TL;DR
A surfactant is a chemical that lowers the surface tension of water so cleaning solutions spread, penetrate grime, and rinse instead of beading up. In soft washing, surfactants are added to sodium hypochlorite house-wash mix so it clings to vertical siding long enough to kill algae and mildew.
What it means
A surfactant is a chemical that lowers the surface tension of water so cleaning solutions spread, penetrate grime, and rinse instead of beading up. In soft washing, surfactants are added to sodium hypochlorite house-wash mix so it clings to vertical siding long enough to kill algae and mildew. They range from dish-soap style detergents to purpose-made cling additives, and overdosing them leaves streaks and stubborn suds that take extra rinse water.
Where it sits in the glossary
Surfactant is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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