Inspecting Your Exterior After Soft Washing: A Before-and-After Checklist

A soft wash is easier to judge when you have a record of how the house looked before it started. This checklist covers what to photograph beforehand, what to notice on the day, how to inspect the results once everything is dry and how to raise a problem if you find one.

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Why two inspections beat one

Walls look different wet, in shade or under glare, and memory is a poor witness. If you only look afterwards, you cannot tell whether a chip, crack or stain was already there. A short walk-around beforehand and the same walk afterwards protects you and the crew alike, and it takes about fifteen minutes each time.

Take the photos yourself, on your phone, and keep them somewhere you can find them later. Stand in the same spot for each wall, in the same kind of light, so the after shots line up with the before shots. The date stamp on each file does the rest.

Before: the record that protects everyone

• Photograph every wall, the roofline, the windows and the garage door in daylight, plus close-ups of anything already worn or damaged.
• Note existing problems: cracked or loose siding, failing caulk, peeling paint, cracked stucco, loose bricks, damaged screens.
• Mark growth and stains you expect the wash to remove, so you can compare later.
• Photograph the beds and shrubs along each wall, so any later leaf damage has a starting point.
• Look at the glass and screens for existing scratches, spots or bent frames.
• Check the written scope. Which surfaces are included? Which are not?
• Tell the crew about any known trouble, such as a leaky window, a fresh coat of paint or a delicate feature.

On the day: five things to notice

1. Are the plants being pre-wet and covered where needed?
2. Is the spray gentle, or is it striking the wall hard?
3. Are windows, outlets and fixtures being kept from soaking?
4. Is the rinse long and generous, top to bottom?
5. Are covers coming off and plants getting a final soak?

You do not need to hover. A glance from the doorway is enough to see whether the routine looks careful.

After: inspect in daylight, once everything is dry

Wait until the walls have dried, since wet siding hides streaks and uneven patches. Then walk the same route as before.

Stand back first, then move in close. Look along each wall from an angle, because low, raking light shows streaks and tide lines that head-on light hides. Binoculars help on second-storey walls and the roofline.

Waterloo Region's hard water can leave mineral spotting on glass, so check the windows closely.

One week and one rain later

Some results take time. Dead algae and lichen can fade over the next few rains, and roof shadows may lighten slowly. Plant scorch shows within a day or two. Damp patches or stains inside a wall can take days to appear. So look again after a week, and again after the first heavy rain, comparing with your photos. Anything that still looks wrong after that is fair to raise.

How to raise a problem

1. Send the photos, with the date and location of each, in writing.
2. Point to the scope and say exactly what does not match.
3. Ask for a specific response and a date to hear back.
4. Give them the chance to return and fix it, and keep the record of what was agreed.

Keep the message short and factual. One list with one wall per line is easier to answer than a string of separate emails.

D&D quotes are confirmed in writing before work begins, so the scope on paper becomes your checklist. Start with the soft washing page, and if something looks off later, our guide on what to do when the exterior looks dirty after soft washing covers the next steps.

Devon Moore, Operations Lead Co-Founder & Operations Lead, D&D Home Services

Devon Moore is the co-founder and Operations Lead at D&D Home Services, with hands-on experience cleaning hundreds of homes across Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph.