Kathy in Red Bank has been a Green Sun Energy Services client since October of 2019, when the servicing of the generator here came to us. In April 2026 we cleaned the outside of the house, which is the part of this job worth explaining.
Moss, bluestone and brick
By the household’s own account this house is more than a hundred years old, and the surfaces around it are the kind that a century leaves its mark on: a brick front step, a bluestone patio, a sidewalk, and siding with green moss established on it.
This is exactly the property where the difference between soft washing and pressure washing stops being a technicality. Bluestone is a layered sedimentary stone, and water driven hard enough to clean it is also driven hard enough to lift the surface off in sheets. Old brick and the mortar between it behave the same way — the mortar is softer than the brick, it is usually older and more porous than anything laid this century, and a pressure washer will take it out of the joints without appearing to do any harm at the time.
So the work is done by the solution instead. A sodium hypochlorite and surfactant mix is applied at low pressure, left to kill the moss, algae and mildew growing in the surface, and rinsed off. Nothing is scoured. On a house of this age that is not a preference, it is the only method that leaves the building the way it was found.
We cleaned 3,404 square feet in total, on 10 April 2026.
A 10 kW machine on a Silver plan
The generator on this property is a Generac 10 kW from the 5800 series, model 5871, commissioned by another company in July 2013. It is a modest machine, which suits a house that is not trying to run a great deal at once, and it has been on a PowerBase Silver plan with us since October 2019 — scheduled maintenance on a fixed cycle rather than a call-out when something has already gone wrong.
It was last serviced on 22 October 2025.
Project Facts
- Location
- Red Bank, NJ
- Services
- Softwash Service, Standby Generator Service
- Client since
- October 2019
Standby generator
- Manufacturer
- Generac Model # 5871
- Rated output
- 10 kW LP / 9 kW NG
- Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Home sized for
- 1,000 sq ft
- Transfer switch
- 45 amp
- Load management
- Managed Whole House
Exterior cleaning
- Surface cleaned
- 3,404 sq ft
We had our 100 plus year old house soft power washed by John. It looks amazing. Not only is all the green moss gone. Our sidewalk, brick front steps and bluestone patio all look brand new. We appreciated how Green Sun kept us informed about prior preparation and arrival time. We will definitely use them again.
Green Sun Energy Services replied
Thank you. A house of that age asks for low pressure and patience rather than force, which is exactly what soft washing is: the solution lifts the moss and the rinse carries it off, leaving brick, bluestone and timber intact. John and the crew will be pleased, and telling you what to expect beforehand is part of the job.
Questions from Red Bank homeowners
Standby generatorDoes the residential building code apply to a generator?
It can. For applicable one- and two-family dwellings New Jersey adopts the 2024 International Residential Code, subject to state amendments. Structural and flood-related generator installations may therefore need review under the residential subcode as well as the electrical and fuel requirements.
Soft washingIs a stronger cleaning solution always better?
No. Anything stronger than the job needs raises the risk to plants, coatings, metals, finishes and fabrics without cleaning better. The aim is a solution strong enough for the contamination actually present and appropriate for what it is sitting on.
Standby generatorWhat actually gets done at a service visit?
It depends on the model, the age and the interval, but typically engine oil and filter, air filter, spark plug inspection or replacement, battery inspection, a fuel-system leak check, sediment-trap inspection, valve clearance where applicable, and inspection of the enclosure and intakes.