Soft Wash & Building Facade Cleaning in NYC
Keeping Your Buildings' Surfaces Pristine
When items in our lives look good, we feel good inside and are less stressed, be it a clean home, a nice landscaped yard, our office spaces, and even our appearance. When your building is free of cobwebs, bird droppings, dirt, and grime, you feel better about walking in and being inside. It’s a relief to know that things are tidy, and it allows you the ability to better concentrate. Yet, cleaning your building’s facade is just one more thing on your plate that you truly don’t have time for.
Total Window Service offers soft wash and building facade cleaning in NYC and the surrounding areas, including Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Long Island. We understand the importance of having a building that looks good, both for customers and for employees. When you partner with us, we can ensure your building looks clean, inviting, and warm. Call our residential and commercial window cleaning company for a free quote today!
BENEFITS OF SOFT WASH AND FACADE CLEANING IN NYC
- Improves curb appeal
- Removes allergens, mildew, and mold, which can affect your health
- Gentler on landscaping
- Ensures no damage is done to your building’s exterior
- Creates a spotless exterior
- Long-lasting results
Soft washing uses very low water pressure on the exterior of buildings in order to remove dirt, pollutants, allergens, and other grime. It differs from pressure washing, which uses high-pressure streams of water to remove dirt. Soft washing is safer when on a ladder since there is less force you have to counter. It allows our window washing team to reach more places as well.
We provide soft-wash building washing and building façade cleaning services in New York City. Soft washing is the most effective method for cleaning and restoring a building’s original finish, regardless of the type of building material it’s made of. Our services ensure that no damage is done to delicate brickwork, stonework, or exterior walls.
Cleaning & Restoration
Whether you require a primary cleaning to remove dirt, cobwebs, moss, algae, and lichen, or you are in need of deeper building restoration services to remove carbon, soot, and other atmospheric pollutants, give Total Window Service a call today. We provide free appraisals for all of our prospective clients in Brooklyn.
Awning Cleaning
We use only the latest and most environmentally friendly cleaning solutions available on the market. We guarantee that, once we finish pressure washing your awnings, they will give your walls a fresh, clean appearance that’s worth the effort! Once we have completed the cleaning process, we treat your awnings with a special sealer that helps to prevent damage and preserve that rejuvenated look longer.
PARTNER WITH TOTAL WINDOW SERVICE TODAY
Dirt, grime, and overall neglect just makes a building look older and unkempt. This affects people’s and customers’ perception of your home or commercial building, even if it’s just subconsciously. By partnering with a professional building facade cleaning company, such as Total Window Service in New York City, you can rest assured that your building will look as good as new.
You’ll be protecting the health and well-being of everyone who enters your building from allergens and mold, and be putting your best foot forward with customers. Create a beautiful look for your residential or commercial building, and call for soft wash or building cleaning today.
We have extensive cleaning product knowledge, which ensures that our customers in Manhattan always enjoy the very best results. We will clean and restore your building without damaging it in any way. Get a free quote today! Give us a call at 917-972-9020
How often should a NYC commercial or residential building facade be professionally cleaned?
For most NYC buildings – particularly those in high-traffic areas near subway entrances, bus routes, or Midtown streets – we recommend facade cleaning every 1 to 2 years. Buildings located near construction sites accumulate concrete dust, silicone residue, and atmospheric soot significantly faster and may need cleaning annually. Waterfront properties in Brooklyn, Queens, or Long Island City develop biological growth – moss, algae, and lichen – more quickly due to humidity and should be assessed each year. We evaluate the facade condition during the free estimate and recommend a cleaning schedule based on material type, location, and rate of soiling.
Can soft wash facade cleaning be performed on NYC landmark or historic buildings without violating Landmarks Preservation Commission requirements?
Yes – soft wash is in fact the method most compatible with LPC guidelines for cleaning historic masonry. High-pressure washing can damage original mortar joints, erode soft limestone, and strip protective patinas from historic stonework – all of which can result in violations and costly remediation. Our low-pressure soft wash approach uses controlled application of cleaning solution that loosens biological growth and soiling without mechanical abrasion to the surface. We have cleaned facade surfaces on landmark buildings across NYC including properties on Park Avenue, the Bowery, and East 57th Street, and are experienced coordinating with property managers on compliance requirements.
What happens to the water and cleaning runoff during a soft wash facade job on a NYC building?
NYC DOT and environmental regulations require proper management of water runoff during exterior building work. We plan runoff containment as part of every facade cleaning job – particularly for multi-story buildings where wash water flows down to sidewalk level. For jobs requiring sidewalk shed or street access, we coordinate DOT permits in advance. For ground-level and low-rise facade work, we use collection barriers and drainage management to prevent cleaning solution from entering storm drains untreated. This is particularly important when using bio-based cleaning agents that must be kept out of the public drainage system per NYC environmental guidelines.
Can your team clean upper-floor and high-rise building facades that cannot be reached from street level or scaffolding?
Yes. For multi-story and high-rise facades, we use rope access equipment operated by IRATA and SPRAT certified technicians – the same international rope access standards used for high-rise window cleaning. This allows us to reach and clean facade surfaces on upper floors without the cost and street disruption of full scaffolding installation. For mid-rise buildings, we also deploy bucket trucks with 150-foot reach and boom lifts. The access method is selected during the on-site estimate based on building height, setback, street access, and the specific facade surfaces to be cleaned.
Does soft wash facade cleaning require us to vacate the building or notify tenants in advance?
For most facade cleaning jobs – particularly on occupied residential or commercial buildings – vacating is not required. Soft wash generates significantly less noise and vibration than pressure washing, making it practical to perform on occupied buildings during normal business hours. However, we do recommend notifying tenants in advance for two reasons: windows and vents on the cleaned facade should be kept closed during the job to prevent cleaning solution from entering the interior, and exterior access to balconies or terraces on affected floors should be restricted while work is in progress. We provide a standard tenant notification template on request for property managers coordinating building-wide work.
What insurance documentation does Total Window Service provide for facade cleaning work on NYC co-op, condo, and commercial buildings?
We carry $10 million in general liability insurance plus a $5 million umbrella policy, workers’ compensation, and disability coverage – all standard requirements for exterior building work in NYC. We provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI) naming the building, managing agent, or property owner as additionally insured, along with W-9 and any compliance documents required by the building’s management company. We work regularly with properties managed by Douglas Elliman, Brown Harris Stevens, First Service Residential, and Two Trees Management and are familiar with the documentation packages these firms require before authorizing exterior work.