January 26, 2022
Lime render is the first coat of lime plaster applied to the external surfaces of traditionally-built stone or brick buildings. Unlike cement render it allows the building to "breathe", thus facilitating the evaporation of moisture. It is often covered by thin layer of limewash or whitewash.
You'll usually find lime render on older properties because lime was commonly used in building construction right up the the 1940s when cement-based render took over.
Lime render is created by burning limestone or chalk with with coal to form quicklime (aka "lump lime"). The quicklime is then slaked with water and mixed with fine aggregates including sand, soot and ash to create lime render.
Limewash is pure slaked lime in water. Limewash and whitewash cure to become the same material.
Take the same care when soft washing lime render as you would when soft washing silicone render or sand & cement render.
And just to be safe – with your customer's permission – we suggest treating a small, out of the way, test patch first. Show your customer the results and get their approval and permission to continue before treating the whole property.
We've found a treatment of Benz Lighting Cleanze biocide, applied at 5-10:1 and thoroughly rinsed, followed by a post-treatment of Benz Bio Cleanze biocide (diluted 25-40:1) to be highly effective.
Quick tips:
1) Lime render is softer and more delicate than other renders, which rules out pressure washing.
2) If lime render is to be painted, or re-surfaced with limewash, thorough pre-rinsing of Lighting Cleanze is especially important.
Limewash is a porous surface, so is suitable for offering your customer a post-treatment with Benz Bio Cleanze to impart long-term protection from re-colonisation.
And putting customers on your "Clean & Maintain" programme gives them a permanently clean property and you, the contractor, a nice source of repeat business for years to come.
We hope this information is helpful and sincerely wish you great success in your soft washing business,
Ben, Leo, Fiona, Stevie & Anthony
Comments will be approved before showing up. Please revisit to read our response.
November 29, 2024 3 Comments
Every week we receive a large number of questions about soft washing. And, as new contractors are coming into the soft washing business all the time, questions are often repeated. So we thought it would be useful to put together the most frequently asked questions in some Trade Tips posts.
Click the link on this page to read the full Trade Tips post ...
November 22, 2024
A common question contractors are asked when tendering for a contract is, "How long will my property stay clean after being softwashed?"
Although this is ultimately a "how long is a piece of string?" question, through many years of experience and research we have formulated some simple guidelines.
Click the link on this page to find out what they are ...
November 15, 2024
A customer asked for information regarding softwashing stone.
Want to know what we told him?
Click the link on this page to "Learn & Earn" ...
It's a free resource for people wanting to learn about the soft washing industry, to expand an existing business, or build a new business.
Soft washing reduces, or even eliminates, the need to use high-pressure washing.
Instead, once the build up of algae, lichen, fungus and mould – the root causes of properties looking "dirty" – has been treated, the natural "self-cleansing" of sun, rain and wind removes the surface residue through time.
By educating the cleaning trade and public about soft washing we are helping develop an industry that offers sustainable treatments to clean and maintain exterior hard surfaces.
Subscribe to our free trade tips blog to download your "Professional Soft Wash Contractors Pricing Guide".
The free guide shows you – step by step – how to easily, quickly, and accurately create softwash business quotes.
This saves you time, is a highly professional approach, and increases your chances of winning new contracts.
© 2024 Benz Softwash Ltd.