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Benz Softwash Systems

Benz Softwash supply softwash chemicals to the professional softwash cleaning trade

"CLEAN & MAINTAIN" PROFESSIONAL SOFTWASH SYSTEMS

 

Watch the short (1 minute) video below for a quick and simple explanation of softwashing


What are the Benz "Clean & Maintain" Professional Softwash Systems?

The essence of Benz "Clean & Maintain" Professional Softwash Systems is to first sterilise and clean the unwanted organic material – sometimes referred to as biofilm – from exterior surfaces. Benz Lightning Cleanze and/or Tornado Cleanze are used to achieve this as they offer the rapid cleaning results most customers want.

We then protect the surfaces from re-colonisation by biological growths, through applying a residual-action biocide – Benz Bio Cleanze. This penetrates deeper into the surface, killing any remaining spores, than can other cleaning products. And continues to be active for up to a year or more.

Bio Cleanze should be applied immediately after treatment with Lightning Cleanze and Tornado Cleanze – also after power (pressure or jet) washing – as part of an ongoing maintenance programme.

Lightning Cleanze and Tornado Cleanze are "first clean" treatments that sterilise the surface from unwanted biological growths and their spores. 

They can be used as stand-alone softwash solutions or in conjunction with power washing (aka jet or pressure washing) and/or Bio Cleanze.

 

Lightning Cleanze is the only approved sodium hypochlorite softwash biocide

 

Bio Cleanze continues to have a cleaning effect through time and can be used as a stand-alone first clean product in it's own right in appropriate circumstances.

In the context of the Benz "Clean & Maintain" Professional Softwash Systems Bio Cleanze is applied as a post-cleaning treatment that soaks deep into exterior surfaces.

It can be applied following pre-cleaning with Lightning Cleanze or power washing, giving the same residual biocide protection in both cases.

Benz "Clean & Maintain" Professional Softwash Systems can be used on any exterior hard surface such as:

  • Rendered walls of houses (dry dash, pebble dash, coloured render including K Rend and Weber).
  • Industrial buildings (including Kingspan cladding).
  • Painted surfaces.
  • Stone.
  • Tarmac.
  • Concrete.
  • Timber structures (decking, sheds, fencing, boats). The active ingredient in Bio Cleanze is a highly effective wood preservative).

Using two powerful and complementary biocides – with light power washing when necessary – cleaning contractors can now meet their customer's expectations for softwashing.

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Your choice of "Clean & Maintain" softwash systems

Benz "Clean & Maintain" Professional Softwash Systems have flexibility and choice built-in – which means they give you options to suit your customer's individual needs and finances:

1) Rapid softwashing plus good protection against re-colonisation

Lightning Cleanze + Bio Cleanze

For customers who want the most fastest and longest lasting clean.

2) Rapid softwashing only

Lightning Cleanze only.
Chosen for example, by someone selling their property who wants it to look the best when being viewed.

This approach works well when:

  • An "rapidly clean" effect is required, which is what the majority of customers want and expect.
  • The surface is contaminated with red/green/yellow algae – and/or the black staining that can otherwise be difficult to remove.
  • The surface is soft, such as sandstone or limestone – which cannot be power washed without increasing the weathering effect and causing damage.
  • Roofs – including all forms of tiles and slate (although our experience is that treating with Bio Cleanze only can often be the best choice for porous roof surfaces).
  • The surface to be cleaned is hard, smooth, and non-porous such as UPVC, steel tanks and piping, and painted surfaces.

3) Slower softwashing plus some protection against re-colonisation – at a lower price

Bio Cleanze only.
This option can be used when colonisation is red, green or very light black. The customer must be willing to wait some time for results. The residual biocidal protection will be relatively limited as the active ingredient in Bio Cleanze will have been partially, or even completely, broken down by organic matter and the biological growths. Therefore a second treatment after a few weeks may be required to offer longer-term residual biocide protection.

Quick tip: It can be a good idea for the contractor to draw up a written contract, signed by the customer, to ensure their agreement to wait up to 6-12 months for the full cleaning effect to be seen. Memories can be unreliable ...

From then on, a maintenance schedule, offering repeat treatments of Bio Cleanze every 6-36 months, is an excellent service to offer your customers. (we do not advocate asking customers to sign a maintenance contract as this can put them off)

This approach works particularly well when:

  • The customer wants to save money and is willing to wait some time to see the full cleaning effect.
  • The surface staining is mostly from red or green algae.
  • Some elevations have black staining and the others are red/green. As it's not essential to use Lightning Cleanze on all the surfaces this brings down the cost to the customer.
  • The job consists of large areas of concrete (car parks, etc) of medium soiling, and when the customer is willing to wait. It offers minimal risks to public and is very cost-effective.
  • Used for ongoing maintenance programmes, offering residual biocide protection against re-colonisation when applied every 6-36 months*. If caught in time the algae will not have time to build up and cause a problem. So customers can enjoy their property being perpetually clean, completely eliminating the need for repeat power washing.

