Can Soft Washing Kill Plants? Understanding Potential Risks and How to Avoid Them 🌼🌳💦

By Mark Cave March 15, 2024

Can Soft Washing Kill Plants? Understanding Potential Risks and How to Avoid Them 🌼🌳💦

Soft Washing is a popular cleaning method that produces incredible results. But while its effectiveness isn’t in doubt, one question might give potential users pause: Can Soft Washing Kills Plants?

soft washing that has killed plants

What Is Soft Washing?

The Soft Washing method involves applying a cleaning solution at low pressure which permeates and cleans surfaces deeply. It is commonly used in cleaning exteriors, from rooftops to sidewalks.

Potential Risks to Plants 🌱

While the main ingredients in Soft Wash Chemicals are water and biodegradable detergents, they also contain small amounts of other chemicals like Sodium Hypochlorite. When not used properly, Soft Washing can indeed harm plants. So the answer to our question is, yes – but only when it's done incorrectly!

Preventing Plant Damage During Soft Washing

The key to preventing plant damage lies in the proper handling and application of the washing solution:

Always follow the recommended Sodium Hypochlorite Mixing Guide. A balanced mixture ensures effective cleaning without damaging plants.
Pre-soak plants before Soft Washing – this creates a buffer zone that prevents cleaning agents from clinging or penetrating plant leaves effectively.
Rinse plants thoroughly after Soft Washing – this neutralises any cleaning solution that may have landed on them, reducing chemical residue that may otherwise cause harm.

Safe and Green Alternatives

Safewash Super Concentrate Cleaner and Softwash Biocide 50% DDAC are chemical solutions specially formulated to be kinder to plants and other green growth, without sacrificing effectiveness. They’re perfect for use with Soft Washing Equipment.

Expand Your Knowledge Base 📚

For more in-depth knowledge on exterior and domestic cleaning, you can check out the Soft Wash Training Course. If you're comfortable learning on your own, Self Study At Home To Handle Dangerous Softwash Chemicals gives you all the resources you need.

You can reach out to us directly through our website to learn more about Soft Washing. Here at SoftWash UK Ltd, we’ll be more than happy to answer your queries and help you find the Soft Washing solutions that perfectly suit your needs. Let’s get started on your Soft Washing journey today! 💧

Tags: bleach, how to make a softwash recipe, killing plants, patio cleaning, safewash

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Soft Wash Calculator App

Now you can say I've got an app for that!

Available NOW Click Here To Download

Softwashing calculator is an indispensable tool for juggling complicated chemical mixes. It helps reduce wastage and keeps operating costs down by giving accurate proportions

If you are having difficulty getting your head around the maths, trying to work out what percentage of softwash you need, how much chemical, surfactant and water to add, then this is the App for you.

The Soft Wash Calculator App allows you to work out your soft wash recipe by telling you exactly how much chemical, how much water and how much surfactant to add to get the desired soft wash recipe.
It doesn't stop there!.
- It can also remix your leftover softwash to a new stronger or weaker recipe.
- all controls in one place for see at a glance operation
- ease of input via pre-loaded dials. no more calculator style typing
- instantly responds to changes of complex combinations
- works in both Litres and US Gallons
- tested for Protan and Deutan colourblind users
- links to SoftwashingUK website

Take this scenario
You started with a 1% soft wash recipe of 50 gal (or litres) for a deck clean and you’re left with 13 gallons.

You get a call from a prospective customer to clean their roof. Past experience tells you a 4% soft wash recipe is needed, but what about your leftover mix at 1%?.

Do you waste time and effort driving back to base to transfer into a standby tank?
You could consider the 13 gal as just water, top up the tank and start again.
But that’s throwing away the value of the mix and raising your overhead.

Soft Wash Calculator App to the rescue.

You get to the new job and it requires 100 gal / litres.
Switch into remix mode , confirming the 13 gal already in the tank
Move the dials to your new recipe and the app immediately updates the different amounts to add in front of your eyes including the correct amount of extra surfactant.

You now have a 100 gal / litres tank of 4% soft wash recipe ready for your roof clean job!

Not forgetting you’ve saved money too, all without stress and uncertainty . Don’t underestimate what confident calmness has on your customer putting out referrals.

The same applies if you have a 4% recipe left in your tank and you need to dilute it down to 2%. Again the app will tell you how.

Softwashing calculator will also work for any chemical recipe. For instance you can use it for Sodium Hypochlorite, Bleach, Biocide , TFR traffic film remover and degreaser. Even the mathematically-challenged rocket scientist can top up their booster tanks to new fuel mixes after launch delays caused by changing weather conditions.

Using this app you will know exactly what chemical strength to put on any surface giving you the confidence and the knowledge of a professional soft washer and you’ll save money as well.

So if you have little knowledge of how to mix a soft wash recipe then this app is for you.
If you have little knowledge of how to remix a soft wash recipe then this app is for you.
If you want to save money when mixing a soft wash recipe then this app is for you.

This app is also backward compatible to devices running iOS7. We've done this so you can re-purpose an old iPhone 4 or iPod Touch 5 for what could be hazardous work environments. Just toss one in your cleaning van's toolkit.

Once you learn the methods and procedures of how to apply the soft wash to the different surfaces that need cleaning you’ll be unstoppable!

The app also has a guide to what percentage for what surface. And if you are the lucky owner of a Clever Injector it will remind you the correct setting for the job.
However you should always consider and risk assess what soft wash recipe you need to clean the surface.

** A major iOS code-base change may require a re-purchase. The appiverse at the time will confirm our promise that we won't do so unless the necessity is apparent.