House Washing Myths Busted – What Brisbane Homeowners Should Know

After 25 years quoting jobs around Wynnum, Tingalpa and Carindale, I hear the same wrong ideas about house washing over and over. Worth setting straight, because a couple of these can cost you real money if you believe them.

"High pressure gets it cleaner"

The opposite is usually true. High pressure blasts the surface of the paint along with the dirt, which is why you'll sometimes see chalky patches or bare render after a "clean" from someone using a driveway machine on a wall. A proper soft wash uses low pressure and lets the cleaning solution do the actual work — it lifts mould and dirt without taking the paint with it.

"You only need to wash before you paint"

Washing isn't just prep for painting, it's what keeps the paint you've already got going longer. Left alone, mould and salt sit on the surface and slowly break the coating down. A yearly wash protects paint that's already there — see how often you actually need to do it.

"Anyone with a pressure washer can do this"

Technically true, which is part of the problem. The wrong nozzle, the wrong chemical mix, or not knowing how long to let a solution dwell before rinsing is exactly how DIY jobs end up costing more than hiring someone properly in the first place — see the mistakes I run into most.

One rule of thumb that never fails: if mould's back within a few weeks of a "clean," whoever did it didn't actually kill it, they just rinsed it off the top.