DOFF Chemical Cleaning in Dawlish

The Moore & Franks approach in Dawlish

Few places test exterior surfaces like Dawlish — sea spray off the wall, salt on the wind and that warm red Permian stone that drinks up moisture. Frontages here green and blacken fast. DOFF chemical cleaning uses superheated steam at low pressure, so we're not forcing salt-laden water into porous local sandstone or soft render — the surface dries within minutes. The heat kills growth at the root and buys you longer between cleans. Moore & Franks are Devon born, twenty-five years on the south coast, insured to £5m. Straight talk, fair price, and a finish that respects the local stone.

Up the valleys behind the town, toward Holcombe and Smugglers Lane, the tree cover means north-facing walls barely see a dry day, so moss and black lichen never really clear on their own. On the steep plots here access takes planning. The steam lifts entrenched growth off render and masonry by heat at low pressure, so soft rendered elevations come up clean without being scoured or driven full of the salt-laden damp that already sits in them.

On Barton Hill's 1930s semis and the Regency and Victorian terraces near The Strand, the rendered elevations have had decades for organic staining to work into the surface. Painted render like this shows the coastal blackening worst and can't take a lance. Temperature-led steam clears the staining and algae film off the surface without opening up the render or leaving it sodden, and on the terraces we keep well clear of the neighbours' paintwork.

Out toward Secmaton and Sandy Lane the houses are young but the render is already dulling, coastal grime settling in faster than the age of the estate would suggest. These lighter modern and silicone finishes often suit a soft wash more than full steam, and we'll say which we'd use. Whatever the method, the salt on the wind means growth returns here faster than inland, so an optional biocide top-coat can be worth it on the most weather-beaten faces.

Our Dawlish customers are typically within 25 minutes of our Exeter base. We cover the wider EX7 postcode area and the surrounding villages (Dawlish Warren, Dawlish Water (the Black Swans), Cockwood, Holcombe, Barton Hill, The Strand).