Pressure & soft washing · Chattanooga, TN
Pressure and soft washing across Chattanooga. Three of the seven surfaces we clean must never see high pressure — and we would rather tell you that than sell you the version that looks best on video.
3 of the 7 surfaces below must never see high pressure — including the two that make the best video.
Surface by surface
Most sites in this trade show you a dirty driveway and a clean one. The useful information is the number, and where the number is zero.
3,000 PSI
Pressure wash
Dense, non-porous once cured, and the one surface where full pressure is genuinely correct.
This is where the satisfying video comes from. It is also the only surface on this list where that video is honest.
$0.15 – $0.30 / sq ft
1,500 – 2,500 PSI
Pressure wash
Hard face, but the mortar is softer than the brick and blows out first.
We drop the pressure at every joint. A driveway wand held on old lime mortar will take it out in seconds.
$0.20 – $0.40 / sq ft
Under 500 PSI
Soft wash
Panels overlap and are not watertight from below. High pressure drives water behind them, into the sheathing.
Soft wash only: detergent, dwell time, low-pressure rinse. Slower, less dramatic, and the reason your wall cavity stays dry.
$0.20 – $0.50 / sq ft
No pressure. Ever.
Never pressure wash
High pressure strips the granules that are the shingle’s UV protection, and forces water up under the courses.
It also voids many shingle warranties outright. Anyone who offers to pressure wash your roof is telling you what they do not know.
$0.30 – $0.70 / sq ft, soft wash
No pressure. Ever.
Never pressure wash
Wood is soft and directional. Pressure raises the grain, furs the surface and drives water into the end grain.
A pressure-washed cedar fence looks bright for a season and then greys faster than one that was never touched.
$0.20 – $0.40 / sq ft, soft wash
No pressure. Ever.
Never pressure wash
Porous, and EIFS is a foam system with a thin coat over it. Pressure punches straight through.
One of the most expensive repairs in this trade, and one of the most common mistakes.
$0.25 – $0.50 / sq ft, soft wash
1,200 – 1,500 PSI
Pressure wash
Tougher than wood, but the cap layer scars and the scars hold dirt permanently.
Fan tip, wide, kept moving. Most composite damage we see is a stationary wand and thirty careless seconds.
$0.20 – $0.40 / sq ft
Two methods
1,500 – 3,000 PSI
Under 500 PSI, plus detergent and algaecide
Pricing
| Surface | Per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Concrete flatwork | $0.15 – $0.30 |
| House and siding, soft wash | $0.20 – $0.50 |
| Deck and patio | $0.20 – $0.40 |
| Roof, soft wash | $0.30 – $0.70 |
| Typical job | Total |
|---|---|
| Whole-house wash | $250 – $600 |
| Driveway | $100 – $250 |
| Roof wash | $300 – $700 |
Across everything, $0.15 to $0.75 per square foot. Soft washing sits at the upper end because it takes longer and uses more chemical — not because it is a premium service.
Where we work
Northshore · St Elmo · Highland Park · Brainerd · Hixson
Red Bank · Signal Mountain · Soddy-Daisy
Ooltewah · Collegedale · East Ridge
Fort Oglethorpe · Ringgold · Rossville
Clients
“Two companies quoted pressure washing the roof. Dell told me that voids the shingle warranty and soft washed it instead. The roofer confirmed it when he came for something else.”
“He refused to pressure wash the cedar fence and explained why. It has been two years and it still looks better than my neighbour’s, which was blasted.”
“The driveway looks like new concrete. He also told me the stucco on the front needed the slow treatment and charged accordingly.”
“Straightforward quote, arrived when he said, and told me the north wall would go green again in about eighteen months. It did, almost exactly.”
Common questions
Because it strips the granules that protect the shingle from UV, forces water up under the courses, and voids many manufacturer warranties. Soft washing kills the algae with solution instead of force and the roof looks the same afterwards. Anyone offering to pressure wash a roof is telling you what they do not know.
It works better on organic growth, because it kills it rather than knocking it off. Pressure removes what is on the surface; the algae root structure stays and regrows quickly. The trade-off is that soft washing is slower and far less satisfying to watch.
In this climate, twelve to twenty-four months on a north-facing surface, longer on one that gets sun. Anyone promising five years is selling a coating, not a wash.
They can if nobody bothers. We pre-wet everything within the splash zone, tarp what needs it and rinse afterwards. Ask any quote what their plant protection actually is; the answer tells you a lot.
For a concrete driveway, genuinely yes — it is not difficult and a rental will do a decent job. For siding, wood, stucco or a roof, a rental machine in unpractised hands is how the expensive mistakes happen.
Down to about 40°F. Below that the solution stops working properly and anything we rinse can freeze on a walkway, which is a liability nobody needs.
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