    * The length of time a surface will remain clear from infestation depends upon multiple variable factors such as the porosity of the surface, ambient temperature, presence of organic matter such as leaves and grass cuttings, and the general local environment (eg presence of overhanging trees, hedges, shaded areas, etc).


4) Light pressure washing followed by softwashing with Bio Cleanze

Post-treating with Bio Cleanze soft wash biocide achieves long-lasting results that cannot be achieved through power washing alone.

This is because pressure / power washing does not kill the spores, which rapidly re-colonise and lead to the customer's property rapidly looking "dirty" again.


This approach works well for:

  • Heavy soiling on horizontal surfaces.
  • Cobblelock with heavy weed and moss growth.
  • Shaded areas that will not be exposed to heavy weather and so may not self-cleanse fully using Bio Cleanze alone.

 

More and more pressure washing companies are adding soft washing to their services to gain an edge over their competition

 

 

5) Power / pressure washing alone without post-treatment with Bio Cleanze

  • Not recommended


Quick tip: Benz Softwash Ltd were the first to originate and develop the principle of using of two complementary biocides in our "Clean & Maintain" softwash systems. We put in hundreds of hours researching, testing and refining our products and specialised application systems.

Because of our years of experience and knowledge we are now in the best possible position to help our customers establish highly profitable soft washing businesses.

 

USE BENZ "CLEAN & MAINTAIN" SOFTWASH SYSTEMS TO BUILD REPEAT BUSINESS

 

Click the links below to learn more about Benz softwash products:

 

Benz Softwash Systems help build your professional soft washing business

If you already run a cleaning or gardening business adding a softwashing service could take your company to the next level of profitability.

And if you want to start a brand new business, then softwashing using Benz "Clean & Maintain" Professional Softwash Systems could be just what you've been looking for.

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Softwashing Health & Safety

Customers and members of public, including children and pets, must be excluded by barriers and signs from areas being treated with softwash cleaning chemicals.
Keep adults, children and animals away from areas treated with Bio Cleanze (max 40:1 dilution if the suface will be walked on by children or animals) until the surface has dried.

Areas treated with Benz Lightning Cleanze will be safe once the surfaces have been fully rinsed and run-off disposed of safely.

Always erect physical barriers on private and public paths and walkways that are being treated, or are next to property being treated, and place hazard warning signs in appropriate places. And place at least one team member as a "lookout" to ensure the public do not enter the working area. Ensure both operators and the public are kept safe from spray drift and the possibility of contact with softwash chemicals.
Operators should always wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and adhere to all safe working practices.

Click the links below to explore our technical information pages


Environment & Drains

It is important to protect our environment by keeping "run-off" to a minimum.
Run-off can be kept to minimum by using Benz Softwash Spray Nozzles along with skillful spray and brush control techniques. If some run-off to surface drains would be unavoidable, block the drains and/or gutter downpipes until application has been concluded. Then either remove the run-off from site or direct into a foul drain.
Permission should be obtained from the relevant local water authority to discharge diluted softwash chemical run-off into drains.

Ways to control and remove of run-off and rinse water:

  1. First determine if the drains on-site are foul drains or surface water drains.

    If foul, there is not usually a problem.

  2. Check with the local water authority as to what they allow to go into their drains, as the regulations vary throughout the country.

    Quick tip: EU regs allow for one-off discharges of some cleaning products into drains. It is the continual discharge the harms the environment. But in the UK we should abide by the local regulations.

  3. Downpipes and be temporarily blocked with rags or foam. Run-off from roofs can then be sucked from the gutters.

  4. Skillful application techniques, using the correct nozzles and flow rates will significantly reduce run-off and therefore reduce risk.

    Quick tip: There is seldom an issue when treating with Bio Cleanze as the run-off is very slight. It is the rinse water from treating with Lightning Cleanze and Tornado Cleanze that requires careful handling.

  5. Erect dams around the area being treated to contain the run-off. Then suck it up with an industrial suction machine. In hot weather the collected run-off will also evaporate, reducing the quantity needing to be removed from site.

  6. If practicable, brush rinse water into a safe on-site area to evaporate or be sucked up.

  7. Important: Septic tanks and reed beds should never have any run-off or rinse water fed into them.

Correctly applied, Bio Cleanze, Tornado Cleanze and Lightning Cleanze have no detrimental effect on plant life*

* When applied skillfully and carefully, within correct H&S guidelines, and by following our advice for the care and protection of plant life on the product labelling and on this website, Bio Cleanze, Tornado Cleanze and Lightning Cleanze will not harm plant life.

 

Explore the full range of Benz softwash cleaning products

Benz Softwash Bio Cleanze DDAC biocide & Benz Softwash Lightning Cleanze SH sodium hypochlorite biocide