Illustration for Soft Wash the Siding, Pressure Wash the Concrete

The two words name two methods, not two brands of the same job. One washing company’s FAQ defines soft washing as “a low-pressure cleaning method” that relies on a cleaning solution rather than force, suited to “roofs, siding, and wooden decks”. A second washer lists the materials high pressure harms: “glass, asphalt shingles, and stained wood”.

Which method each surface gets

If the surface is… Choose Because
Vinyl, fiber-cement or engineered-wood siding Soft wash The siding makers say a pressure washer can cause moisture intrusion, damage or discoloration; a published low-pressure house wash starts at $199.
An asphalt shingle roof with black streaks Soft wash The asphalt roofing trade group says “DO NOT use a power washer or any type of brush or broom”; roof soft washes run about $0.18 to $0.35 a square foot.
A bare concrete driveway, walkway or patio Pressure wash Concrete is where crews keep real pressure; one rate card prices it at $0.22 a square foot, with a $149 minimum.
A composite deck Low-pressure rinse The decking maker allows a pressure washer at “no greater than 3100 psi”, with a fan tip no closer than 8 in.
A wood deck or stained wood Soft wash, no wand One washer’s FAQ names stained wood among the materials high pressure damages; decks clean from $129.

The rows are not all the same kind of rule. Siding and shingle roofs carry a hard “no” from the people who stand behind the material, and we’ve collected those care-guide lines in what siding makers say about pressure washing. The composite deck rule is a ceiling, not a ban, which is why it reads “low-pressure rinse” rather than soft wash; composite deck cleaning covers it in practice. For the roof, our roof cleaning guide weighs whether the streaks are worth paying to remove at all.

Bare concrete is the exception, and it’s why “pressure washing” still means something on a quote. One Central Florida crew says it soft washes every roof and siding type but keeps “real pressure for concrete cleaning, where it belongs”. Watch the minimum on that line: at $0.22 a square foot, a 600 sq ft two-car driveway comes to $132, so the $149 minimum sets the price.

How the method splits the invoice

Washers that publish both methods price them as separate lines, so the method shows up as a rate rather than a lump sum. One Kansas City rate card lists a house soft wash at $0.20 a square foot and driveway concrete at $0.25 a square foot.

The line Rate Your job Cost
House soft wash $0.20 / sq ft 2,000 sq ft × $0.20 $400
Driveway pressure clean $0.25 / sq ft 600 sq ft × $0.25 $150
Two methods, one visit $550

Flat-rate cards follow the same split. One lists house soft washing from $199 and driveway cleaning from $89, two lines that add to $288 before any size adjustment.

The surface moves the number even when the method stays the same. The Central Florida crew soft washes an asphalt shingle roof from about $0.18 a square foot and barrel tile from about $0.35. On a 2,000 sq ft roof, that’s about $360 against about $700, both at low pressure. When you compare quotes, check that each line names its method and its rate, then hold it up against our house washing cost guide.

When the answer is a garden hose

For some surfaces, neither machine is what the maker prints. The fiber-cement and engineered-wood siding care guides both describe a garden hose and a soft brush, and composite decking reads much the same. A whole-house quote rarely carries that third path, because it’s hand work. If you’d rather do it yourself, our rent, buy or hire break-even prices the options, and our methodology explains how we pick and check the published prices used here.

Sources

Based on 11 sources · How we price