grammar - Different ways to report one's impression/guess (~そう/~みた い)

雨が降りそうです

雨が降るみたいです

Is there any difference between the two? Which one would be the most common way to say this?

このセーターは家で洗えそうです

このセーターは家で洗えるみたいです

Both these also seem valid, but imo the second one sounds a bit more awkward. Can I take away from this that ~そう is used for general impression and ~みたい for more visual impression?