Soft washingin Coconut Creek, FL.

Winston Park went up from the late 1980s into the early 2000s, mostly single-family homes with in-ground pools, patios and two-car garages, several in a Spanish eclectic style. That means textured stucco, arched openings and trim bands, and a pool area where the patio ceiling and the walls around it stay humid most of the year.

Textured stucco is where pressure does its damage, because it knocks the peaks off the texture and pushes water into hairline cracks. The soft wash cleans it at low pressure, the patio ceiling included, and every side gets walked before anything goes on so any chalking paint or cracked stucco is pointed out first. Walls around the pool get the same wash, with the rinse steered away from the water.

The Township was developed between 1980 and 1993 as a mix of condos, townhomes, villas and single-family homes. In the attached sections, walls are shared and the association often decides who washes what. It is common for the association to paint and wash the buildings on a cycle while owners handle their own patio, screen and courtyard. Some sections also set hours or days for outside contractors, which is worth checking before you pick a date.

If only your part is yours to book, the wash stops at your line. The neighbor's side is protected from overspray, and nothing runs down onto their patio. Check your documents first, and if the association is the one that should be booking, Michael can quote them instead.

MainStreet covers 170 acres between Sample Road, Lyons Road, Wiles Road and State Road 7, and site work that size puts a fine grey dust on nearby walls, screens and pool cages. In the humidity it sticks to the stucco rather than blowing off, and the next rain turns it into streaks. Pool cages near the build-out catch it on every panel of screen.

Washing while earthwork is still running next door gets undone fast, so it is worth waiting for the heavy phase near you to finish. On brand-new homes going up in the build-out, give fresh stucco time to cure before any wash touches it. Michael will tell you if he thinks it is too soon. Glass and screens nearby usually need the same attention.