I get calls every week from homeowners in Edmond who want their house pressure washed. About half the time, what they actually need is a soft wash. The other half need pressure washing. The problem is most people do not know the difference, and using the wrong method on the wrong surface causes real damage.
Let me clear this up.
Pressure washing uses high-pressure water, usually 2,500 to 4,000 PSI, to physically blast dirt, grime, mildew, and stains off a surface. It works by force. The water hits the surface so hard that whatever is stuck to it breaks loose and washes away. This is what you want for hard, durable surfaces like concrete driveways, sidewalks, patios, and garage floors.
Soft washing uses low-pressure water, usually under 500 PSI, combined with cleaning solutions that do the actual work. The chemicals kill mold, mildew, and algae. The low-pressure rinse washes it all away without beating up the surface. This is what you want for siding, painted wood, roof shingles, stucco, and any surface that high pressure would damage.
The distinction matters a lot in Oklahoma because of the types of homes we have here.
Edmond and the OKC metro have a mix of brick, Hardie board, vinyl siding, stucco, and painted wood. Brick is everywhere. Those red and tan brick homes that are all over Oak Tree, Coffee Creek, and the Deer Creek corridor need different treatment depending on what you are cleaning. The brick itself can handle moderate pressure. But the mortar joints between the bricks cannot take the same force as the brick face. Hit mortar with 4,000 PSI and you will blow it right out of the joint. Then you have a water intrusion problem that costs thousands to repair.
This is what gets which treatment:
Concrete driveways and sidewalks get pressure washed. Oklahoma red clay stains concrete like nothing else. That orange-brown discoloration on your driveway is red clay that has worked its way into the pores of the concrete. Low pressure will not move it. You need force. We run 3,000 to 3,500 PSI with a surface cleaner attachment that gives an even clean without leaving zebra stripes.
Vinyl and Hardie board siding get soft washed. High pressure will crack vinyl panels and force water behind Hardie board where it sits against the house wrap. The green and black streaks on your siding are algae and mildew. They are living organisms. You kill them with a sodium hypochlorite solution, not with force. A soft wash kills the growth at the root so it takes longer to come back. Pressure washing just knocks it off the surface and it regrows in weeks.
Brick gets a careful combination. We soft wash the face of the brick and use targeted pressure only where heavy staining needs it, always keeping the nozzle away from mortar joints. A lot of Edmond brick homes have efflorescence, that white powdery mineral deposit that leaches out of the brick when moisture gets in. Soft washing with the right chemical dissolves it without grinding the brick surface.
Painted wood decks and fences get soft washed. I have seen what happens when a homeowner rents a pressure washer from the hardware store and goes after their back deck. The wood splinters. The stain comes off in patches. The surface ends up looking worse than when they started. We pre-treat the wood with a cleaning solution, let it dwell, and rinse at low pressure. The wood comes out clean with the grain intact and ready for a new coat of stain if you want it.
Roof shingles should never be pressure washed. If you have black streaks on your roof, that is Gloeocapsa magma, a type of algae. It is common in Oklahoma because of our humidity. Soft washing kills it and the rinse carries it off. Pressure washing a roof will blast granules off your shingles and void most manufacturer warranties.
We run into this situation we see a lot in Yukon and the west side of Edmond. Homeowners with concrete driveways that butt up against vinyl-sided garages want the whole thing cleaned. The driveway needs 3,500 PSI. The siding six inches away needs 300 PSI. That transition is where experience matters. We switch equipment and technique at the boundary so each surface gets the right treatment.
Red clay staining is the number one reason people call us for driveway work in the metro. If you have a home off any of the unpaved county roads west of Edmond or in parts of Yukon, red clay dust settles on your driveway every time a truck drives by. Pressure washing is the only thing that gets it out of the concrete pores. But that same red clay on your vinyl siding comes off with a soft wash because it is sitting on the surface, not embedded in it.
Our rule is simple: if the surface is hard and can take force, we pressure wash it. If it is delicate, painted, or could be damaged by high pressure, we soft wash it. Most homes need both methods applied to different areas.
We serve Edmond, Yukon, and the entire OKC metro. Call (580) 649-9585 and tell us what you need cleaned. We will tell you which method is right for each surface and give you one price for the whole job. No guessing games.