House soft washing in Ship Bottom

What tends to get noticed

• A salt haze that dulls the whole elevation facing the ocean
• Black speckling on white trim, vinyl or PVC that looks like dirt and does not wipe off
• Green or grey film on the shaded side of the house that a hose will not touch

Why this comes up in Ship Bottom

Here is what makes Ship Bottom particular: ocean salt from the east and bay damp from the west, with an additional load nowhere else on the island carries — road film and construction dust off the causeway and the Boulevard, which settles on north and west elevations near the through routes.

Dense small-lot housing on a numbered grid, with the island's heaviest concentration of duplexes and weekly rentals, plus a substantial commercial frontage along the Boulevard and 8th Street.

Getting the work done in Ship Bottom

The most traffic-constrained address on Long Beach Island. Staging a rig anywhere near 8th Street or the Boulevard in season is not realistic, and most work here is scheduled early or out of season for that reason alone.

Any permit for this runs through Ship Bottom. State registration has to be current before one is issued.

The usual approach

A soft wash is low pressure and a cleaning solution, not a pressure washer pointed at the house. The crew should be rinsing salt off the elevation before anything is applied, keeping the solution off plantings, and working top down so nothing dries on the way. Pressure is what forces water behind siding and up under shingle butts, and on an island where wind-driven rain already tests every seam, that is the last thing a wall needs.