DOFF Chemical Cleaning in Exeter

The Moore & Franks approach in Exeter

Exeter's mix of Victorian terraces, render-fronted semis and stone city-edge cottages all gather the same green-black film once shade and damp set in. DOFF chemical cleaning is the gentler answer where pressure washing would chew at soft lime mortar or older render. The system cleans with superheated steam at low pressure — temperature does the work, killing off algae, lichen and moss at the root rather than just blasting the surface. We're based just down the road on Ferryman Way in Topsham, so an Exeter job is right on our doorstep. Twenty-five years in, fully insured to £5m, and we leave the substrate sound — clean finish, no needless damage.

Out on the newer estates at Cranbrook, Newcourt and Monkerton, silicone and monocouche renders are now a decade or more old and starting to green over on their shaded sides. These modern finishes want a considered touch, so we advise whether DOFF steam or a gentler soft wash is the better fit for the surface. Where the render can take the heat, the steam clears algae and organic staining without opening up the coating or leaving it saturated.

The conservation streets around Southernhay and the older stone and cob out toward the city edge are a different job entirely. Soft, breathable fabric like this can't take a pressure lance, so the low-pressure steam earns its place, lifting decades of grime and biological crust off historic surfaces while the heat, not force, does the actual cleaning. On lime-based walls that hold moisture, drying quickly afterwards matters, and steam-cleaned stone is touch-dry in a short spell.

St Thomas, Wonford and the older streets of Heavitree sit where the Exe-valley air rarely gets a proper drying wind, so north-facing walls green back over given time. Once we've cleared a frontage, an optional biocide top-coat slows the return, and we suggest it only where the aspect really warrants it. For most Exeter homes a well-timed clean every few years keeps the growth off without treating the wall on every visit.

Our Exeter customers are right on our doorstep. We cover the wider EX1, EX2, EX3, EX4, EX5 postcode area and the surrounding villages (St Leonard's, Heavitree, Pinhoe, Topsham, Pennsylvania, Exeter Quay).