What is the Best Cleaning Method for Render?

Contents

1. What is the Best Method for Cleaning Render? 
2. What is our P.A.S.T Patented Process? 
3. The Benefits of our P.A.S.T Patented Process

Have you noticed your building’s exterior has become discoloured recently? It could be algae, moss, carbon or rust stains that have formed on your render facade and have started to create a shabby look to the exterior. If the building is looking rundown, it could require a thorough cleaning.

Cleaning rendered walls at the first sign of any organic or pollutant stains is best advised to protect the exterior from further damage caused by the staining.

Now that you have decided the render needs a clean, it’s time to investigate the best method for cleaning rendered walls. This blog will steer you in the right direction.

What is the Best Method for Cleaning Render? 

While a pressure washer is ideal for stone and concrete surfaces, we highly recommend against its use when cleaning render. The pressure is too intense, leading to strips of render being shaved off or leaving etches behind.

In both instances, the render will have become weakened, leading to a greater chance of cracks in the brickwork and leaving prominent marks behind.

Additionally, pressure washing the render does not remove algae or moss in its entirety, allowing the substance to continue growing and staining the building’s exterior.

For this reason, we advise using a steam cleaning process, heated to 150 degrees, to protect the render and remove the organic growth in its entirety. 

When using the steam cleaning process, it’s vitally important to use the right chemicals. There are many render types available on the market, and each one could require a different chemical combination used. 

Therefore, only an expert contractor should be called in to clean the render as they will have the training to understand which chemicals to use for that render. Using the wrong type of chemicals can invalidate any warranties you may have. 

To efficiently and safely clean render, we use our unique, P.A.S.T patented 4-step cleaning solution. 

Get in touch with our render cleaners here. 

What is our P.A.S.T Patented Process? 

The P.A.S.T patented approach used by Spectrum when cleaning rendered walls is as follows:

P: Preparing the render and the area for cleaning

Our first job is to plan carefully and prepare the render for cleaning. We assess your property, the render and potential access issues closely. This extensive survey allows us to use the correct render cleaning equipment. Each building is different, and our expertise in cleaning modern, listed and heritage sites stands us in good stead.

We 3D print all the tools we need to clean the rendered walls effectively. Our custom tools help us form a solid plan to work from, identify any challenges we foresee, and ensure the team understands how we will approach the project. 

A: Application of biocide to the render

As we mentioned before, using the right chemicals, such as biocide, in the correct quantity is incredibly important when cleaning rendered walls. The biocide treatment is applied to eradicate algae growing on the surface and removes it from within the render. The algae will not continue to grow after we have left the site.

Cleaning render without using a professional expert can cause irreparable damage to the substrate. Our team understands the different biocide treatments needed to clean traditional render, silicone render, monocouche render and modern render by manufacturers including K-Rend, Weber, Sto, and Wetherby.

S: Steam cleaning at 150 degrees to the render

After the biocide treatment is applied to the render, we use a steam wash heated to 150 degrees to remove stains, residue, and discolouration. Even at 150 degrees, steam is vital to removing the heavy black carbon stains that we tend to find at sites near roads or in polluted cities.

T: Targeted treatment to any stains on the render

Should we see any stains still lingering after the steam cleaning process, we apply a specialist treatment to leave the building look as new as it was on opening day. 

The Benefits of our P.A.S.T Patented Process

Rendered walls cleaned by inexperienced contractors can place the building structure and any warranties at risk. The Spectrum team understands BS EN 13914-1:2016, which allows us to understand the type of render applied to a building.

Our unique rope access techniques allow us to get into the tightest spots to clean the render effectively. Using the correct render cleaning equipment and selecting the best access routes to clean the render, our patented P.A.S.T. cleaning process will leave you with a restored building facade that looks just like brand new. 

Get in contact with our render cleaning team to learn more about our P.A.S.T. patented process and how we can use it to transform your building's facade.