of wall year after year.
A wall next to a busy road picks up a film of traffic grime that holds moisture on the surface.
Growth returns fastest where the underlying cause was never dealt with, which is usually water going somewhere it should not.
Tree canopy overhead drips long after the rain has stopped and drops organic debris onto the wall face.
Where a wall sits below a bank or a raised garden, water arrives at it sideways rather than from above.
An untreated wall carries a spore load already, so regrowth after a rinse is faster than first growth ever was.
Painted walls chalk with age, and chalked paint is a rougher surface than new paint.
Algae needs moisture far more than it needs dirt, so the wettest elevation greens first regardless of how clean the house is.

Practical points to sort first

Mention whether the drive drains to a soakaway that already struggles in heavy rain.
Point out where the render was patched, since patches clean differently from the original.
If a security light or camera covers the elevation, tell us so it can be isolated.
Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.
Let us know if the property is listed or in a conservation area, as it affects method choice.
Point out ground-floor windows that are painted shut, as they need different masking.
Say whether the side passage is wide enough for a wheeled kit trolley.
Note the position of the stopcock in case the outside tap needs isolating.

How the wall is read first

01Nearby properties with the same finish are a useful reference for what is normal on that street.
02A wall that is warmer than its neighbours on a cold morning is likely holding moisture.
03How quickly a splash of water darkens the surface says how porous the finish has become.
04The elevation is read from the pavement first and from a metre away second.
05Anything that cannot be explained by water is treated with more caution, not less.
06The underside of the soffit is checked, because staining there rarely stays there.
07Whether the growth has spread onto glass and frames tells you how long it has been established.
08The first question is whether the staining sits on the surface or has gone into the material, because only one of those cleans off.

Common questions about wall softwash

Will the colour be even afterwards?: Working bottom-up and one elevation at a time is what keeps it even.
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.
Is it worth cleaning a wall in winter?: Yes. Cool damp conditions suit the method, and heavy rain during application is the only real obstacle.
Do you clean under the eaves?: The soffit line is in the spray path and gets a pass as part of the work.
Do you cover air bricks the whole time?: Covered while the wall around them is worked and uncovered before we go.
Can you clean a wall with an electric meter on it?: Yes. The box is bagged before anything is applied around it.
Do you need scaffolding?: Rarely. Most elevations are reached from the ground with a telescopic lance.
Does anyone need to be home?: No. It is outside work. Access to the elevations, ideally an outside tap, and windows shut for the visit.

No Man's Land in plain facts

Postcode district: PL13. County: Cornwall. Approx 14.4 miles from the PL3 base.
Looe sits about 5 miles from No Man's Land on our round, so visits are often shared.
Access is usually via A387.
PL13 covers 3 town hubs and 14 villages or districts in our radius.
Recorded character: farming hamlet. Ridge-road hamlet on the B3253 south of Widegates.

See everywhere we cover in PL13

Nearby villages and districts

Plan the whole outside once

Roof, gutters, walls and hard surfaces in the right order costs less trouble than doing them piecemeal.

Plan it out 07830 242403

In a sentence or two

An honest no is worth more than a job that was never going to work. Every visit ends with the elevation judged from where people actually see it. The wall is nearly always sound. What has changed is what is living on it.