Door Damage Risks

Soft washing treatments have a tendency with reacting with the doors on homes. This includes the front doors, rear doors and garage doors. And the solution to repair these doors is rarely cheap.

Modern doors are manufactured on large scaled and are coated with a film to give them their color. They can rarely be repainted. This means you're buying a new door. If the door can be painted, professionals recommend removing the door completely. This can be time consuming and costly.

Here are a few disasters that can happen if the soft wash solution gets on any of the doors.

1. Discolouration - The finish on doors tend to react with the soft wash solution. Sodium Hypochlorite can discolor the paint or leave bleach spots on wood finished doors.
2. Paint Bubbling- If the paint of film is cheap, the paint will bubble with large amounts of water flushing over top of it.
3. Metal Finish Warping - Doors will be decorated with metal sheets. Water can easily get behind these sheets and on hot day, warm the metal.
4. Keyhole Corrosion - The soft wash solution is extremely corrosive. If it gets into the keyhole, rust can occur and the homeowner will have a poor experience.
5. Water Through Door Seals - Depending on the ware and tear of the door seals, water and soft wash solution can easily enter the home under the front door.
6. Flash Oxidation on Metal Doors - Garage doors get hot on sunny days. When soft wash solution makes contact with hot metal, it can flash oxidize.

So with all this risk, what should one do in to properly clean a house without damaging the doors.

• Make sure you cover all metal with plastic and tape.
• Place a temporary door sealer to prevent water from getting into the home.
• Do not clean the door with soft wash solution. Instead, you can rinse or wash by hand with simple soap and water.
• Pre-rinse garage doors to cool them down, apply chemical and then rinse quickly thereafter. Do not allow the soft wash solution to sit on the metal door and dry for more than 60 seconds.