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Established in 2009 as a window washing business in Maple Ridge, our customer base and services portfolio quickly expanded throughout the Fraser Valley and beyond.

 

At that time, the entire industry was either pressure washing or brush washing houses. I remember my first conversation I had with my liability insurance company when I started the business. They told me insurance companies did not like pressure washers due to the amount of claims for water damage they were having, it would be an extra $500 on my premium if I use one.

 

The choice of how to start washing buildings was easy, we started brush washing. No chance of causing damage to the property like we inevitably would have done if we had chose pressure washing. But wow, this brushing was hard work on the body! Many houses and townhome complexes later and a very stiff neck, I knew there had to be a better and more efficient way.

 

We solved the soap not staying on the brush scenario by using sprayer bottles attached to the hose for application of the soaps. We still were not happy with the brush method. Due to its design, a brush just cannot reach every nook and cranny. Soffits were a nightmare to wash as they would lift up and move when brushing plus, brushing upside down is not easy. The only surfaces that looks decent after brushing was vinyl siding. Brushing was useless on stucco and other rough surfaces. We tried all the soaps as advertised but all still required aggressive brushing or high water pressure as part of the cleaning process, there had to be a better way.

 

Having already seen how easy it was to spray soap on the surface using the bottle on the end of the hose, we started our research and development stage. We stumbled on a YouTube video in 2010 of a company in the states doing something called Soft Washing. They were spraying this magic formula with low pressure electric pumps onto any surface, the algae just disappeared and then they just rinsed with a water hose. It was that simple, no scrubbing or high pressure! At that time no matter how hard we looked there was no literature on what cleaning solution they were using. It was a highly guarded secret unlike today. The simplicity and effectiveness of this system surpasses all other cleaning methods. Its quiet, uses less water and actually treats the problem.

 

We had meetings with a chemical supplier talking to their chemists and sales reps. Several chemicals later, we found the one we were looking for and wow did it work. Since 2010, our supplier has improved the solutions available. We now have a soap that not only works in conjunction, but enhances the main ingredient and thus the end result.

 

All products are 100% Bio-degradable which means that they totally break down and no longer exist several weeks after use. With an Environmental waste management background, I am more aware than most of what chemicals do and don't do when introduced into the environment. Pressure washer guys will try to tell you that chemicals are bad, they don't tell you what some of their chemicals do to the environment. Every industry uses valuable drinking water for cleaning, the soft washing industry uses a fraction of what pressure washing companies use. 

 

Over the years we have built several sprayer systems, we have also seen many other companies start to Soft Wash. You have to look closely at their literature as many still think brush washing or gentle pressure washing is an acceptable form of Soft Washing, but its not by any stretch of the imagination. There are some companies who have truly started to correctly Soft Wash and some of them are very good. Unable to make their own systems, they have spent many thousands of dollars on “off the shelf” systems. Nothing wrong with this, but its old technology.

 

We as a company are not content with standing still, as we were probably the first company in BC to truly start soft washing we will be the first with our new system. Totally redesigned by ourselves, it will allow us to set up a lot quicker, be more accurate with our mix ratio and thus be more efficient. No one has this system, not even the original company in Florida who started it all. We are taking it to another level. By the way, the owner of the Florida company had an informal meeting with one of our representatives and told us we were way ahead in technical ability of any of their companies, they could not believe the size and scale of our projects.

 

Still we are not content with this so we have invested a great deal of money into another piece of equipment that we have had specially made taking us quite simply to another level. Our sprayer system when we first started could reach a height of 30’ we can now reach heights of over 50’. This is fantastic for the majority of buildings, but not much use for roof cleaning.

 

One of our services is roof washing treatments, we don't pressure wash a roof as insurance companies say this is the equivalent to ten years worth of rain and weathering. We use our system and apply a treatment which kills all the algae and moss, this is a recognized and approved method by many shingle manufacturers.

 

When working on a roof you are required to install a temporary anchor point for your safety gear. You do this by hammering a dozen nails through a strap into the roof. With regular clients this means new holes every visit, it would make sense leaving one there full time however, this then becomes a permanent anchor. The guidelines for these require engineering, inspections and cost thousands. There has to be a better way!

 

We have recently took possession (see other articles about the road trip) of a brand new Mercedes Benz Sprinter Heavy Duty with a ladder boom attached. This gives us safe access to roofs and many other places we didn't have before and has opened other new revenue generating avenues. This is just another example of us striving for efficiency. We’re still not done yet. We have more ideas for new equipment designs, all we need is some spare time.