# Cleaning Vinyl Siding



## hitechman (Feb 25, 2002)

Over the years my house siding has become dingy. Last fall I took a garden hose to it and the dirt rolled off, but it was still dingy. 

Scrubbing a small section with a brush made it sparkle. Last spring I used a pressure washer and I had to basicalle get 2-3 inches from the siding with the head and pressure wash it a few square inches at a time.......needless to say I gave up on that one quickly. The grunge piles up yearly and seems to adhere harder to the siding as time passes.

The guy that put up my garage last summer told me a "friend of a friend" gave hime some stuff (chemical) that he diluted with water and sprayed on his house with a pressure sprayer tank. After a few minutes he used a garden hose and ALL the dirt came off without a pressure washer. For the life of him he couldn't remember what the product was.

Can any of you please point me in the right direction. I don't want to scrub, and I don't want to pressure wash a square inch at a time. Spraying on a cleaner and using the garden hose would be great...........anyone got a product name for me.

Used the triphospaate stuff 2 years ago..it needed scrubbing and pressure washing, and didn't work all that well (gave up on that one too).

I wanna do this, but I want it as pain free and fast as possible.


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## Chromedoggy (Mar 25, 2007)

The best I have used is Bleach diluted 5 to 1, with 1 qt of a stout detergent like Krud Kutter. Spray on with a pump up, let it set for 20 minutes, re apply and brush lightly with a soft brush. Rinse.
If using a pressure washer with a downstream injector, use one gallon of bleach per 1 qt of Krud Kutter. Apply and let set 20 minutes. You can apply 3 times, since it is much easier with the PW applicator. Rinse with high pressure about 18" from surface.
Stubborn dinginess is typically mold, which comes off easily with bleach. Any other chalking or dirt should come off easily.


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## tinmarine (Nov 19, 2007)

There is a coating on vinyl siding that a pressure washer will remove. At all costs try not to use one.


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## Big Reds (Oct 14, 2007)

The chemical you speak of is called TSP or trisodiumphosphate. You must realize that something that badly damaged by our evironmental effect will need some extra elbow grease! Good news however! After you finally get the siding clean, use a travel trailer wash with a soft push broom. This will not only clean the rest of the film off the siding, it will leave behind a thin film (much like teflon) that will prevent further grime from sticking to your siding!


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## The Nailer (Feb 7, 2000)

I didn't know there was coating on the siding, I do mine about every other year. I do know you have to be very, very careful using any of that crap they say is made to clean it though. I did mine the first time the year after I had all new windows put in and if you are not real careful it will etch the glass if it sits too long. Since then I just power wash from a distance of a couple of feet.


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## dlbaldwin01 (Jan 12, 2008)

The best thing that I have used is Jomax (I think) it is sold at Lowes or HD. It is sold in gallon jugs and you mix it with water, and you can brush it on or spray it on which is what you want. Do a section let it sit and then rinse. If your house is in the shade and under a lot of trees it is probably mildew and you should mix some bleach with the jomax to kill it. You may not be able to get it without scrubbing now if it is really bad. In that case, get a big brush like for washing a car and brush the cleaning solution in, let it sit like the directions say, rinse and you should be golden.


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## hitechman (Feb 25, 2002)

Meant to post earlier, but got too busy and forgot..............

Picked up a gallon of Jomax and Menards last Friday, and did the house on Saturday. Mixed 1 gallon of water with 2 cups of bleach and 1 cup of Jomax....put it in a hand sprayer and used liberally. Took 4 gallons total to do the whole house............then I did the cement blocks and the deck.

*THIS STUFF IS GREAT AND WORKED MIRICLES!*

Sprayed it on, let it set 5 minutes and a light power wash took it right back to new condition--the dirt and mildew/mold/algae rolled right off. Had 2 spots on the house that I resprayed and rerinsed, *but no scrubbing needed at all.*

So far all the bushes and grass appear to have made it. Ya sure don't want to breathe the mist from this stuff while applying it!!

Steve


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## Frantz (Dec 9, 2003)

I had some algae or moss growing on mine the last few years and have been using a slightly diluted mix of Simple Green, a few drops of Dawn dish soap and a soft RV brush that I bought at Walmart. Has worked good with little to no scrubbing, but you still have to give it a quick once over with the brush. I just mix it all up in my Jet Sled and go to work and it doesn't hurt my deck or shrubs.


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