What's the best way to soft wash polytunnels and greenhouses?

January 24, 2025

Polytunnels and greenhouses can be soft washed safely and effectively, but they do require special attention because of their delicate nature. 

To ensure the safety of any plant life growing inside, the most important areas to give careful attention to are the overall condition and water-tightness of the structure.

Inspection and assessment

Before beginning treatment, thoroughly inspect the structure of the polytunnel or greenhouse for any leaks. Discuss with your client to find out if they are aware of any existing issues. If leaks are found, decide whether treatment can safely proceed and assess how to protect the contents of the polytunnel or greenhouse during the cleaning process.

Approaches to giving a soft wash treatment to polytunnels and greenhouses

Softwashing can be carried out using the following products:

1. Bio Cleanze: When there is no urgency, apply and leave to work over time for the deepest cleaning and long-lasting results.
2. Lightning Cleanze: When your customer wants fast, immediate results.
3. The synergistic approach: Start with Bio Cleanze to break down the biofilm over several weeks or months, then follow up with Lightning Cleanze to remove any residual biofilm.

The synergistic approach is our preferred treatment method because overall it is less on-site labour-intensive, yields the best results, and uses lower concentrations of both products.

This method requires two visits to the site, which, depending on the scale of the contract, and other variable factors (such as travelling time, wood or metal structure of the tunnels, age and general condition of the tunnels, and so on) will determine the most effective way to soft wash any specific polytunnel or greenhouse.

Application and treatment methods

For very delicate polytunnels and greenhouses, apply treatment by spray only. But whenever possible combine spraying with gentle brushing to ensure complete saturation of the biofilm.

The best Benz nozzles to use for spray application are:

• A 6.5 tip for Benz Bio Cleanze
• A 10 tip for Benz Lightning Cleanze

For brushing, choose a lightweight flocked brush, such as a Gardiner cladding brush or a window cleaning brush. We've found these to offer optimal overall effectiveness and are gentle on the polythene sheeting of the polytunnels.

Use the Benz Zapplicator range of application equipment

For the most efficient and effective dilution and delivery of soft wash chemicals for soft washing polytunnels and greenhouses, we highly recommend using our "Zapplicator" range of application equipment.

We hope you found this information helpful and sincerely wish you great success in your soft washing business,

Team Benz

Click here to explore the full range of Benz softwash cleaning chemicals and equipment

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Downloading and use of the information and supportive documentation supplied on this website does not imply that we are acting as your authoritative and competent legal or technical advisers. Always do your own research and consult a qualified solicitor, accountant, or other relevant professional about any regulatory, legal or technical matter concerning your independent soft washing business.

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