All in One or Two Pass Cleaning for House Washing?

This is the second part of the discussion I started last week.

Historically, house washes were single-step chemical washes made just to try and clean the surface with no other properties being asked for. But now more and more of the industry and customers want more from a house wash. Yes, they want clean, but they want mold killing, UV protection, and a shiny appearance of their vinyl siding homes.

Today’s house washing services have evolved to meet these new demands, incorporating advanced solutions that go beyond basic surface cleaning. Modern house washes not only remove dirt and grime but also address mold and mildew issues with specialized agents that kill these unwanted organisms and prevent future growth. Additionally, many services now include UV protection to safeguard siding from sun damage, helping to maintain the vibrant appearance of homes for longer periods.

For homeowners seeking top-notch service that delivers all these benefits, Melissa & A Mop are leading the way. Their commitment to using cutting-edge techniques ensures that homes are not only cleaned but also protected and enhanced. By choosing a comprehensive house washing service, homeowners can enjoy a gleaming exterior that also resists the wear and tear of time and weather.

With the advancements in house washing that address cleaning, mold removal, UV protection, and maintaining the shine of your vinyl siding, the importance of continuing this care through consistent home maintenance cannot be overstated. To complement a thorough house wash, premier house cleaning and maid services play a crucial role in sustaining a pristine and welcoming environment.

For homeowners who have recently invested in advanced exterior cleaning services, enlisting the expertise of a top-tier service like Sparkly Maid Austin ensures that the interior of your home receives the same high standard of attention. These professionals provide meticulous cleaning that not only keeps your living spaces immaculate but also complements the protective measures applied to your home’s exterior.

Their dedication to detail, combined with their ability to manage the unique cleaning needs of every room, helps create a cohesive maintenance routine that enhances your home’s overall condition. By incorporating such a trusted service into your regular home care schedule, you can ensure that every aspect of your home, both inside and out, remains in pristine, well-protected condition.

As I have stated before most cleaners are alkaline since we live in an acid world but it goes even further than that. Now for a little more of a chemistry lesson here. High-pressure soap formulations are primarily an anionic (negative) soap. Most of the soils on houses are also anionic so the soap can clean off the dirt (Chemistry 101 says “like dissolves like”). Un-likes, such as oil and water that repel or can never mix. Once rinsed, the cleaned surface of the exterior will remain slightly anionic. High-pressure wax formulations are mostly cationic (positive) formulations that are attracted to the anionic cleaned surface of a cleaned house. Just like soil and dirt that are cationic and are also attracted to the just-cleaned surface. So should your soap also contain waxes to help prevent this attraction?

Dirty Little Secrets

All-in-one formulations must contain both soap and modified waxes to clean and protect the exterior of houses at the same time. The difficulty comes in two areas:  first, the combination of both anionic and cationic ingredients in an all-in-one solution tends to bind with each other, reducing both the effectiveness of the soap and the wax. Second, the wax needs to be attracted by the clean surface and is hampered by the soap which is in higher concentrations (typically) than the wax. An all-in-one formulation is a compromise usually shifted to cleaning, not protecting. Some products enhance the wax and reduce the soap ingredients in an attempt to add better protection. This all adds up to a compromise of properties in All in One formulations.

Example: Wax in Car Washes

You drive through the Car Wash Tunnel and have paid for the Three-color wash and wax. At the end of the tunnel, three streams of different colored foamy substances are squirted on your car just prior to the last rinse. Magically the last rinse runs off the car and quickly!  You have experienced the Automatic Car Wash “cheater wax” which is not a wax at all. Worse, whether you pay for the wax or not you will receive a stream of “cheater wax” (most likely in the final rinse) because, as you have seen, it makes the final rinse water run off the car surface quickly, enabling the blowers to more effectively dry the car. You may get more of this product (or not) when you pay for it. This product is an emulsion of a solvent and a quaternary ammonium compound (a cousin of your hair cream rinse active ingredient). It’s attracted to the painted surface of your cleaned car (anionic) and puts a small amount of modified fat on the surface. Don’t worry, it will not harm your paint job and lasts at least until the next time the car gets wet.

Two Steps: Use Soap to clean and wax to protect

Sometimes the compromise between soap and wax can be managed to yield an acceptable result, cleaning the exterior and delivering protection to the surface. Generally, the results are better with TWO separate steps, using different formulations requiring two passes around the exterior of the house being cleaned. The Wash has no competition in the formulation and has more than enough soap to clean. The Wax Spray will be attracted to the exterior surface that was just cleaned and will cover more completely. Properly formulated water-based waxes provide better protection of the exteriors and can even repel anionic dust and grime over time, plus be easier to clean the next time.

So shouldn’t you also try and get better results and do each step one at a time? That is for you, your business’s profitability, and your customers to decide.