DOFF Superheated Water Cleaning in Barrowford
Chemical free stone cleaning at up to around 150C and very low pressure, the method conservation officers accept on listed fabric.
Family-run
Justin and the team do the work. No call centres, no subcontractors.
Fully insured
Full public liability cover on every job, domestic or commercial.
Safe methods
Biodegradable products and low pressure, matched to the surface.
Free quotes
No obligation, and no charge for coming out to look at the job.
DOFF Superheated Water Cleaning for Barrowford property
Barrowford is around 27 minutes up the road from us, well inside the patch we cover properly. DOFF is the method for buildings that must never be jet washed, which around here usually means sandstone, millstone grit and lime mortared walls inside a conservation area. Property here runs to period stone alongside newer render-fronted housing, so one method does not suit every surface.
There are 60 listed buildings within a couple of miles of Barrowford. Work on protected fabric is not the place for guesswork, so we agree the method in writing and put a trial patch down before anyone cleans a whole elevation.
DOFF is a cleaning system that heats water to around 150C at the nozzle and delivers it at very low pressure, closer to a garden hose than a jet wash. Nothing is added to the water. Biological growth is killed by temperature, while carbon soiling, bird fouling and old lime wash soften in the heat and are gently flushed off. Because it is chemical free and low pressure, it is the method most conservation officers will accept on listed and historic stone.
While we are in Barrowford we regularly pick up work in Nelson, Colne, Fence and Brierfield, so if a neighbour wants the same job doing we can usually do both in one visit.
Suitable for
- Listed sandstone houses, halls and farm buildings
- Church and chapel stonework, headstones and monuments
- Soot blackened millstone grit on former mill buildings
- Conservation area terraces and traditional shop fronts
- Lime mortared walls, gate piers and boundary copings
- Carved detail, mullions, string courses and window tracery
Problems it solves
- Black carbon soiling and sulphation crusts left by a century of mill and traffic pollution
- Algae, lichen and moss holding on shaded north facing stone
- Bird fouling and green staining under gutters, copings and sills
- A conservation officer or planning condition requiring a chemical free method
- Earlier damage from jet washing or grit blasting that must not be repeated
- Soft lime pointing that would not survive any form of pressure cleaning
How a Barrowford job runs
Survey and consent check
We look at the stone type, the mortar, the state of the pointing and any previous cleaning damage, then ask what has already been agreed with the conservation officer or planning department before anything is booked in.
Test patch
A small agreed area is cleaned first, usually somewhere discreet. You and, where relevant, the conservation officer see the finish and the settings used before we commit to a full elevation.
Access and protection
Scaffold, tower or podium is arranged to suit the elevation. Windows, timber, ironwork and open joints are protected, and we agree in advance where water is going to run and drain.
Cleaning the elevation
We work top down in sections at the lowest temperature and pressure that will do the job, adjusting as the stone changes. Carved detail and arrises are worked far more gently than plain ashlar.
Assessment and mason handover
Once the face is clean, defects hidden under the soiling become visible. We flag failed pointing, cracked stone and open joints so a mason can deal with them before weather gets into the wall.
Drying and records
The stone dries within hours because so little water is used. We walk the finished job with you and can supply photographs of the test patch and elevations for your planning records.
DOFF Superheated Water Cleaning in Barrowford: your questions
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DOFF Superheated Water Cleaning in Barrowford
Free quote, no obligation. We are 27 minutes away, so it is no trouble to come and look at the job.