Soft Wash in Totnes

The Moore & Franks approach in Totnes

Totnes is all character: timber-framed and rendered buildings on the steep main street, painted cottages down toward the Dart and a wealth of listed and period property that needs handling with care. The river-valley damp here grows algae and moss readily, and these old lime-rendered, soft-finished walls would be wrecked by a pressure washer. Soft washing suits the town perfectly: low pressure, a biocide chosen for the substrate, and growth killed at source rather than blasted off. We cover Totnes from Exeter, treat period and listed property sympathetically, and carry full insurance. Careful around old finishes, clear quotes, and a clean job left tidy.

Across Follaton and the western fringes, Totnes spreads into newer rendered housing that greens over just as fast as the old town, if not faster. The low light and river damp of the Dart valley keep these modern elevations streaked and lichen-spotted on their shaded sides, and coated render marks easily under pressure. We clean it at low pressure with a biocide that kills the growth at root and leaves the finish sound, then advise on a repeat interval so the render holds its colour through the wet valley winters.

Over the river in Bridgetown and up the steep medieval main street, the slate-roofed terraces and Georgian townhouses along Fore Street and the High Street are largely listed or in the conservation area. Soft, old lime render and aged slate would be wrecked by a pressure clean, so heritage-safe methods matter as much as the finish. We use a low-pressure biocide matched to the surface, killing the moss and algae in place without forcing water into fabric built to breathe.

The oaks and beeches lining the Dart keep the whole town shaded and damp for much of the year, and their autumn leaf fall clogs gutters faster than on open ground. Blocked downpipes on the steep terraces send water straight down rendered frontages, adding streaks to walls already greening in the low light. A root-level treatment lifts that staining and growth out of the render and holds it back far longer than a surface scrub manages in this sheltered valley.

Our Totnes customers are typically within 30 minutes of our Exeter base. We cover the wider TQ9 postcode area and the surrounding villages (Bridgetown, Follaton, Dartington, Berry Pomeroy, Ashprington, Stoke Gabriel).