Soft Washing in Ashfield

The Eccles Estate, Service Avenue and Rose Street conservation areas are lined with single-storey face brick houses dating from around 1900 to the 1940s. Council's statements list cement rendering of that brickwork as an unsympathetic change, so the original brick face is something owners are expected to keep. Blasting a century-old wall is the quickest way to open up its mortar joints, which is why the work is done at low pressure with the right solution.

Gable ends bring more variety. Houses in these streets often carry timber shingles, roughcast stucco or imitation half-timbering facing the street, and some houses in the Service Avenue area have roughcast on the upper part of their walls. Textured render traps dirt in its hollows, and shingles can be lifted by a careless jet.

Weatherboard turns up as well, from the Victorian Rustic Gothic house in John Street to a Federation cottage in Hanks Street, and painted boards of that age need the same light touch.

Exposure is the last factor. Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road both carry heavy traffic through Ashfield, and the Main Suburban railway runs through Ashfield station. Homes along those corridors live beside constant exhaust, and soot film is one of the deposits a soft wash is designed to lift, along with the mould and mildew that settle on the shaded side of any brick house.

A gentle wash does more than improve appearance. Mould and mildew left on a wall keep it damp, and over time that moisture works on paint, timber and joints. Clearing the growth back gives every surface a chance to dry properly between rain.

For owners in conservation areas there is a practical upside. Because council favours original face brick, cleaning it well is a better answer to stained walls than painting or rendering over them. A soft wash lets the colour of the brick and the texture of a roughcast gable show again.

Eaves and fascias are part of the job, so the whole frontage brightens rather than just the walls. On painted homes, washing before repainting gives the new coat a clean base, and on a recently painted house regular washing helps the finish keep its colour.

Strata buildings gain in a different way. Flats make up most of Ashfield's homes, and a building-wide wash refreshes the entire facade for every owner at once, with before-and-after photos to show the committee what was done.

The products are biodegradable and safe around gardens, pets and children, which matters where small front gardens sit right against the walls being washed.