Soft Washing in Arlington, VA

Clearly Amazing soft washes house exteriors, fences, decks and porch ceilings throughout Arlington County, working from our Northern Virginia office in Sterling. A soft wash puts a cleaning solution on at low pressure, gives it time to break down the growth, and finishes with a gentle rinse.

Call (703) 723-7770 for a free on-site estimate.

Whether your street is in a local historic district

Arlington’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board reviews plans for exterior alterations, demolition and new construction in locally designated historic districts through a Certificate of Appropriateness process. A certificate is required for exterior alterations, new construction and demolition in a local historic district, except for routine maintenance, repairs and replacements using the same materials, interior alterations and paint colors. Those requests go before the Design Review Committee and the HALRB.

The county’s page does not mention cleaning or washing either way. We won’t tell you a wash needs no sign-off, because that isn’t ours to decide; the county can answer for your address.

Two of the county’s local historic districts are Maywood and the Hume School, and they are not the only ones. Maywood covers about 46 acres with nearly 300 buildings in the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Tudor Revival styles, and much of it was platted between 1909 and 1913. The Hume School, a Queen Anne-style brick building from 1891, is now the Museum of the Arlington Historical Society.

What a pressure washer can do to your siding

Siding, painted trim and porch ceilings don’t need force to come clean. A hard stream can drive water behind siding panels, loosen paint at its edges and etch soft wood. A soft wash relies on the solution rather than pressure, so the growth is broken down where it sits and rinsed off gently.

How we clean it

Inspect. We walk around the house first and note what is growing where, on siding, fence, decking and porch ceilings, and we point out anything a wash won’t solve, such as failing caulk.

Clean. The solution is applied at low pressure and allowed to work before rinsing. We soak the surrounding plants.

Detail. Trim, shutters and the base of each wall get hand attention so no edge is left streaked, and the rinse runs from the top of the wall to the bottom.

Areas we cover in Arlington

There are no incorporated towns or cities within Arlington’s boundaries. We soft wash homes across the county, including the areas of the Arlington Heights, Arlington View, Arlington Mill, Arlingwood and Arlington East Falls Church associations, along with Maywood. The rest of Northern Virginia is served from Sterling.

When to schedule in Arlington

Over 1991–2020, NOAA’s normals for Reagan National Airport average 2.62 inches of precipitation in February, the driest month, and 4.33 inches in July, the wettest. There is no dry season to wait for.

Late spring through early fall is the easiest window, because warm surfaces let the solution work and the house dries quickly afterward. Other months work too; drying just takes longer. Soft washing works best as ongoing maintenance on a regular cycle.

Questions Arlington customers ask