When a fence or wall looks bad, most people call a pressure washer. Sometimes that's the right call. With sprinkler rust, it usually isn't, and it can make things worse.
What pressure washing is good at
Pressure washing moves things that are sitting on a surface: dirt, pollen, loose mildew, cobwebs. If a rag and a garden hose would eventually get it off, a pressure washer will get it off faster.
What it can't do
Rust and mineral stains aren't sitting on the surface. They've chemically bonded into it. Water pressure doesn't break that bond, so you're left with a faded orange ghost of the original stain. To chase it, operators turn the pressure up, and that's where the damage starts:
- Stucco gets etched, pitted and sometimes cracked.
- Vinyl gets scarred, and water can be forced behind siding.
- Pavers lose their joint sand and their sealer.
- Landscaping gets shredded by overspray.
What rust removal does differently
Rust removal dissolves the iron causing the color. The stain releases chemically and rinses away at low pressure, so the surface underneath stays intact. Our process uses our proprietary blend applied by hand, with Landscape Shield™, our nature preservation process, on every visit.
How to tell which you need
- Orange, brown or rust-colored, following a sprinkler pattern? Rust removal.
- White spots or crust on glass or tile? Mineral stain removal.
- Green or black growth, general grime? Soft washing or cleaning.
Still not sure? A free demonstration answers it on your own surface in about 15 minutes. You can see what those look like in our gallery.