What is the Best Thing to Clean Cladding?

22nd July 2022 General

What is the Best Thing to Clean Cladding?

When people start to think about cladding cleaning, they ask what the best thing is to clean cladding. What a great question and one that we get asked a lot from building and facility managers.

With so much development throughout the world these past thirty years, technology in everything we do has zoomed on, and fast! It can be hard to keep up with the latest gadgets and software we use these days.

Commercial building cleaning companies have been very busy learning new techniques to not only clean buildings better, safer and faster, but to stay cleaner for longer periods of time.

Soft Washing has been around for a long time, in fact over 30 years. Developed in the USA by AC Lockyer at SoftWash Systems the technology was first brought into the UK in 2016.

The Soft Washing method when used for cladding cleaning not only gives the cladding a better clean, but it also sanitises the surface too. The whole process leaves cladding shiny looking because it contains, hydrophobic and waxing agents which have U.V. protection built in.

One hundred years old technology…

The Pressure washing method which uses high powered water blasting to remove dirt and grime when used for cladding cleaning can cause water ingress and surface damage. This type of equipment is best used for restoration type cleaning when blasting is the only option, example to remove flaky paint, cement and other similar objects.

Because only water is used when pressure washing and especially in hard water areas, cladding often looks dull when cleaned using this old-fashioned method. Not only that, because the spores of the moulds are left behind, they strive to regrow quicker and thicker than before…

Soft Washing uses low pressure and uses only 1/3^rd the amount of water when compared to pressure washing.

Because the cladding is sanitised it will stay cleaner for up to four to six times longer than pressure washing. Re growth therefore is not possible and only new growth which will take longer to re colonise the building’s exterior surfaces, similar from when the building was new to how long it took to become infested with mould.

Soft Washing uses low VOC chemicals to break down all types of organic matter which has infested cladding. Carefully mixed the soft wash solution uses small amounts of sodium hypochlorite to treat the surfaces.

No noise pollution.

Soft washing uses 12-volt battery powered equipment which harnesses energy from the vehicle when it is driving to recharge the batteries. Very quiet and nobody will be disturbed.

Pressure washing uses fossil fuel to power noisy petrol or diesel engines which can cause a nuisance to people trying to work inside the building.

Because soft washing is fairly new to the UK market, care must be taken when choosing a soft wash service provider. They must use specially designed and manufactured Soft Wash equipment that uses Blend Technology.

Operatives must complete industry leading training and pass exams before being allowed to use the equipment for cladding cleaning. First, the must take the Certified Applicator programme which has a 200-question exam to pass….

Not only cladding can be safely cleaned…

Through Coloured Render

Stone

Brick

Flat Membrane Roofs

Fabric Canopies

Car Parks

And many other surfaces

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