Soft Washing in Seattle, WA
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At Clearly Amazing, our specialized process offers superior cleaning and sanitization.
RESIDENTIAL SERVICES
Clearly Amazing provides soft washing and house washing throughout Seattle, working out of our office in Redmond. Rather than blasting a wall with high-pressure water, soft washing puts a cleaning solution onto the algae, moss and mildew already growing there, lets it work, then rinses the surface at low pressure — gentler on paint and siding than a pressure washer. Seattle’s housing stock is a genuine mix: just over a third of the city’s homes are detached single-family houses, and more than half sit in buildings of five units or more. Soft washing handles both kinds of exterior, and the same approach also cleans roofs, gutters and fences, so we handle exterior cleaning Seattle-wide.
Seattle’s rain and tree cover
Washington State University and Oregon State University’s joint Extension service describes this region’s cool, cloudy, wet weather as close to ideal for algae, lichens and mosses to grow on trees and shrubs.
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for Seattle–Tacoma International Airport put the wettest stretch at November through January, when the airport averages about 17.81 inches of rain — close to 45% of the year’s total. June, July and August are the driest months, but they aren’t dry: July averages just 0.60 inches, August 0.97, and June 1.45, so even the driest stretch of the year still sees roughly an inch of rain a month.
The city’s own urban forestry office measured canopy cover at 28.1% as of 2021, down slightly from 28.6% in 2016, a change the city measures as a loss of 255 acres. Seattle’s stated goal is 30% canopy cover by 2037.
Seattle’s washing rule and your house
Seattle’s Stormwater Manual has a rule written specifically for this kind of work. Best Management Practice 17, “Cleaning or Washing,” covers cleaning, washing and rinsing activities — including pressure washing, hand-scrubbing and mechanically assisted washing — because that runoff can carry pollutants that aren’t allowed to reach the public drainage system. The pollutants it names include surfactants, soaps, detergents, oils and suspended solids. The rule treats washdown water from buildings built before 1950 or after 1980 as a conditionally permissible discharge to the drainage system, only when detergents aren’t used and water use is minimized. Soft washing uses a cleaning solution, so that narrow allowance doesn’t cover it. We manage the runoff path on every job.
The rule also flags a separate PCB check for buildings built or renovated between 1950 and 1980, before they can be washed down in a way that reaches the storm system — though the city exempts single detached houses and their accessory structures from that requirement.
Call (425) 353-6368 for a free on-site estimate in Seattle, or request one online.
What the job involves
Inspect. Before touching a hose, we walk the property and note where the growth has actually settled — the shaded gable, the fence line under the trees, the porch ceiling, the gutter line — and flag anything a wash won’t fix, like paint that’s already failing on an older house. The median Seattle housing unit was built in 1976, and just over half predate 1980.
Protect. We soak the surrounding plants and garden beds with plain water.
Apply and manage the runoff. A cleaning solution is applied first, left to work, then rinsed away at low pressure, with the runoff path managed throughout.
When to schedule house washing in Seattle
Between June and September gives a house wash its best shot — the driest stretch on the calendar, so the solution isn’t racing a rain shower and the siding gets a real chance to dry once it’s rinsed. Outside that window works too — a listing photo deadline, houseguests arriving for the holidays, or a green wall you’re finally ready to deal with. Washing before the calendar turns to November means a house heads into its heaviest rain already clean rather than starting from behind.
None of that green growth is gone for good, since the shade and rain responsible for it stick around all year. So we frame soft washing the way a homeowner already thinks about gutters or a furnace filter — upkeep on a repeating cycle, not a one-time fix. We’d plan on a visit every few years, sooner for a wall that never sees direct sun.
Areas we cover
We provide soft washing and house washing throughout Seattle and across Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Renton, Bothell, Everett, Issaquah, Lynnwood and Snohomish.
Soft washing questions from Seattle homeowners
Is soft washing safe on an older, painted house?
Low pressure is far gentler on sound paint than a pressure washer; we flag paint that’s already failing before we start.
Is house washing regulated in Seattle?
Yes — the city’s Stormwater Manual restricts what a washing job can discharge, including detergents and soaps. We manage the runoff path on every job.
Will this affect my plants and garden beds?
Surrounding plants and garden beds get a soaking with plain water on every house wash.
How often should I have this done?
Every few years is a reasonable schedule, sooner if a wall sits in heavy shade.