Your Landscaping Doesn’t Have to Be Collateral Damage When House Washing – Here’s How Professionals Keep Your Plants Safe
When you hire a professional house washing service, you shouldn’t have to choose between a clean home and healthy landscaping. Yet many homeowners worry about potential damage to their carefully cultivated gardens, flower beds, and lawn areas during exterior cleaning projects. The good news is that experienced professionals have developed sophisticated techniques to protect your valuable landscaping while delivering exceptional cleaning results.
The Real Risks to Your Landscaping
Pressure washing can jeopardize the health of nearby shrubs, plants, grass, and other foliage if they aren’t protected during any type of cleaning process. The primary threats come from multiple sources: high water pressure can damage plant leaves and delicate stems, detergents and cleaners used in pressure washing may be harmful to plants if not chosen carefully, and the force of the water can compact the soil, making it hard for roots to absorb nutrients.
Even more concerning is the chemical runoff from cleaning solutions. Bleach is used in the roof washing process to kill moss, algae, and lichen with low pressure, but when the bleach used to kill organic matter on the roof runs off onto the landscaping, it can also kill the plants and trees. This is why professional protection methods are absolutely critical.
The Professional Approach: The Three D’s Method
Leading house washing professionals use a systematic approach called “The Three D’s – Divert, Dilute, and Decontaminate – which are the key techniques used to protect your plants during a soft washing job”.
Divert: Professionals use various tools and materials to divert any cleaning solution or runoff away from plants, including Tyvek, plastic bags, tape, buckets, and downspout extenders, keeping the cleaning solution from coming into contact with delicate plants and landscaping.
Dilute: Even with proper diversion techniques, some cleaning solution may still come into contact with plants, which is why professionals heavily hydrate them with water during the cleaning process to dilute any cleaning solution that may have come into contact with the plants, minimizing any potential damage.
Decontaminate: After finishing cleaning, professionals do a final rinse of all plants and vegetation around the cleaned areas using a Plant Wash solution specifically designed to neutralize any cleaning agents that may have come into contact with plants during the cleaning process, ensuring protection both during and after the job is complete.
Pre-Treatment: The Foundation of Plant Protection
Professional house washing begins with thorough preparation. Before starting any pressure washing around landscaping, plants and shrubs should be coated with water using a gentle flow through a water hose, with particular attention paid to any foliage that lies directly below the roofline or open gutter ends, as moisture will help prevent chemical burns that cleaners like bleach can cause.
This pre-wetting process serves multiple purposes. By watering plants prior to pressure washing, the bleach or detergent runoff will be diluted, and in the case of bleach, this will prevent the runoff from turning into salt and inhibiting plants’ ability to absorb water.
Strategic Coverage and Timing
When physical barriers are necessary, professionals know how to use them correctly. Small shrubs and ground plants can be protected using tarps that shield them from direct hits by chemicals and water, avoiding hitting plants directly to prevent bruising, but not leaving them covered too long as tarps can result in a greenhouse effect that overheats the greenery.
This careful timing is crucial because completely tarping all parts of a plant can turn the insides of the tarp into a gas chamber or microwave to steam the plants, so it’s best to cover only the tops of plants and allow some air in and heat to escape.
Managing Runoff at the Source
Professional services pay special attention to water management systems. Tarps can’t protect root systems near gutter downspouts, so during roof, siding, or gutter cleaning, water and chemicals that pour through downspouts must be contained using bags taped around ground-level spouts or large buckets to capture overflow.
Why Blue Ridge Exterior Cleaning Gets It Right
When searching for reliable House Washing Augusta County, VA services, Blue Ridge Exterior Cleaning stands out for their meticulous approach to plant protection. Based in Waynesboro and serving the Central Virginia region for over 14 years since opening in 2010, their team of experienced professionals has the training and skill to get the job done right.
What sets them apart is their attention to detail in protecting landscaping. As one satisfied customer noted, “Brett and his crew were meticulous in protecting my yard and all the plantings that surround my house. I have noticed absolutely no ill effects in the months since they performed this service”. This level of care reflects their commitment to customizing each high-quality exterior cleaning service to ensure customers get exactly what they’re looking for, ensuring every property gets the absolute best cleaning possible with 100% customer satisfaction.
Advanced Techniques and Technology
Modern professionals also employ advanced cleaning solutions that minimize environmental impact. Adding surfactants to soft washing mixes helps sodium hypochlorite cling to roofs, siding, and other surfaces longer, reducing the amount of mix needed and protecting plants below by reducing runoff while saving time, energy, and money.
Weather monitoring is another critical factor. Professional services watch the weather closely to ensure it doesn’t rain within the first 24 hours of roof cleaning, as rain will prevent the bleach mixture from drying and cause it to run off onto the landscaping.
The Professional Difference
The reality is that not all soft washing companies take the same precautions to protect plants, making it important to choose a company that has experience and expertise in soft washing and takes the necessary steps to protect plants and landscaping.
Professional house washing services understand that landscaping is part of a home’s curb appeal, and time, money, and effort go into creating these spaces, so there’s no reason to destroy these lovely elements in the process of cleaning exterior surfaces.
When you hire experienced professionals who employ proper protection techniques, you can have confidence that your investment in both your home’s exterior and your landscaping will be preserved. The key is choosing a company that views plant protection not as an afterthought, but as an integral part of their professional service.