08/28/2026
If you've been watching our recent videos, you probably noticed our soft wash system sputtering and losing pressure mid-job. In this video I walk through exactly how I tracked down the cause and fixed it for good.
When a soft wash rig sputters and loses pressure, it's almost always air getting pulled into the line somewhere. Here's the troubleshooting process I went through:
Ruled out the pump first — it primed and sprayed fine on rinse, so it wasn't losing suction
Replaced the plumbing tape on every joint, checked for leaks — nothing
Replaced the pump anyway just to be safe (it was about a year and a half old, which is a solid lifespan for a pump running SH/bleach solution) — still sputtering
Checked the tank hose for a hole — nothing there either
Finally spotted it: a hairline crack in the bulkhead fitting, letting air get pulled into the line
Bleach is incredibly corrosive, and over time it will crack and split even the plastic fittings that never touch a drop directly. This one was small enough to miss on a quick look.
Our skid unit came from Cigar City, and while they carry replacement bulkheads, their shop is about two hours from us — so I was able to source one locally at Granger instead, swap it in, reattach the bleach line, and get back to spraying.
All told, this was about a day and a half of troubleshooting to find one small crack. If your soft wash system is sputtering and you've already checked the obvious stuff, don't rule out the bulkhead fittings — they're an easy thing to overlook.
Radiant Clean provides pressure washing, soft washing, roof cleaning, window cleaning, paver sealing, and gutter cleaning throughout the greater Tampa Bay area, including Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, Apollo Beach, Wesley Chapel, Lakeland, Plant City, and Sun City Center.
📞 Call or text: (813) 291-4429
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