THE BENZ GUIDE TO SOFT WASHING EQUIPMENT 

Benz Softwash is your "one stop shop" for soft washing equipment & soft washing chemicals

We ship equipment WORLD-WIDE and chemicals to the UK & Ireland

Click here to explore the full range of Benz softwash application equipment

"Excellent products from Benz Softwash. They do the job professionally and safely. I've been using them for a while now and find them top class, as do my customers. Ben and his team are very obliging and helpful, always at the end of the phone or email to answer any queries and give expert advice."
John Kelly, Painting & Decorating Specialist

A soft washing business can easily evolve from an existing business

Soft washing can be a highly profitable full-time business, or it can be an add-on for window cleaners, power washers, painters & decorators, roofers, general builders, gardeners, and so on. Pretty much all trade businesses in fact.

That said, we realise that at first glance the quantity and quality of soft washing equipment available to choose from can seem overwhelming. Where do you start?

So to help you when setting up as a soft washing contractor, we've developed our own softwash application system which solves the main problems we've come across in over 10 years of professional soft washing.

We call this unique softwash application system "The Benz Zapplicator"

A professional softwash system like this is a serious investment (you'll find more details further down this page and on the dedicated Zapplicator product page. So we also supply cheaper options to get you going if you are just starting out as a soft washing contractor. We've outlined the various entry levels, and the financial investment required, in the sections below ...

Soft washing Entry Level One - Expect to pay 20-100 euro (approx £18-£90)

It's possible to start soft washing with a hand-held sprayer, or even just a watering can and brush!

 
Soft washing with a small hand sprayer: Chemical-resistant Viton seals are essential for all softfwash equipment. A cheap garden sprayer will not have this type of seal and will not last long before the seals decay. So trying to use them for professional soft washing is a false economy.

The advantages of a hand-held softwash system:

• Cheap and easy to use
• Good way to gain experience of handling biocides
• Good for test areas

The disadvantages of a hand held softwash system:

• Low flow rate, so not suitable for large surface areas
• Difficult to reach high locations

Softwashing Entry Level Two - expect to pay 250 - 650 euro (£220-£520)

The electric or hand-pumped backpack:

These are handy portable sprayers that are commonly used, even by seasoned professional softwash contractors, for spraying hard to reach areas. Be careful if using them strapped to your back as they are prone to leakage, so ensure you wear adequate chemical-resistant clothing. The safest way to use them is to leave them on the ground when you are spraying.

A backpack sprayer is a simple way to start for anyone who wants to try their hand at soft washing with only a minimal investment. The electric backpack can be used with a window cleaning water fed pole (wfp) and low level spraying lance.

Pros of a soft washing backpack system

• Perfect flow rates for applying Lightning Cleanze though a Benz 10 nozzle and for applying Bio Cleanze though a Benz 6.5 nozzle
• Mobile and easy to move around your work-site, e.g. to the rear of houses
• Simple and quick set up time
• Inexpensive
  
• Adjustable flow rates
• Replaceable pumps

Cons

• Long set-up time compared to our advanced softwash systems

• Chemicals flowing through pumps eventually damage them, although their life can be extended by cleaning and flushing through with fresh water at the end of each day

• Requires chemicals to be manually diluted and mixed in the tank, a time-consuming process that carries a health & safety risk that our advanced softwash systems greatly reduce

Softwashing Entry Level Three - Expect to pay 6500 - 8500 euro (£5600-£7500)

The Benz Zapplicator – the most usable and flexible advanced softwash application system, for applying softwash biocides with max efficiency and effectiveness

Pros of the Zapplicator

• Designed to be easily serviceable and manufactured to the highest engineering standards, your Zapplicator will work perfectly for many years, in effect spreading your initial investment over time and reducing the actual annual cost
• Gives your brain a break and makes your life a lot easier by eliminating mathematical mixing calculations
• "Plug'n spray" - just connect to water and start spraying – operates from mains water pressure
• Can be located in a van or used as a mobile unit that is quick to set up on-site
• Easy to move around to the backs of houses, etc
• Can be used as an on-site central hub – and you can extend it's reach even further by adding hose reels or simply by moving the Zapplicator
• Chemical mixing is done for you, increasing on-site staff safety
• Uses precise measurements of softwash chemicals, increasing the cost-effectiveness of a softwash treatment by eliminating unnecessarily high dilution rates

Cons of a Benz Zapplicator system

• The Zapplicator requires reliable water pressure, but if not available a booster pump solves the problem while giving you an additional function for rinsing

Additional equipment

A water fed pole

We recommend using Facelift poles, which we've found to be of the highest quality.  A 9-metre pole is perfect for most jobs. A 14-metre pole is the longest we've found to be of practical use.

Quick tip: If you need to work higher than 14 metres you should consider scaffolding, a cherry picker, or a scissors lift.

And then there are the original Benz 10, 6.5 and 15 softwash spray nozzles (copied but never bettered)

Because we wanted them to be the best, Ben designed these nozzles and had them specially made with parts coming from manufacturers in three countries. These specialised softwash nozzles are the most effective we know of for applying softwash chemicals.

• Click here to learn more about Benz softwash spray nozzles
  

We recommend contractors start out in soft washing by using Benz nozzles (which you can see Ben using in the above pics). They offer you fast, safe and cost-effective application of soft washing chemicals.

Safe and efficient bulk rinsing

We use a pressure washer for rinsing large areas after treating them with Benz Lightning Cleanze. We also use the pressure washer to quickly remove loose organic material from the surface before soft washing.

And of course it’s there when we're not soft washing and just need the pressure washer.

A pressure washer, such as in the photo above, can be fed by a tank or reservoir – which itself is fed from the mains. The one in the photo is an entry-level pressure washer driven by a 6.5 hp Honda. This machine is ideal for us as it’s reliable, efficient and can shoot up three stories high and when we're rinsing large flat areas.

In the photo below you can see the zero-degree tip that that we use for rinsing up to three stories using a 2-metre lance.

Some people may like a more powerful pressure washer but for the type of properties we usually work on this one is fine for us. Your choice depends on the nature of the work you intend taking on (e.g. large commercial contracts, or simple domestic properties).

Click the video below and follow the series as we build the new van and explain the why and how of the various items of softwash equipment we use daily.

Benz Softwash Contractor Pricing Guide

As with any trade or profession there are a lot of "wrinkles" you'll pick up with experience. It's important to be be clear on what product you need to use, for what purpose, to treat what type of biological growths, the requirements of a particular contract (e.g. commercial or domestic), your customer's personal preferences, and so on.

And of course it's of critical importance to "set your price to sell". That's why we wrote and published a free guide to help you price contracts just right – and so your customers say Yes to your quote!

• Click here to download your "Professional Softwash Contractors Pricing Guide" – (free with our – also free – Benz Trade Tips blog)

The Benz Softwash range of softwash cleaning chemicals

• Bio Cleanze
• Lightning Cleanze
• Tornado Cleanze
• Perma Cleanze
• Oxy Cleanze
• Rust Cleanze
• Window Cleanze
  
  And remember to check out the unique "Benz Softwash Render Cleaning How-to Manual"