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.

Is a second visit ever needed?

For heavy lichen, a lighter second application later beats increasing pressure on the first.

Can the whole house be done in one go?

Often, depending on size and access. Larger properties split naturally into two visits.

Do you clean soffits and fascias?

They are in the same spray path, so they are done as part of the wall visit.

Should I fix the downpipe before or after?

Before, if it is the cause. Cleaning around a live leak puts the stain straight back.

Can you work while builders are on site?

Better after they finish, so their dust and debris does not land on clean work.

Can you tell from a photo whether it will clean up?

Usually yes for surface growth. Staining that is in the material is harder to judge without seeing it.

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.

PL20 - Devon - 19.1 miles from PL3

Treating growth on granite in Postbridge

If the walls on your Postbridge property have gone patchy or green, the finish itself is usually sound. Clapper bridge over the East Dart, and growth on granite sits on the surface rather than in the structure.

Quote for a Postbridge property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

What helps before we arrive

Mention any cladding or timber detail that you would rather was left alone.
Point out ground-floor windows that are painted shut, as they need different masking.
Let us know if a neighbour parks under the wall on certain days.
Tell us if there is a low wall or a step at the base of the elevation that gets slippery.
Close and latch every window on the elevations being worked, including any small top lights.
Tell us if there is a septic tank and where its outlet sits.
Say where the outside tap is, and whether it runs at any pressure.
Note where hoses can be run without crossing a doorway.

Wall build-ups common in PL20

Granite is hard-faced but the joints are not, and lichen roots into micro-fissures in the stone.
The mortar between granite blocks is usually lime, which sets the whole method for the wall.
A granite elevation is judged corner by corner, because exposure varies more than on a rendered face.
Iron staining from old fixings in granite is a separate problem from growth.

Diagnosis before treatment

01Where the wall carries a previous coating over render, its edges are inspected for lifting.
02The direction the growth thickens in points at the source of the moisture.
03Where the pattern is a band at the top, the gutter line is doing it.
04Cracks are traced to their ends, because a crack that runs to an opening behaves differently from one that stops.
05How quickly a splash of water darkens the surface says how porous the finish has become.
06Previous cleaning is usually visible as a slightly different texture rather than a different colour.
07A damp meter reading inside a stained corner separates a cleaning job from a building problem.
08Where a wall meets a roof abutment, the flashing is looked at first.

Damp, airflow and what feeds growth

Salt-laden air roughens exposed surfaces slightly, and rougher surfaces hold more moisture.
Roof debris shed from a mossy slope lands on the same band of wall year after year.
A blocked weep hole means the cavity drains through the face instead of out of the hole.
Render that has lost its water repellency absorbs and holds surface water instead of shedding it.
A wall behind a dense fence panel is in still air permanently, and still air never dries anything quickly.
Growth returns fastest where the underlying cause was never dealt with, which is usually water going somewhere it should not.
Concrete render plinths wick moisture upward from the ground more readily than the face above them.
Where two properties share a wall of different finishes, the finishes weather at different speeds and look mismatched.
A wall shaded by its own porch roof for half the day dries at half the rate of the face beside it.

Order of work, top down

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

Booking services out of order is the commonest reason a clean seems not to have lasted.

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

The number of elevations completed in one visit depends on their area, access, condition and weather.

How a softwash visit runs

1.Sheltered corners and inside angles hold growth longest and get worked before the open faces.
2.Where the growth sits mostly in the lower metre, that band is treated twice and the rest once.
3.Guttering above a worked elevation is checked for standing water, because a drip mid-treatment ruins an even finish.
4.On render below a flat roof edge, the drip detail is checked, because a failed one puts the stain straight back.
5.The same operator works a whole elevation so the application rate stays consistent across it.
6.Sheeting comes off from the top down so nothing collected on it lands on cleaned work.
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.Treatments are kept away from vegetable beds entirely, with those sections sheeted rather than diluted.
9.Where a wall runs straight down to a lawn, a run of sheeting is pegged along the base instead of relying on dilution alone.
10.Hoses run outside gates where children or dogs are about, and gates are closed behind us each time.

Before you get in touch

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.
Is a second visit ever needed?: For heavy lichen, a lighter second application later beats increasing pressure on the first.
Can the whole house be done in one go?: Often, depending on size and access. Larger properties split naturally into two visits.
Do you clean soffits and fascias?: They are in the same spray path, so they are done as part of the wall visit.
Should I fix the downpipe before or after?: Before, if it is the cause. Cleaning around a live leak puts the stain straight back.
Can you work while builders are on site?: Better after they finish, so their dust and debris does not land on clean work.
Can you tell from a photo whether it will clean up?: Usually yes for surface growth. Staining that is in the material is harder to judge without seeing it.
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.

Read a little further

Where Postbridge sits on our round

Typical wall finish here is granite, which sets the cleaning method.
Nearest full coverage hub: Princetown (PL20), West Devon Borough Council.
Princetown sits about 4.5 miles from Postbridge on our round, so visits are often shared.
Recorded character: moorland hamlet. Clapper bridge over the East Dart.
Postcode district: PL20. County: Devon. Approx 19.1 miles from the PL3 base.

See everywhere we cover in PL20

Also covered near PL20

Get the order of work right

Roof, gutters, walls, hard surfaces. Doing it in that order protects each stage.

Sort the order 07830 242403

The short version

Getting the order of work right protects the money already spent on the parts that were cleaned first. Prep takes longer than application, and that is the right way round. Killing growth and removing growth are two different jobs, and only one of them lasts.