Render Cleaning
Our chemical render cleaning service is a great cost effective way to get your property looking brand new again.
We use a mixture of chemicals carried on board our vans and applied through our water-fed pole brushes to safely clean the algae and traffic film that can build up and discolour your property over time. This is a relatively inexpensive and great way to bring your property back to life.
Different types of render:
There are various different types of render that can be found these days across both domestic and commercial properties. Monocouche render is becoming a very popular finish to lots of new buildings due to its modern finished look, but can start to look very grey and dirty if not properly maintained. It always look great to start with but over time can become discoloured and dirty with the build up of dirt, traffic film and even green algae. People often try to either jet wash or paint the render to improve its look which can work on Lime, Cement, Polymer and Acrylic render, but neither of these options are any good for Monocouche. They are only short term solutions to what will be a long term problem. The most common types of render are:
Monocouche or Permarock are the most common types of render to discolour as the porous finish of the render is a perfect breeding ground for green algae to thrive. The monocouche finish contains a high amount of phosphates which the algae feeds off. You will often find that one side of a building is a lot worse than the other and there is a good reason for this, as one is often in the sun and the other is not. The Northern facing sides of a building do not get as much sunlight as the Southern facing sides which allows more moisture to retain in the render. The moisture in the wall containing the phosphates already present in the render, become a perfect breeding ground for the algae to thrive. The render is slightly porous too which seems to hold the build of dirt and dust in the air (especially in a high traffic areas) and causes the render to look discoloured and dirty over time.
Solutions
The best solution for cleaning this type of render is to use a chemical solution directly applied to the render through our water fed poles, to not only kill the algae but to neutralise the phosphates. We use our own mixture of chemicals to do this and its all applied safely by our operators from the tanks in our vans. Once the solution has been applied you will see an instant difference as the chemicals start to work and return the original colour to the render. This will get better over the next few hours as the chemicals soak further in to the Monocouche. Once the chemical has been applied its perfectly safe to touch but may smell a bit for a little while after.
Jet washing does clean the surface pretty well but the problem is that you will only be removing the surface dirt not any of the algae spores or phosphates, so it will grow straight back again. Jet washes are also very powerful these days and you’ve only got to find a small crack or split in the render and you’ll find yourself taking a big chunk out, which can be expensive to repair. The other downside is: how do you reach the top half of the house? Unless you live in a bungalow this will mean either expensive scaffolding or taking your life in your hands from a ladder, neither of which we would recommend!
Painting the render is also a big no-no, as once you’ve painted it you cannot go back. The render has a colour added to it before its applied and that’s the colour it should be. Painting will only be a coat over the top of the original finish, which just means your quite literally paining over the problem. The breeding ground for the algae is just underneath the paint so when it starts to weather the algae will be straight back and it will be time to get the decorators in again.
Cost
The cost for carrying out this type of cleaning is always determined by how much render there is on the building, and also how accessible it is to get at. We can usually go up to about 4 floor high without the need for any other specialist equipment but in comparison to painting we are usually less than a quarter the cost, with the average 3 bed property starting at around £250.
If you would like any more information then please give us a call on 0800 677 1718
