While pressure washers can be incredible for getting things clean quickly, for some people and materials, they are too powerful and could end up doing more harm than good. The exterior of your home has a lot of surfaces that need attention, and pressure washing can be a quick and effective solution. 

While some surfaces would benefit you, there are alternatives for cleaning the exterior of your home. 

Photo by Tile Merchant Ireland on Unsplash

Hand cleaning 

There is nothing so satisfying as the feeling you get when you clean something by hand, and it comes up gleaming. While the idea might make you cringe at first, tasks where you can switch off and get stuck in are proven to help with coming up with ideas and letting your brain get some rest. 

Cleaning by hand is more time intensive, but once you get started and ignore everyone offering to pressure wash it, you’ll be happier with your results. 

Soft washing

Soft washing is one of the best alternatives to pressure washing, as it is ideal for tiles, decks, cladding, patios, and more. These surfaces are hard to clean, so many people turn to a pressure washer. Soft washing is a gentler solution that offers a better clean because it isn’t as harsh as a pressure washer. 

Heat cleaning 

Heat cleaning is a good solution for spot cleaning because the heat can be focused on one area, and removing the materials is simple with the use of a scraping tool. Usually, a heat gun will be used for stick materials like gum, and the scraping tool removes it once it is soft enough to scrap at. 

Become you use heat cleaning; you’ll need to check that the materials you want to use it on are heatproof. 

Foam cleaning 

Tough stains can be lifted with the oxygen action from the foam and the cleaning action from the chemicals. Foam cleaning is a much softer alternative to pressure washing but doesn’t have the capacity of soft washing. 

The foam gets into the smaller spaces and breaks down all the stains and grime, making them easy to remove without any pressure. Foam is great for places with grain or small gaps in which dirt can fall. 

Hose pipe

While the hose pipe might not be the best alternative when combined with a strong broom or scrubbing brush with the right attachment, a hose pipe has just enough pressure to dislodge things like moss, leaves, and more. 

Using the jet attachment, you can get a little added water pressure but without the risk of damaging any of your property. 

Always remember that when you aren’t using pressure washing, you must prepare the area a little. Remove weeds, and make sure that any of the chemicals you are going to use aren’t abrasive or going to damage the wood, stone, or other. And finally, if you aren’t calling in a professional to tackle the job, stick to the instructions on any cleaning products you use. 

Cleaning your garden and the exterior is one of the ways that you can get the best out of it. Here are some other tips: Smart Ways To Get More Out Of Your Garden.