vinyl siding cleaning help please

[petroskie]

Just bought my first home and noticed in areas theres mildew or small mold spores on the siding, Ive used several different vinyl siding cleaning chemicals that you spray on then hose off and shocker non of them work, mother inlaw said to use bleach but cause it worked on her house but i dont wanna kill my grass and plants and im sure its not good for the house period, can anybody point me in the right direction?

[JCinNJ]

it sounds like what you are dealing with is "shotgun fungus" aka "artillery fungus". depending on how long it has been on the siding it may not come off without leaving a shadow behind. Try the bleach, keep plants wet and soak the ground with water before treating the siding and you wont have any problems with plants dieing. Bleach will not hurt vinyl siding.

[petroskie]

ok thanks, My thought is to load up my joke of a pressure washer with bleach in the soap tank and wet the siding, then spray with bleach and let sit for 5min or so the spray off. would this be a good method or should i skip the wetting of the siding and just spray bleach?

[JCinNJ]

if your using store bought bleach, 4:1 (4 water, 1 bleach) and apply with a brush. You can bump your mix up to straight bleach if the weaker solutions dont work. If that does not work you need to learn to live with it or replace the siding.

I googled this a few years ago and did not find any good info. I tell my customers (during the estimate) that the majority of the time, it will not come off.

[RussellB]

Use outdoor bleach. I spray my house down with water then use my pump sprayer to spray a 50/50 mixture (water/outdoor bleach). For heavy areas you'll need a brush to loosen it up then rinse with water.

[sdm111]

Great site just joined anyway, been installing siding for 13yrs. use a pump up sprayer with 100% bleach, don't wash it off just leave it. Make sure you spray it good or it'll leave streaks.

[petroskie]

i did some siding today and i did straight bleach and i let it site for 5min and it all just washes off, but you say it will come back? most of it is on the north side of the house, kinda like moss on a tree

[JCinNJ]

You got the algae off, great to hear!! It will always come off with the proper mix.

How about the little black dots (small mold spores you described), that is the shotgun fungus I was talking about, did that come off?

[petroskie]

in some areas it came off right away but the heavy areas knocked most of it off but if you look hard enough you can see that it was there and the bleach did get it off. I would have scrubbed it but i didt have a brush since were not moved in yet, it there a way to get the rest of it off or did it stain the siding?

[Torque454]

Ordinary bleach wont work very good through the power washer (it dilutes it too much) but you don't need to use it full strength. Yes the mold will come back, but thats just because it grows, like everything else.

It wont come back from the dead or anything like that.

Id mix about 3:1 (3 parts water 1 part bleach - as in 1/3rd bleach 2/3 water to each gallon of mixture) and put it in a pump up garden sprayer and spray the house with that. If the mixture turns yellow but doesn't disappear on the siding, add more bleach. Then rinse off.

If you do it right, you dont even need a power washer most of the time. An ordinary garden hose will work to rinse the stuff away. The power washer comes in handy for spider webs, bird droppings, etc. The tougher stuff like that. But if all you've got is mold mildew and algae, bleach water in a pump up sprayer and a garden hose is all you really need.

[mow town]

Just bought a new Dewalt power washer; 4200psi @ 4.0 gpm. Instructions say not to use bleach, but talks about use of other soaps and chemicals(mentions nothing specific). This is my first venture into power washing and would like to do it right without ruining equipment and clients siding or paint. Please help me out.

[Torque454]

You wouldn't want to run bleach through the pump itself. I run it through the pump and gun all the time. Just be sure to flush the chemical injector and lines with water after you're done. Since the chemical injector only draws at low pressure, that means you'll need to get a bucket of clean water and put the chemical hose in it, and then use the black soap tip (low pressure) to pump the water through it.

Dont forget to do that because bleach IS corrosive, but it should be fine to use for a short time as long as its flushed afterwards.

You could mix bleach-water in a pump up sprayer and use it that way. I do that some as long as its not a 2 story house I am washing.

[Pressure Washing Cleve]

You can use an xjet or a downstreamer.

