Tampa Bay Soft Wash & Pressure Cleaning DIY Cleaning Solutions

Tampa Bay Soft Wash & Pressure Cleaning DIY Cleaning Solutions

Want to clean your home's exterior but aren't sure which solutions to use? This guide reveals the exact DIY cleaning mixtures that professionals use for soft washing and rust removal. Tampa Bay Soft Wash offers professional exterior cleaning services throughout Clearwater, FL.

Soft Washing Solution

The Tampa Bay Soft Wash & Pressure Cleaning soft washing solution is comprised of 3 ingredients. Water, a surfactant (soap), and sodium hypochlorite (chlorine). The ratios of each vary depending on multiple factors. Just know that you only need a few squirts (not drops) of soap per gallon, roughly 1 cup of soap for every 30 gallons of solution. It is important to note that all laundry soaps are stable when introducing them to chlorine, however, not all dish soaps are! Be careful what type of surfactant you choose , the safest bet is to use laundry soap or a professional pressure cleaning soap that is stable with chlorine.

The first factor is the strength of the chlorine that you are using. Chlorine comes in all different strengths, but it is usually around 10% to 12% from any local pool supply store. Walmart even sells gallons of chlorine that contains 10% sodium hypochlorite. So, we will use 10% strength as a baseline.

If you are trying to clean an extremely dirty tile roof. You are going to need an extremely strong solution! I would start with testing an area with a 50-50 ratio of water and chlorine (5% strength). I would not be afraid to go stronger favoring the chlorine with something as strong as 70-30 (7% strength) if the roof is not clean after 2 applications of 50-50.

Some factors at play are what type of roof it is, how dirty the roof is, how steep the pitch is, and how hot or cool the tiles are in the Florida sun. The best-case scenario would be an asphalt shingle roof in Pinellas County that is not very dirty that has very little pitch on a cool (not cold) and cloudy day…

If it is a fairly clean asphalt shingle roof, I would start with 70-30 (3% strength) favoring water, and then adjust my strength. You can go as strong as you need, but the cost of using 70-30 favoring chorine versus 70-30 favoring water is significant.

House washing usually requires a 1% to 2% strength, maybe even as strong as 3% for a really grimy house with a porous siding, such as stucco! That would be starting with a 10-90 ratio favoring water to a 30-70. On some projects, we have had to use a 50-50 solution for a house wash, we even apply straight 10% in some problem areas!

Rust removal Solutions

We utilize two products. One is extremely aggressive but costs quite a bit, Acid Magic . The other is not as aggressive and can take longer but is very cost-efficient, powdered oxalic acid .

The mixing ratios are the same concepts as the soft wash solution ratios. The 3 ingredients are water, acid, and soap. Depending on the severity of the rust, will determine the strength of the acid. Again, only a few drops (not squirts) of soap per gallon will suffice.

If I am using Acid Magic, I like to start with a 50-50 solution and test an area. I have gone as strong as 100% Acid Magic in some severe cases…

If I am using powdered oxalic acid, I am using 1 cup of powder per gallon of warm water and strengthening from there.

Word to the wise, when you mix acid with water, it’s extremely important to  add the acid to the water rather than the other way around . This is because acid and water react in a vigorous exothermic reaction, releasing heat, sometimes boiling the liquid.

Contact us wih any questions

Please, don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions. We would be happy to help in any way that we can! We want Tampa Bay Soft Wash & Pressure Cleaning to be at the top of your list for all exterior cleaning needs, even if it is just to answer your questions!