Time to powerwash the vinyl siding .

[kevin37b]

North side is green again . What is a good presoak before blasting ?

 

[k0ua]

North side is green again . What is a good presoak before blasting ?

I am following this one with great interest.. Have the same problem..I don't have a solution

 

[Andy in Gap]

I have used Jomax siding wash with great satisfaction. Wish I had discovered it sooner, it saves a lot of time. It is a concentrate that gets mixed with bleach and water and can be applied with a garden sprayer.
Amazon.com: RUST-OLEUM 60104 Jomax house cleaner and mildew killer: Home Improvement

 

[txdon]

I just finished and used:
Home Armor
E-Z House Wash
Mold Stain Remover

Bought at Lowes.
Shop Mold Armor 56-fl oz Liquid Mold Remover at Lowes.com

Let it soak a few minutes and rinse. Reading the cleaning instruction online for my paticular vinyl it said no more than 1500 psi and shoot in a downward direction, that's why I just attached a hose to the nozzle on the bottle. The cap has a Clean/Rinse/Close nozzle.

Siding looks new.

 

[k0ua]

I just finished and used:
Home Armor
E-Z House Wash
Mold Stain Remover

Bought at Lowes.
Shop Mold Armor 56-fl oz Liquid Mold Remover at Lowes.com

Let it soak a few minutes and rinse. Reading the cleaning instruction online for my paticular vinyl it said no more than 1500 psi and shoot in a downward direction, that's why I just attached a hose to the nozzle on the bottle. The cap has a Clean/Rinse/Close nozzle.

Siding looks new.

I think I am going to give that one a try. Thanks.

 

[Thomas]

Try many combo over the years not much luck,I'll give txdon mixture a try.

 

[thatguy]

I have used Jomax siding wash with great satisfaction. Wish I had discovered it sooner, it saves a lot of time. It is a concentrate that gets mixed with bleach and water and can be applied with a garden sprayer.
Amazon.com: RUST-OLEUM 60104 Jomax house cleaner and mildew killer: Home Improvement

jomax is AWESOME.. - you really dont need the pressure washer - i sprayed the siding with a small hand held pump sprayer..

BUT be warned - IF you spray above your head, where the mist falls back on you and you inhale it.. You will get a horrible sinus chemical burn.. BUT a trip to the dr to get a steroid nasal spray will fix it.. UNTIL you do it again trying to reach the upper portion of a 2 story house... LOL

 

[ovrszd]

21 years ago I sided my house with vinyl siding. Good friend of mine hooked me up with the product. He said, "there's two things that are necessary when buying vinyl siding. A reinforcement fiberglass rod enclosed in the siding to prevent bulging. Siding manufactured with a mold/mildew resistant chemical." He got me siding with both. I have no bulging. I have no mold/mildew. I have no color fading.

Sorry I didn't help with the problem. Just wanted to pass on my luck in having a great friend to guide me. Maybe someone looking at siding their house can benefit from it.

 

[teejk]

I started listening to a radio show on Sunday mornings. Gary Sullivan I think. He seems to know a lot about home maintenance and seems be a big fan of a product called "wet and forget" (or something like that). From what I hear you don't even power wash...you spray it on and wait a few weeks (apparently it takes a while). You can google his show...he takes calls if you have any questions.

 

[s219]

I use a cup of powder laundry detergent, big squirt of dawn dish soap, and about 2 cups of pool shock (12% bleach) mixed in a 5 gal bucket with water, then feed into the pressure washer soap injector. Spray it on, let it sit for a minute, and hose off. Do not need high pressure to rinse, which is good. That is the worst thing for a house. Never use a high pressure nozzle directly on your house! I use the soap nozzle to spray the soap on, then use a "2nd story" nozzle to get water up for rinsing.

 

[joeyd]

I agree with s219 about not using a pressure washer on the siding. You can get water up behind the siding and get mold when using high pressure.

 

[Pirate]

Tried the Home Armor from Lowes this year, they have two types, one for siding and one for decks. Best move I have made in a long time. The stuff cleaned off the house with little effort from me. Hooked to hose, squirt on the juice, let it sit a bit, then rinse. The dirt and green came right off. I did have to use a brush on just a couple of small spots. The included nozzle reached the second story gutters - just barely - but they did. I will be using this stuff again each year. Don't use the pressure washer, it will force too much water behind the vinyl.

 

[jhasafety1]

I had a business in the past washing houses, the best method is to spray on a bleach water mix and soapy brush the house. I uses a 14/1 water to bleach mix, spray it on and while it is still wet use a soft bristled brush with Simple Green in water, then light pressure rinse. Brush your screens and windows with the Simple Green mix and rinse well. You will be amazed how clean the screens get and the window sparkle. Just remember not to get to far ahead of yourself with the bleach mix, it drys fast. My way is more work than just spray and forget. The results will make it worth it. One caution is make sure you brush all areas, if not you will see why spray and forget isn't the way to go. It will be splotchy or better said dirty and clean. Don't use high pressure to rinse. Good luck.

 

[Rustyiron]

How to Clean Vinyl Siding - VSI | VSI

 

[kevin37b]

:laughing:Thanks for the info people . I can spray the presoak , my little wife will not like the brush ,

 

[Gary Fowler]

While trying to clean up my new to me motor home that had mildew and black mold all over it plus the canopies were all moldy from being stored wet. My neighbor turned me on to a product available at Walmart called SUPER CLEAN. It is a strong detergent with bleach and it isn't terribly expensive. I used a garden sprayer to wet the siding down first, let it set for a few minutes then hosed it off. All but the worst spots hosed off without scrubbing. Stubborn spots took some scrubbing with a car wash brush. The canvas was wet from both sides, allowed to set for several minutes, scrubbed with the brush and it came out looking like new. I used it full strength buy you can dilute per container directions for less funky areas.

 

[TractorGuy]

I use 50% household bleach and water in a bleach safe sprayer. If it doesn't say bleach safe on the sprayer label you will be replacing it.

Spray it on, let sit, hose it off. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Mike68]

I use the following solution with a pump sprayer. I hose it off with a pressure washer from about 3 feet away. I don't want to blast the siding. The pressure washer uses less water than my low pressure high volume garden hose.

Solution:

3 quarts warm water
1 quart bleach (use the good bleach like Clorox. Generic bleaches are not as concentrated. look for a 5% solution)
2/3 cup TSP (The real stuff not the phosphate free)
1/3 cup household detergent. ( I use Tide liquid laundry detergent)

I usually scale up the recipe to make 4 gallons in a 5 gallon bucket. Work from the bottom up or you will get streaking.

 

[kcflhrc]

I have brick :cool2:. It gets cleaned every time it rains

 

[newbury]

North side is green again . What is a good presoak before blasting ?

Has anyone compared the different solutions offered here? Just got my HD $100 PW and looking for the best solution.