Vinyl Siding Cleaning
 

About to pressure wash the old house vinyl siding...trying to get an idea of what the best stuff out there is to knock the mold and dirt down before I pressure wash? Can't scrub some of the high places and would like to be able to rinse off the mold and dirt.

Bleach & Jo-max

X2...bleach does a good job.

Thought bleach made dat shat brittle.......

get the bleach in the green bottle. It is eco-friendly. If you didnt live in BFE, i have a few bottles u can have.

regular bleach does. The bleach in the green bottle does not deteriorate it. Its an Eco friendly bleach and looks like snot coming out of a gallon jug.

Maybe so, never noticed it though.

Call a distributor for vinyl siding and ask them what they suggest or google it. I would stay away from bleach, has a tendancy to make some surfaces chalky.

Absolutely! Mix it as recommended, and spray on with sprayer, wait an hour and pressure wash, cleanest your vinyl will ever be.

Cut bleach with the Jo-max, don't use it full strength

simple green works well also,not as harsh as other stuff though...

JO-MAX is a BEAST...a painter's best friend

I used simple green on my last hous worked okay...maybe didn't mix enough...

Thanks Jordan...I'm in sulphur so that would be a haul up there, but I appreciate the offer bud!

Jo-max for sure

From my manufacturer: 1/3 cup detergent (Tide for example), 1 quart 5% Sodium Hypochlorite (Clorox for example), 3 quarts water, 2/3 cupTrisodium Phosphate (Soilax for example). There are a # of 'Vinyl Siding Washes' on the market now although I have not heard of their effectiveness. Mine cleans up good with just a good pressure washing.(H2O)

I used bleach on the vinyl siding on my camp and it made it chalky. If you rub your finger onit it turns it white. I wont use it again. They sell a gallon of vinyl siding cleaner at any Home supply store. Ace hardware makes a heavy duty vinyl siding cleaner also. I was told it works well and will use it on my house in the near future.

I'd stay away from pressure washing it.......#1 you can blow the siding off. #2 water will get behind it. Pump sprayer and some cleaner, then rinse with hose

Never thought about it getting up underneath the siding, looks like ill be scrubbing!

:shaking: That depends on who installed it:dance:

If you have a 12 volt tank sprayer (can get one at Tractor Supply) it will spray a water bleach solution up to the high spots. Might have to get on the extension ladder but tank comes with about 20 foot of hose

good idea!

Thanks guys! When I pressure wash I try to use the lower psi nozzle ends...

Remember..... 90 % of the dirt will just wash off with a hose.

To clean off the "green" algea I use 1/3 clorax and 2/3 water....then I add about 1/2 cup of Cheer laundry soap. After I rinse off the siding I spray down a 20 foot area with a garden sprayer. Then after a couple of minutes I brush it down with a broom....just to be sure all the dirt is lossened up. Then rinse it off and you are done.

Wear some old clothing...... even diluted clorax will leave spots on clothing.

Yes, there will a little chalking, but I have been doing this for 15 years [~ once per year] and can not see that there is any damage.

If there are plants around where you need to wash.....wet them down first and rinse them off right after you spray. This will keep the wife happy. Chlorax is not good for the plants.

I can do the whole house in 3 to 4 hours.

Anyone got a good way to clean of the roof shingles?

Even using 100% clorax does not do a very good job and I don't think it is good for the shingles.

Anyone got a good way to clean of the roof shingles?
Spray it and Forget It http://sprayandforget.com/
Works great on Roofs, Siding and Paint. Never tried it on concrete. For siding and paint clean first and then spray this as recomended. Will keep mold and mildew off for at least a year. (Only need to do the sides of the house that mildew.) And for roofs it will clean that black crap off. I had to do 2 coats about 6 months apart and it took a year for most of it to come off. I only did part of my roof so I could tell how it worked. Works great and easy to do. Just buy the hose spray attachment hook it up and spray down the roof. Done You can get it at some Ace stores but I ordered mine.

I go to the dollar store and buy some 'AWESOME' cleaner. Mix the awesome with a small amount of bleach and water in a sprayer. Spray on siding and let sit for a few minutes. Hit it with the pressure washer and yo crib will look brand new. I use the awesome on all sorts of cleaning projects. Works well.

Make sure you wet any bushs realy well before and after but if you get jomax it tells you how to mix it with bleach. I have washed alot of houses and if its realy realy bad i use pure bleach, wet sideing spray bleach let sit a few min then wash realy well. I use a back pack sprayer to spray bleach with and wash down with just a water hose, pressure washer gets water in bad places sometimes

You don't need a pressure washer to clean vinyl siding. Like someone mentioned, use the tank with the pump and longer hose. You'll work yourself to death with a pump-up sprayer. Now, the cleaner. Nothing will clean mildew and algae like JO-MAX 'n' bleach. The bleach is only used to activate the JO-MAX. Mix per label instructions. JO-MAX is useless without the proper amount of bleach. You can mix it stronger if you like but you have to keep the JO-MAX/bleach ratio the same. That crap will run down the wall on contact if mixed properly. Bleach by itself only camoflauges the mildew. Bleach 'n' JO-MAX kills it. Never let bleach dry on your windows, otherwise, you'll be Windexin' them.

Where do you get this JO-MAX at?....My house is brick but my eves and aluminum facial need a good cleaning.

Jomax x2. We pressure wash it off the siding.

First time I ever saw it was at Lowe's or Home Depot. Can't remember which. It was like $10 per gallon. It goes a long way for a job like that because of the mixture.

Salty..... just wondering?

I use 1/3 clorax and 2/3 water and a little soap to clean my vinyl siding. To me it looks like new when I rinse it off. If the little tree frogs leave some "droppings" on the siding..... I brush it with a broom a little to break if loose. One and a half gallons clorax will clean the house.

What does the JO-Max do to help the cleaning process?

Thanks Salty....