How Soft Washing Your Patio the Right Way Can Save You Time, Money and Headaches

By Mark Cave June 17, 2025

How Soft Washing Your Patio the Right Way Can Save You Time, Money & Headaches 💡

Is your patio looking tired, green, or streaked with mysterious stains? Whether you're facing algae, moss, or general grime, cleaning a patio isn’t just about cosmetic appeal it’s about longevity, safety, and boosting your home’s value.

In this article, we’ll dive into the 🎯 real value of soft washing your patio the correct way, including tips, tools, and chemicals that make the process safer and more effective compared to the damaging effects of pressure washing.

🥇 What Is Soft Washing and Why Is It Better for Your Patio?

Soft washing is a gentle yet powerful method for cleaning exterior surfaces using low pressure and specially formulated soft wash chemicals. Unlike pressure washing, which blasts away debris but can also damage delicate surfaces like stonework or jointing, soft washing uses a chemical mixture to kill algae, mold, and bacteria at the root ensuring your patio stays cleaner, longer.

For more on how soft washing works, check out SoftWash UK's beginner guide.

🤔 Why Not Just Jet Wash the Patio?

We get it. Pressure washers 👀 look fun. But here’s the downside:

They can erode jointing materials or surface coatings.
They merely remove the surface growth not the root cause.
They may push water into cracks, leading to freeze thaw damage in winter.

Soft washing penetrates and eliminates biological growth, meaning no quick regrowth and no costly repairs.

🔥Slippery, Dirty, and Unsightly Patios

Faced with rain, pollution, and organic growth, patios can quickly turn into hazard zones covered with slimy algae and stubborn stains. Not only is this unpleasant to look at, it's also dangerous due to slip risks.

😬 Repeated Cleaning & Short Lived Results

Pressure washing may offer instant gratification, but it requires frequent re cleaning. That’s more of your weekend gone 🌧️, more money spent 💸, and more frustration trying to keep things tidy.

✅ Smart Soft Washing for Long Lasting Results

Soft washing uses targeted cleaning agents to kill growth at the root without harming underlying patio surfaces. This cleaning method actually prolongs the life of your patio and limits damage from moisture penetration.

🧪 What You’ll Need to Soft Wash Your Patio

Simplifying your kit is key. Here’s the ideal basic setup:

🧴 Chemicals:

Soft Wash Pro 50 Biocide residual power to keep surfaces cleaner for longer.
Clever Wash Surfactant helps your solution stick and work better.
Fresh Wash Masking Scent removes the strong odour from bleach-based solutions.

🔧 Equipment:

Clever Injector/Soft Wash Dosatron for accurate chemical mixing.
Water Fed Pole Nozzle safe for high or awkward access areas.

Check out all Soft Washing Equipment options tailored to DIY and professional users.

🧪 How to Make an Effective Soft Wash Mix

Mixing correctly avoids over-strength solutions that can bleach surfaces or harm plants. Get it right with our simple Sodium Hypochlorite Mixing Ratio Guide.

Still not sure? The SoftWash UK Podcastcovers mix preparation in more detail for both beginners and pros.

🌿 Will Soft Washing Kill My Plants?

With modern additives like surfactants and masking agents, the answer is: not if done correctly. You’ll learn how to safeguard landscaping effectively in this podcast episode from Mark Cave.

💪 Quick Step by Step: How to Soft Wash a Patio

Remove loose debris and sweep thoroughly.
Wet surrounding plants with water.
Mix a safe solution with sodium hypochlorite, surfactant and scent additive.
Apply using low pressure let it dwell for 10 to 15 minutes.
Agitate stubborn stains with a stiff brush.
Rinse off gently with a garden hose or rinse nozzle.

🧼 Dealing With Tough Patio Stains

Here are a few specialist products for stubborn issues:

Grenade Oil Stain Remover for those mysterious black blobs that won't go away.
Rust X Pro lifts rust stains from fertilisers or metal garden furniture.

🎓 Want to Learn More About Soft Washing?

Whether you’re a keen DIYer, property manager, or budding business owner, consider enrolling in the SoftWash UK Training Course to master the chemistry and technique behind soft washing. You can also learn at your own pace with the Online Self-Study Program.

🎧 Listen & Learn on the Go

Don't forget to subscribe to the SoftWash UK Podcast hosted by Mark Cave. It’s packed with industry secrets and real-world tips that you won’t find anywhere else.

✅ Your Patio Deserves Proper Care

Soft washing isn’t just the safe option it’s the smart choice in long-term patio maintenance. When done right using the right products, your patio will look better, last longer, and need less frequent attention. That means more weekends relaxing and fewer hours scrubbing. 🛋️

🚀 Ready to Transform Your Patio?

Visit SoftWash UK Ltd today to browse premium-grade softwash chemicals, tools, and DIY-friendly solutions trusted by professionals across the UK.

✨ Start soft washing the right way with advice, gear, and guidance from the experts at SoftWash UK.

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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.