A full house wash uses a low-pressure soft-wash process — a cleaning solution first, then a controlled rinse — because direct high pressure on stucco or vinyl can force water behind the surface and cause blistering. Fort Lauderdale Pressure Washing answers calls 24 hours a day and typically has a crew scheduled out within the same week.
The tell that a house needs washing usually isn't the whole exterior — it's one wall. South- and west-facing sections take the afternoon sun and the brunt of summer storm runoff, so algae and mildew show up there first and darken a stretch of siding or stucco while the shaded side of the same house still looks clean. By the time the north wall starts to show it, the sunny side already has a season's head start. It's a pattern that's easy to spot from the street once you know to look for it.
Stucco and vinyl don't get treated the same way here. Stucco is porous enough that a direct high-pressure blast can force water behind the surface and cause blistering or hairline cracking later, so it gets the same low-pressure soft-wash solution as the roof and pool screens — full pressure stays reserved for the driveway and pool deck, never the walls.
Does stucco need different handling than vinyl siding?
Stucco's porous, which is the whole reason it gets soft-washed instead of blasted: force water behind it at high pressure and it can blister or crack months later, long after the job is finished and forgotten. Vinyl tolerates more, but running both through the same low-pressure process protects the trim, screens, and window seals in between, which is usually where damage from a rushed pressure-washing job actually shows up first.
Is this the wash that fixes peeling paint, or just algae and dirt?
A soft wash lifts biological growth — algae, mildew, the general dirt film that dulls a color over a year or two. It won't fix paint that's already chalking or peeling, and neither will pressure; washing over failing paint just makes it look better for a few weeks before the underlying problem shows through again. On an older paint job, that's worth saying upfront rather than after the invoice.
Will pressure washing crack my stucco or damage my paint?
Not at the settings used for a soft wash — full-pressure blasting can, which is exactly why the exterior gets the low-pressure method instead of the same equipment used on the driveway. If your paint is already chalking or peeling, mention it before booking; a wash won't fix failing paint, and it's better to know that going in.
Do you wash the whole exterior or just the parts that look dirty?
The whole exterior, wall to wall. Algae usually starts on the shaded or sprinkler-fed sections before it's visible from the street, so spot-cleaning just the obvious side leaves the rest of the house a season or two ahead in growth, and it'll show within a year.
How fast can someone come out, and how far do you travel?
Fort Lauderdale Pressure Washing is based at 5390 N State Rd 7, picks up the phone at any hour, and reaches 20 service areas out past the city line, so a same-week appointment is typical rather than the exception.