Cleaning Mildew From Vinyl Siding?

[spitter]

TSP and bleach is the best cheapest mix you can use to remove mold mildew pollen and just about any other stains on anything on your house decks brick vinyl etc.:drink:

 

[polarred21]

I used Purple Power diluted in a pump up sprayer for about 15 years the used a pressure washer to clean. A lot of pressure washing still required.

Never tried bleach until last year, I WAS AMAZED! All these years, and all you need is maybe 25% bleach and water in a sprayer. Just spray it on and it magically disappears! Just rinse and good to go.

 

[lman]

TSP and bleach is the best cheapest mix you can use to remove mold mildew pollen and just about any other stains on anything on your house decks brick vinyl etc.:drink:

I was going to get some bleach the other day and was surprised at how much the price of bleach has gone up, apparently due to use against coronavirus. I balked at the price and decided to look at other options.

 

[Gunny]

Wet N Forget - works extremely well, easy to apply and it leaves a residue that inhibits future growth.

 

[RalphVa]

If you're the least bit worried about the bleach changing the color of the siding, there's something called Jomax that you can mix with the bleach. Haven't bought any in years. Assume it's still available. Still have some.

Ralph

 

[EddieWalker]

The TV show This Old House had an eppisode about using a pressure washer on a house with wood lap siding. They used the pressure washer on the walls, soffits, around the windows and basically the entire side of the house that they where working on. Then they came back two months later and cut open the walls. The black mold was everywhere and when they opened up the soffit, they found that the insulation was still wet.

I've been remodeling and repairing homes full time since 2002 and I've seen the back sides of sheetrock inside of an interior wall that you could see the pattern of the bricks in dirt. If air can get though bricks to the point that dust builds up in the brick patter on the sheetrock, after going through insulation, then a pressure washer is going to get water into a house where you don't want it.

From what I understand, a house is built to withstand 40 mph winds and anything above that will get through or damage the house. It is also designed to shed water that falls from above, not forced onto it from below. I would never pressure wash a house.

Lowes and Home Depot both sell house washing solutions. They are basically bleach and soap misctures that you spray on the house wtih a pump sprayer. Then you let it sit for a bit and hose it off. If there is some remaining, you can do it again, or scrub it with a brush and then rince it off. This is the only way to safely clean a house.

For extreme mold and alge growth, I use outdoor cleaning bleach. Clorox has a green label at the box stores and it's only a couple bucks for a gallon. Laundry bleach is the safest and lowest percentage of bleach. Outdoor cleaning bleach will burn through your cloths and just the spray from hosing it off will turn your clothes white. On some rental properties I'll use Swimming Pool Shok. This is the highest percentage of bleach that I'm aware of that you can buy. It's strong enough that you need to be aware of where you are getting fresh air and not spending too much time in a small area when spraying it. That stuff works great at killing mold. The nastiest 2x4's will look clean enough to eat off of the next day!! just kidding about that, but it's a significant change.

For a house with vinyl siding, I would suggest chosing something from the store to start out with. JOMAX is sold at Lowes and it's my favorite. If you need something stronger after trying JOMAX, then go with bleach.

Remember that you are only able to clean what is on the surface of your siding. If the siding itself has become stained, then you can kill off everything living on it, and remove all debris and dirt on it, but you will never succed is removing a stain if it's gotten that bad.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here is a link to JOMAX that you can buy at Lowes


Zinsser JOMAX(R) House Cleaner and Mildew Killer Product Page

 

[newbury]

I was going to get some bleach the other day and was surprised at how much the price of bleach has gone up, apparently due to use against coronavirus. I balked at the price and decided to look at other options.

Try chlorine pool shock suitably diluted. NOT FOR HUMAN INJECTION

The TV show This Old House had an eppisode about using a pressure washer on a house with wood lap siding. They used the pressure washer on the walls, soffits, around the windows and basically the entire side of the house that they where working on. Then they came back two months later and cut open the walls. The black mold was everywhere and when they opened up the soffit, they found that the insulation was still wet.

I've been remodeling and repairing homes full time since 2002 and I've seen the back sides of sheetrock inside of an interior wall that you could see the pattern of the bricks in dirt. If air can get though bricks to the point that dust builds up in the brick patter on the sheetrock, after going through insulation, then a pressure washer is going to get water into a house where you don't want it.

From what I understand, a house is built to withstand 40 mph winds and anything above that will get through or damage the house. It is also designed to shed water that falls from above, not forced onto it from below. I would never pressure wash a house. <snip>

It was your horror story that convinced me to only use pressure washers in a down direction on my siding.

 

[rekees4300]

Try chlorine pool shock suitably diluted. NOT FOR HUMAN INJECTION

FAKE NEWS :rotfl:

 

[TractorGuy]

I bought some of the high price house wash concentrate from Lowes or HD. Can't remember which. It didn't touch the mildew on my siding. Total waste of time and money.