Soft Wash in Ottery St Mary

The Moore & Franks approach in Ottery St Mary

Soft washing is the sensible route for the old stone, cob and rendered homes lining the lanes of Ottery St Mary, inland in the damp Otter valley. That sheltered, humid setting means algae and moss take hold quickly, especially on shaded north walls and the kind of soft, traditional finishes a pressure washer would wreck. The method suits them perfectly: low pressure, a treatment suited to cob, lime or modern render, and growth killed at the root rather than blasted away. We cover Ottery and the surrounding villages from Exeter, give a clear quote before starting, and carry full insurance. Sympathetic work, tidy finish.

The newer estates climbing toward West Hill and Tip Hill are a long way in character from Ottery's old core, but they green over just as readily. Their K-Rend and silicone render streaks black within a few years of going up, driven by the damp that hangs over the Otter valley. We reset these coated walls with a low-pressure biocide that lifts the staining out of the texture, then work out a repeat interval so the render holds its finish rather than discolouring again each wet winter.

Mist lingers over the meadows below St Mary's Church and the Tumbling Weir well into the morning, and the mature trees lining the lanes out to Cadhay keep whole frontages shaded and slow-drying. That standing damp is exactly what moss and algae need, so north-facing walls across the town wear a green film that scrubbing cannot keep off. Treating the growth at root with a low-pressure biocide reaches into the surface and holds it back far longer in this humid valley.

Around The Square and Silver Street, the old stone and cob cottages need real care. These traditional, breathable walls would be wrecked by a pressure washer forcing water into fabric that has to dry outward, so soft washing is the only method we will use on them. A biocide matched to lime or cob, applied at minimal pressure, kills the moss without soaking the wall, keeping Ottery's older frontages sound as well as clean.

Our Ottery St Mary customers are typically within 20 minutes of our Exeter base. We cover the wider EX11, EX10, EX5 postcode area and the surrounding villages (St Mary's Church and the Tumbling Weir, The Square and Silver Street, Cadhay Manor, West Hill, Tipton St John, Newton Poppleford).