[Torque454]

You wouldn't want to run bleach through the pump itself. I run it through the pump and gun all the time. Just be sure to flush the chemical injector and lines with water after you're done. Since the chemical injector only draws at low pressure, that means you'll need to get a bucket of clean water and put the chemical hose in it, and then use the black soap tip (low pressure) to pump the water through it.

Dont forget to do that because bleach IS corrosive, but it should be fine to use for a short time as long as its flushed afterwards.

You could mix bleach-water in a pump up sprayer and use it that way. I do that some as long as its not a 2 story house I am washing.

Sorry, I meant I run it through the pump and hose and chemical injector all the time.

[Torque454]

You can use an xjet or a downstreamer.

I dont know if his machine would work with an X-jet, plus its a big expense. And unless I am confusing this thread with another one, I think he is just a homeowner wanting to wash his home. I dont think he would want to spend $125+ on an X-Jet he might only use once or twice.

I have general pumps version of the X-jet and honestly I hate it. I dont like it at all. You cant tell where the chemical is being applied because you cant see the stream all you see is the freggin mist coming off of it. Its like using a zero degree tip. Cant hardly see where the stuff is landing unless you're up close. Big no no on vinyl siding ;)

A downstreamer I think is what he has on his machine already. Thats the one he said the instructions say not to use bleach with. I'd do it anyways if it were me. In fact I DO do it with my downstreamer all the time. I prefer my downstreamer to anything else, its just a pain to soap, clear the line, rinse, move to another area, fill the line with soap, apply soap, clear line, rinse, move one, over and over. Would be fine for a one time thing for a homeowner, but a giant pain and time waster for someone like me doing it all the time. Time is money $$$$

[Pressure Washing Cleve]

Just started downstreaming this year. Still carry the xjet for emergencies.

[mow town]

Thanks for the helping info. I've been using a lesser and older model to apply the soap/bleach/water and the higher pressure Dewalt to rinse. Not the most cost effective way to operate but have had some good results.
I thought when I bought this Dewalt I was getting a professional power washer but I'm seeing 13HP Honda powered power washers going for twice what I paid. I'm guessing I bought a high end homeowners washer. Am I correct?

[JCinNJ]

yep, its a high end home owners washer

[PremierLandCare]

Just bought my first home and noticed in areas theres mildew or small mold spores on the siding, Ive used several different vinyl siding cleaning chemicals that you spray on then hose off and shocker non of them work, mother inlaw said to use bleach but cause it worked on her house but i dont wanna kill my grass and plants and im sure its not good for the house period, can anybody point me in the right direction?

Jc powerwash is correct. It is an artillery fungus that comes straight from your mulchbeds. Ive been in this line of work for a long time and after hours of research ive found only one thing that will take it off with ease. Its a chemical called "The Brown Stuff" run it through your chemical injector let it sit for about 5seconds, wash down real real good and it melts right on off like butter. Failing to remove all chemical from house will result in a very ugly brown stain that will not come off. :usflag:

[JCinNJ]

Jc powerwash is correct. It is an artillery fungus that comes straight from your mulchbeds. Ive been in this line of work for a long time and after hours of research ive found only one thing that will take it off with ease. Its a chemical called "The Brown Stuff" run it through your chemical injector let it sit for about 5seconds, wash down real real good and it melts right on off like butter. Failing to remove all chemical from house will result in a very ugly brown stain that will not come off. :usflag:

where do you find "the brown stuff"? I would like to test it

[PremierLandCare]

where do you find "the brown stuff"? I would like to test it The powerwashing/painting shop I deal with is called pressure works out of Richmond, Va. They make The Brown Stuff mixture at there shop and sell it by the five. Im not sure if they ship or not but Ill stop by tomorrow and check for you.

[JCinNJ]

The powerwashing/painting shop I deal with is called pressure works out of Richmond, Va. They make The Brown Stuff mixture at there shop and sell it by the five. Im not sure if they ship or not but Ill stop by tomorrow and check for you.

Thanks, I've never heard of anything that actually works like you say and it has my curiosity peaked