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Power washing my Vinyl Sided home
MikeFink
Member Posts: 46 ✭
Sided my home 11 yrs ago and decided It needed washed. Been using detergents and it is real slow going. Does anyone know of anything specific to use for solution. Only had a little of the general-purpose cleaner my wife bought from a door-to-door kid. It worked better than the dish soap I am using now. Ideas?
Comments
The last couple of times I did the house and garage, I used a product called Mold Armour. It comes in a garden hose sprayer. Spray it on, wait 15 minutes and wash it off with the hose. Worked surprisingly well and only a few small spots needed to be retreated. I've tried the spray it and forget it stuff and it took a month or more to work. I've tried my pressure washer and it took a lot of work and if not careful it can leave a spotty finish or even damage the siding. I also have a second story on part of the house and the pressure washer didn't reach. So I guess I'll stick with the Mold Armour. Bob
My pressure washer is fairly small. Not high by any means.-Thanks, Mike
A ladder and elbow grease. My 2600 psi pressure washer doesn't cut it.
I would use Awesome concentrate about 5.00 a gallon now and dilute to what you think is right. You can use this for A/c coils too!
serf
I use to use my pressure washer but find I really don't need it. Use two gallon orchard sprayer and one third liquid bleach. Best to do on a cloudy day so mixture does not dry out so fast from sun and gets a chance to work. Rinse with garden hose. Don't wear your best jeans and it will maybe kill your shrubs but the grass comes back eventually.
Some sites this won't work but bleach is cheap and bottom line it really works. Bleach is a killer and not very friendly to the environment. Who knows maybe illegal now with the way our country is going. If you are going fishing soon, forces the worms out of the ground😀
IF this process won't work because of shrubs/grass etc I go to pressure washer. 6 1/2 hp Honda with Cat pump and 3500 PSI. Nothing stays stuck with this beast. Don't even think about going near cedar siding or you will be very sorry. Have you priced Red Cedar Siding 7 1/2' to the weather from BC lately? ------------------------------Ray
Simple Green.
I use 1 gallon of liquid pool shock aka 10% bleach ,1 gallon water and 1 cup of full strength dawn detergent. Spray on ,let sit for a while and then spray off
Fraid the grease in my elbow is congealed. I am 77 and the spring is gone out of my chicken.
Would help to know what you're trying to remove.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Dirt and grime after 10yrs. Most of the hard stuff to remove is under the eaves where the shadow is cast. The walls with exposure to rain are easy to clean.
Wet & Forget
I prefer to use TSP for that, if you can get it. It's not to popular with the woke "green" libtards but it works pretty good for your intended use.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I was doing this with my big shot brother and bigger shot friend and owner. Huge money for them, but they got their old crew back and could save a buck or 2 with a younger guy. It is bleach, cut to maybe 4%, and soaps. Spray and hose off, well and blast water on any greenery. Rinse glass well. Spray at around 12% on roofs and leave. Really go crazy wetting and rinsing on a roof. Bleach will permanently mark glass if ignored and leave a tough haze if not fully washed off. Very rare to scrub and house and plastic fence gets like new. Cedar and aluminum give problems as well as fancy wood furniture and decking. The cedar can clean up nice and blond if consistent.
My youngest son told me to use it with bleach on the north side with all the green algae. Worked great. We hit a cool stretch in the weather now, so I'll give the TSP a shot again. I think I will also try some Krud Kutter. My wife likes it so if it doesn't work, it won't go to waste.
I do a yearly pressure wash on the north side of my house. That shady side gets a lot of green algae growing. I fill the soap compartment of my Suzuki powered, 2800psi BlackMax washer (bought at Sam's Club) with a mix of Dawn Dish soap and water. The algae and small amount of grime rinse right off using the #2 nozzle after soaping.
My shop has a white metal roof and is close to several big oak trees.I clean the crud and black streaks off every spring after the pollen season.It usually took most of the day.One of the guys that owns a professional pressure washing company suggested I used the liquid pool shock from WalMart and Awesome cleaner.About 50% pool shock and a cup of Awesome per gallon in a pump up sprayer.I soaked the roof in sections and found that I didn't need the pressure washer.The dirt and mold would rinse off with a hose.It takes about 2 hours to clean the roof now.
I used to sell Garage Doors and Siding, Way back
Using Bleach or harsh chemicals not design for siding can take the protective layer off the siding. (Bleach)
That then leads to a dull surface that will tend to spot, and even allow the dreaded "Northside Green Algae" to deeply adhere in to the siding.
Only use cleaners made for Siding.
Also by painting your Garage doors it can add 5-10 lbs. to the weight of the door. Then needing to readust the setting on the openers.
Just picked up a jug of Krud Kutter. Will update Friday when I finish. Thanks for all the guidance
Where you located Mike? If you are anywhere near central OK, I'd come over and help.
I have used my pressure washer in the past, but you have to be careful not to shoot "up" angle too much and get a lot of water in behind it all. As vinyl gets older, it gets brittle and I recommend pressure washing less and less. But, at 10 years, it should still be plenty fine.
Wet and forget is the best I have ever seen. Wet the mold/moss walls with a garden sprayer and ignore it, in a few days-weeks all mold and stains are gone. If anybody ever mentions to me the house is dusty from the dirt road my house is on I will tell them they are free to wash it any time they like.
I'm firmly planted in eastern Nebraska. (You know, the place that "used" to play good football). I just have an easy side to do, but I am saving it til friday. Then I have to get busy and wash a few windows. Do you "do" windows? LOL
Too bad you're not closer Mike. However, my family is from up in that neck of the woods (Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings area). Family farm roots are still there, but they are the overworked underpaid farmer types that I'd hate to bother. Dang good people though.