Pressure Washing Stucco Make Sure Its Done Right

Pressure washers are extremely powerful tools for the thorough elimination of grime, mold, moss and just about anything else from the surfaces of objects. They’re so strong that they can even be used to strip paint from surfaces if applied closely enough. For this reason, they’re wonderful for home renovation, but at the same time, present their own dangers to all sorts of more delicate surfaces.

A notable example of this is stucco, which while not being as delicate as old wood, can certainly crack or shatter if pressure washed with too much force by a surging jet of water. However, cleaning stucco with anything except a pressure washer isn’t exactly easy either. This is why your best option is probably to hire professionals for this particular job. They can ensure a job that’s safely done and thorough.

However, in case you’d like to try stucco pressure washing yourself, we’re going to explain how to just do it the right way for a clean surface that isn’t catastrophically damaged.

Using Proper Water Pressure

For starters, not all pressure washers are created equal. Some models offer industrial cleaning power that’s mostly unsuitable for residential jobs. Others however are designed with delicate surfaces much more firmly in mind. Secondly, with all pressure washers, the nozzle’s distance from the surface being cleaned will directly affect how much force the water hits with.

On the one hand, placing a nozzle too close to some surfaces will damage them, while on the other hand, it’s sometimes necessary to really remove deeply ingrained grime. With stucco, however, this might not work because it can also damage the underlying material itself. Of course, if you also keep a pressure washer nozzle too far away from what you’re trying to clean, it won’t do its job well anyhow. A balance has to be made that takes water pressure into account.

Water pressure from a pressure washer is measured in PSI, or pounds per square inch. In industrial washers it can exceed 3,600 PSI, for other smaller models, it can range between 1000 and 2,500 PSI. These are the best machines for stucco washing. Even at these levels, however, distance (which further reduces PSI below the maximum for the machine) should be kept in mind if the stucco is particularly fragile.

Carefully Picking Your Chemicals and Washing Stucco in Advance

The job of pressure washing stucco will be much easier if you first wash the whole surface with a mix of water and cleaning chemicals. You should give this wash liquid quantity and time enough to absorb into the surface of the stucco and the grime that’s on it. Don’t wait so long that the cleaning solution dries though. This can make your pressure washing even more difficult.

Later, when you get down to pressure washing, the fact that the surface was saturated with cleaning liquids will usually let the washer strip off the accumulated grime, moss or mold all the more easily. You can then spot clean particularly difficult areas either with a sponge or soft-bristle brush or by carefully closing in with the pressure washer’s nozzle. Make sure to scrub any grimy spots as gently as possible if the washer can’t remove those stains. Brushing or sponge-cleaning them can also wear down the stucco itself if done carelessly.

The chemicals you use for stucco washing shouldn’t be acidic or likely to damage its integrity. Ideally, a mix of dish soap, borax or bleach added to water will help clean both grime and mold growth. Bleach and borax both have antifungal properties. Stucco cleaner solutions are also usually available in hardware and cleaning supply stores.

Cleaning Up and Finishing Up

Once you’ve pressure washed and scrubbed your stucco wall or surface down, give the entire surface a final, gentler rinse with the pressure washer to remove residual chemicals and dirt. After this, remember to spray away runoff and residual stains along your floors or patio surfaces until they’re completely gone. Leaving these behind can cause ugly stains or damage surrounding garden beds with chemical residues.

Hire A Professional For Pressure Washing Stucco

Ideally, you can save yourself the trouble of doing all of the above work correctly by simply calling in a professional pressure washing and cleaning service. The experts at A Brilliant Solution can not only clean your stucco walls completely and safely, they can also save you hours of DIY work in the process.

Let the expert, clean, courteous and friendly team at A Brilliant Solution be your solution for the best pressure washing stucco services.