First time having your home professionally soft-washed? Here's exactly what happens from the time we confirm your appointment through the moment we drive away — no surprises.
Before we arrive
We'll confirm your appointment by text or call the day before service. If weather is a concern (soft washing requires a dry window of at least 4 hours after application), we'll communicate proactively about any forecast issues. We'd rather reschedule than rush a job when conditions aren't right.
A few things you can do to make the job go faster and smoother: move outdoor furniture, decorative pots, kids' toys and any loose items away from the home's foundation by a few feet. If you have a vehicle parked in the driveway close to the house, moving it gives us better access. Let your pets outside before we arrive if needed — they'll need to stay away from the immediate work area during the cleaning.
You don't need to be home during the cleaning, but you're welcome to be there. Many homeowners stay for part of it and leave for errands — just let us know your preference when you confirm.
When the crew arrives
We'll pull up, walk the exterior quickly to confirm the scope matches what was quoted, and note anything that's changed since the estimate. If we spot something — a section of siding that needs extra attention, a bird's nest in a soffit vent that needs to be noted, an area of concern — we'll bring it to your attention before starting.
Crew size varies by job. Most residential soft washes are done by one or two technicians. We'll introduce ourselves and answer any questions before getting started.
Pre-rinse: protecting your landscaping
Before any cleaning solution touches the house, we saturate all surrounding landscaping — bushes, flower beds, grass, and any plants within the work zone. This is the pre-rinse step, and it's non-negotiable as part of our process. Pre-wetting plants creates a dilution buffer that protects them when solution or rinse water reaches them during the cleaning.
We'll also note any plants you've flagged as particularly sensitive — Japanese maples, new plantings, vegetable gardens — and take extra precautions around those.
Applying the cleaning solution
Using professional low-pressure soft-wash equipment, we apply the cleaning solution to the exterior surfaces — siding, trim, soffits, gutters, any brick or stucco. The solution is applied at low pressure (under 500 PSI) using a wand that allows us to reach the roofline from the ground without ladders in most cases.
You'll notice a faint chlorine smell during this phase — the same smell as a clean swimming pool. It's normal and dissipates completely within a few hours as everything dries.
After application, the solution needs dwell time — typically 5–15 minutes depending on conditions and the level of biological growth. During dwell time, the chemistry is working: killing mold, mildew and algae at the cell level. We don't rush this step.
Rinsing
After appropriate dwell time, we rinse the entire exterior thoroughly with clean water at low pressure. As we rinse, you'll see the dirt, mildew residue and dead biological growth wash away with the runoff. This is the most visually dramatic part of the job — it's satisfying to watch.
We rinse systematically — working from top to bottom, making sure we're not pushing dirty water back onto already-clean sections. We also do a second pass on any areas where the growth was heavier, ensuring everything is clean before we move on.
Post-rinse of landscaping
After the house is rinsed, we do a thorough post-rinse of all surrounding landscaping, making sure any solution that reached plants or soil is fully diluted and cleared. This is as important as the pre-rinse — it's the final step in plant protection.
Walkthrough and wrap-up
Before we pack up, we do a walkthrough of the exterior to confirm everything is clean and nothing has been missed. If you're home, we'll walk it with you. If you're away, we'll take documentation photos and text them when we're done.
We'll let you know about anything we noticed during the job that you should be aware of — cracked caulk around windows, a soft spot in the soffit, grading that's causing water to pool against the foundation. We're not trying to upsell you; we're just reporting what we see because it's better to know early.
Payment is due at completion. We accept card and check. We'll send you a receipt by text or email on the spot.
After we leave
The surfaces will be wet for an hour or two after we finish. Everything will be fully dry by afternoon. The clean look you see immediately after rinsing is the result — there's no curing time or additional change to expect. Pets can return to the yard immediately after we've finished the post-rinse. Kids can use the driveway and yard normally once surfaces have dried.
If you notice anything you'd like us to come back and address — a spot we missed, an area that still looks off — call or text us and we'll come back. We back our work.
Ready to schedule?
Call or text (502) 777-8024 or use the quote form on our site. We serve Louisville and the full Kentuckiana region. Most residential jobs are scheduled within the same week.
— The Louisville Housewash Crew
Common questions on the day of service
"Will this smell?" — Yes, briefly. The sodium hypochlorite in the cleaning solution has a faint chlorine odor similar to a swimming pool. It's present during the cleaning and for an hour or two after while surfaces dry. By the end of the day, it's completely gone. If any windows are open on the side of the house being cleaned, close them before we start — the odor isn't harmful, but there's no reason to bring it inside.
"How long will it take?" — Most single-family home soft washes take 1.5–3 hours depending on home size, number of stories and level of buildup. We'll give you a time estimate when we confirm the appointment. If something comes up that will extend the job — heavier growth than expected, a specific area that needs extra treatment — we'll let you know during the walkthrough.
"Do you need access to water?" — Yes. We need a standard outdoor hose bib connection. Make sure the outdoor water is turned on before we arrive (particularly in early spring, when some homeowners haven't yet opened the outdoor water supply after winterizing). If you have any non-standard plumbing or need to enable something before we can connect, let us know when you confirm.
"Will the cleaning affect my painted surfaces?" — Our soft-wash chemistry is safe for painted surfaces when properly diluted and rinsed. We're careful around painted trim, shutters and doors. We'll point out any painted surfaces where you have concerns before we start and adjust our approach accordingly.
What good results actually look like
Immediately after the rinse, a properly soft-washed home looks dramatically cleaner — bright, streak-free, with the original color of the siding visible rather than the gray-green tint of biological growth. That bright appearance is what you should expect walking around the house at the end of the job.
Over the next few days, especially after the first rain, any residual dead biological material that's still releasing from the surface will wash away. The results fully "develop" over about a week. If at any point you feel like a section didn't clean up as fully as expected, call or text us — we'll come back and assess. We'd rather come out and address something than have a customer who isn't satisfied say nothing.
Maintaining the results
After a professional soft wash, there's nothing special you need to do to maintain the results. Normal rainfall actually helps — it washes away any residual dead material and keeps the surfaces rinsed. If you have an irrigated lawn with heads that spray the home's foundation, adjust them away from the siding. Persistent irrigation spray keeps the base of the siding damp and accelerates biological regrowth in those areas.
Most Louisville homeowners find that scheduling an annual or every-18-month cleaning keeps their home looking consistently well-maintained without ever getting to the point of significant buildup. The first cleaning is always the most dramatic transformation; subsequent maintenance cleanings are faster because there's less established growth to address.
Call or text (502) 777-8024 with any questions before or after your service. We're happy to explain our process in more detail or address any concerns.
Frequently asked questions we hear before a first appointment
"Do I need to be home?" No. We can perform the full cleaning with you away. We'll confirm access to the outdoor water bib, note any specific areas of concern you've mentioned, and text you when we're done — with photos if you want them. Many of our customers are at work or running errands during the service and that's completely fine.
"What if I'm not happy with the results?" Call or text us immediately. We'll come back to look at whatever's concerning you. If we agree something needs addressing, we address it. If there's a reasonable explanation for what you're seeing — like the way wet siding looks different from dry, or tannin staining that requires a separate treatment — we'll explain it clearly. We stand behind our work.
"Can you do the inside of the gutters too?" Gutter interior cleaning (removing leaves and debris from inside the gutter channel) is a different service from what we do. We clean the exterior of gutters as part of a house wash — the black tiger-stripe staining on gutter faces. Interior gutter cleaning requires a different approach and is typically offered by separate companies. If you need a recommendation for interior gutter cleaning in Louisville, ask when you call and we'll point you in the right direction.