Pressure washing uses mechanical force to remove what's on a surface. Soft washing uses low pressure plus a chemical treatment to kill and lift growth without force. Both are legitimate. Using the wrong one is what ruins surfaces.
Pressure washing suits
- Block paving and concrete flags, using a rotary flat-surface cleaner for even coverage.
- Tarmac at controlled pressure — enough to lift moss, not enough to strip the binder.
- Commercial forecourts and delivery yards with oil, grease and gum.
Soft washing suits
- Indian sandstone and other porous natural stone with black spot lichen.
- Old Yorkshire stone flags, particularly where pointing is lime-based or already failing.
- Timber and composite decking, where a lance will fur the grain and cut the board.
- Imprinted concrete and resin-bound drives, where the surface layer is the finish.
What going in too hard actually does
On imprinted concrete it strips the colour hardener and the sealer, leaving a patchy grey surface that then needs re-colouring — a far bigger job than the clean was.
On resin-bound it dislodges aggregate and opens the matrix. On softwood decking it raises the grain so the board feels rough and holds dirt worse than before. On old stone it erodes the face and blows out the pointing.
None of that shows immediately, which is why cheap, fast, high-pressure work looks great on the day and poor a year later.
Our promise
100% satisfaction — or we re-clean free.