The exterior cleaning industry can be a highly profitable business to start. According to Upflip, the average pressure washing business made $96,000 in 2021. There are so many ways to increase your profits, though, in this field. If you are new to this industry, are thinking about starting a business, or currently use just one form of washing you might be wondering what is the difference between pressure and soft washing. Why are they both important services to offer to your clients and how much will it cost to get started in this business?

What is Pressure Washing?

Pressure washing is what most people think about when considering cleaning the outside of their homes. It is the process of using high-pressure water to remove debris from the exteriors of homes, buildings, sidewalks, driveways, and patios. Due to the intense and direct flow of water, chemicals and detergents are not needed in order to remove stubborn dirt. You can use this type of washing technique on surfaces like concrete, brick, stone, and aluminum siding. However, due to the high PSI (pounds per square inch), it can damage some surfaces and should be used with caution. Power washing is another well-known term very similar to pressure washing, however, the water is heated in order to provide extra cleaning power for things like mold and mildew.

What is Soft Washing?

Whereas pressure washing uses a highly pressurized nozzle to remove dirt, soft washing does not. Soft washing uses pressured nozzles but at a much lower PSI. It is just slightly greater pressure than what out garden hoses are capable of. Soft washing is mostly accomplished by using a chemical cleaning solution. Once the chemical has had time to get into the surface, then the lower PSI nozzle is used to gently rinse away the substance from the surface. Soft washing is ideal for roofs, vinyl siding, natural stones, wood, and anything with sand and mortar.

Why Should you Offer Both to Your Clients?

Both pressure washing and soft washing have a purpose and are good options to provide to your customers. Not all surfaces can safely be pressure washed and some surfaces might require a stronger pressure to get them truly cleaned. If you can offer both pressure washing and power washing services, you will greatly increase your profits. Suppose a client would like their roof cleaned. They also have a brick home that is in desperate need of a good and powerful clean. If your business only provides pressure washing services, you would not be able to provide your customer with the services they requested. Or imagine while you are at a customer's home to pressure wash a concrete driveway, you notice they also have a paver walkway held together with sand and mortar. Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to offer this extra service to your client because you would need to use soft washing for this. As you can see, there is a great benefit to providing both pressure washing and soft washing to your clients.

What Does It Cost to Purchase the Equipment for Both Pressure Washing and Soft Washing?

Starting up any new business, or adding on to your services, is going to require some investment. Thankfully, pressure washing and soft washing can be done using the same machine. You will need different pressure nozzles as well as hoses, tanks for your water and chemicals, extension poles, and chemicals for the soft wash process. We've researched the costs and provided a price range for the needed equipment:

As you can see the costs widely vary. The nice thing is you can start up this business or add on another service even with a small budget. If you can provide both pressure washing and soft washing services to your clients, you will be able to stand out from your competition and your business will certainly see an increase in profit.