A local crew that treats your home like our own

Who runs the work

Carson’s Soft Wash is owned and operated by Carson Stiefel, based in Groveland, FL. Carson is on most jobs personally and trains every crew member to the same standard. The crews are uniformed, background-checked, and know the chemistry and the equipment because the owner does too. You don’t get a different crew with a different method every visit — you get the same playbook, every time.

The methodology, in plain English

Our work is built on two principles that sound simple but get ignored in this industry constantly:

1. Match the method to the surface. Roofs and siding get soft washed at under 500 PSI; bare concrete gets surface-cleaned with a commercial flat-surface tool; travertine gets pH-neutral chemistry; pavers get cleaned, re-sanded, and breathable-sealed. We don’t blast a roof with a pressure washer to save time, and we don’t soft-wash a concrete driveway because chemistry alone won’t lift embedded grime from porous concrete.
2. Kill the cause, not just the symptom. The black streaks on Central Florida roofs are a cyanobacterium (Gloeocapsa magma). The green film on siding is algae. The white haze on pavers is efflorescence or a failed sealer. Each has a known cause and a known fix. Pressure-washing the visible top layer without addressing the underlying organism or moisture issue just buys you 30 days.

The standards we hold to

• ARMA-compliant roof cleaning. We follow the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association’s recommended method for shingle roofs — the only method that’s warranty-safe.
• Licensed and insured. $1M+ general liability insurance plus workers’ comp. A current Certificate of Insurance is available on request for any job, residential or commercial.
• Plant and pet safety. Landscaping is pre-wetted, tarped where needed, and post-rinsed on every chemistry application. We schedule around pets and let you know exactly when surfaces are safe to return to.
• Written, itemized quotes. No verbal pricing, no “day-of” surprises. Every quote breaks out scope, surfaces, method, and price — usually returned the same day.
• Photo report on completion. Before/after photos sent to you the day of service, plus a written note of anything we recommend monitoring.
• 30-day warranty follow-up. If anything doesn’t look right within 30 days of service, we come back at no charge.

Where we work, and why local matters

We’re based in Groveland and serve Lake County (Clermont, Minneola, Mascotte, Montverde) and west Orange County (Oakland, Windermere, Winter Garden) every day. Same-week scheduling for primary cities; case-by-case for Ocoee, Apopka, Davenport, and Four Corners. Local matters in this work for two practical reasons: we’re minutes away when something needs a follow-up, and we know what Central Florida’s climate actually does to roofs, paint, pavers, and travertine over two-, five-, and ten-year stretches.

How we got here

Carson’s Soft Wash grew out of a simple frustration: watching homeowners pay thousands of dollars to pressure-washing crews who blasted shingle roofs at 3,000 PSI, dumped chemistry into landscape beds, and were back in 30 days for the same problem. The soft-wash method exists for a reason — it kills the algae and Gloeocapsa magma at the cellular level, keeps the roof under warranty, and lasts a year or more — and we built a company around doing it the right way every time.

Most of our work today comes from word-of-mouth referrals, HOA recurring contracts, and previous customers asking us back for the next surface. We’ve picked up enough technical certifications to do every surface we offer correctly, and we’re honest about what we don’t do as much as what we do.

The questions homeowners ask us most

We get the same handful of questions on most first calls, and the short answers are below. The longer answers, and the technical reasoning behind each, are on the dedicated FAQ page.

Is soft washing safe for my roof?

Yes — it’s the only roof-cleaning method endorsed by the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association for shingle roofs, and it’s warranty-safe on tile, metal, and shingle alike.

Will the chemistry kill my plants?

Not if it’s done correctly. We pre-wet, tarp where needed, and post-rinse on every chemistry application. The dilutions we use are well below thresholds that harm established landscaping.

How long until the results show up?

Most of the visible change happens during the rinse. Black streaks lift in minutes; mildew on siding goes from green to clean as you watch. Pavers look brand-new the same day.

Do you bring your own water?

We use your outside spigot — soft washing is a low-volume process, so the water bill is barely affected. If you don’t have a working spigot we bring a tank.

Do you offer recurring maintenance?

Yes. Annual or semi-annual plans run 25–40% lower per visit than one-time work. They’re available for driveways, full-home washes, pool cages, and HOA common areas.

What we don’t do

We don’t pressure-clean roofs. We don’t use box-store sealers we know fail in Florida humidity. We don’t add services to the quote you didn’t ask for. We don’t walk soft-wash chemistry onto concrete and call it “pressure washing.” And we don’t charge for follow-up touch-ups on work we already did.

If that’s the kind of contractor you want for the outside of your home, we’d like to be the ones you call.