It’s important to protect your plants when you plan to power wash. If you’re planning to enhance the curb appeal of your home with an exterior cleaning, the flowers and bushes should be a priority too.
Professional Power Washing Companies who use a soft wash method rely on a chemical solution to kill and eliminate mildew, algae, and moss on your home rather than high pressure to simply knock it off. Any chemicals used on or around your home can have harmful affects on your plants if they are not used correctly. This is another reason why it is important to hire someone you trust. Whether you are doing it yourself or hiring a professional company, be sure that these steps are put into place to protect your greenery.
Water, Water, Water
Before your professional power washing company comes to clean your roof or your home, you should water the plants and shrubs around your property. Dry and thirsty plants will soak up all liquid they find. This means if your plants have not been watered, they may soak up the chemical solutions that run off your home during the cleaning process.
Redirect The Run Off
We bag up downspouts and collect the run off from roof washes to insure there is no pooling of chemicals around your garden. Another option is to redirect the runoff with hoses. However, you need to be aware that any grassy area that the water collects will likely die of if not watered and rinsed well afterwards. Redirecting the water to the middle of your yard would not be a great idea.
Apply a Neutralizing Agent
There are neutralizing agents on the market that can be applied before the home or roof wash that will help to balance out any chemicals used on your home. If you are washing your home by yourself, be sure to read the directions of the neutralizing agent carefully before applying on your plants.
Rinse
When your house or roof wash is complete, be sure to rinse your plants throughly to remove any cleaning solution that may have landed on the leaves of your greenery.
When to use tarps or covers:
Some sites and companies will recommend that you place a tarp or cover over your plants to protect them. With years of experience and hundreds of homes washed, we have found that covering plants can cause more harm than good if used incorrectly. When you cover your plants for too long, it cuts of their air supply and kills them. The tarps also force the water and chemicals to run off the edges and then often pool at the ground level.
If you choose to use a tarp to cover your plants, it is imperative that you only cover the plants near the section you are actively spraying. Then be sure to uncover the plants and move the tarp to the next spot when you move. This will require some additional time and effort but it is the only way to ensure that your plants are not covered for too long.
