Vinyl siding is a very popular siding choice in Southern Illinois. It’s easy to install, it lasts a long time and is easy to clean and maintain. That being said, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to pressure washing or “soft washing” your vinyl siding.
First off, you don’t want to cause unnecessary damage in the process of cleaning and maintaining the exterior of your home. Using too much pressure is one of the leading causes of pressure washer damage to vinyl siding. Water at high pressure can force excessive water behind the siding, potentially trapping moisture beneath. High pressure can also disturb the oxidation on vinyl that happens over time as a result of UV exposure. This causes unsightly inconsistencies between chalky oxidized siding and the areas of siding where the extreme pressure has removed the top oxidized layer. These are a couple reasons that we follow the industry standard by using a low pressure method to clean vinyl siding, often referred to as “soft washing.”
When using a low pressure processes to clean vinyl siding, we are relying on a proprietary mix of sodium hypochlorite, water and surfactants to neutralize the algae and other organic staining that is commonly found on siding. This organic growth is most often worst on the north side of the home, or on any area where sunlight is lacking (tree coverage, etc.) Using a sodium hypochlorite solution at an appropriate strength also allows us to avoid the use of ladders in most scenarios since we aren’t having to use high pressure on every square inch of the home’s exterior. We like to use a downstream injector that hooks up to our pressure washer to dilute our solution so there is about 1-2% active sodium hypochlorite for cleaning vinyl siding. You can also use a 12 v pump or even a simple pump up sprayer. We are able to apply the solution, let it dwell and then rinse away the dirt and organic material with low pressure. Though sodium hypochlorite based solutions are the industry standard, there are some things that need to be addressed in regards to plant and property protection when using these solutions. It is best practice to seal exterior electrical outlets and boxes with duct tape or painters tape in order to prevent the solution from entering the connections due to its high reactivity with electricity. There is a chance of a fire hazard if SH comes in contact with electricity. The other thing to watch out for is sodium hypochlorites effect on plants. We advise pre soaking all plants and keeping them wet throughout the process of using the SH solution in areas where vegetation is present. Doing sowill help dilute the effects and prevent burnt leaves and other detrimental effects. Below is a step by step breakdown of how we do the majority of our vinyl siding cleaning jobs.
- Hook up our pressure washer to a water spigot
- Tape off all electrical outlets and boxes
- Move potted plants and anything that may be damaged by contact with the cleaning solution.
- Make sure all house windows are closed.
- Start your pressure washer or use a garden hose to pre-wet all plants, siding and windows in the area of the house you will be working on.
- Apply your sodium hypochlorite solution from the bottom to the top of the wall and let the solution dwell for about 10 minutes.
- When all of the green has started to turn white and disappear, it’s time to rinse that section of house.
- When you are rinsing you want to start at the top and work your way down to make sure all of the dirt and dead organic material washes away. Be sure to rinse windows well to avoid any streaking.
- Take the tape off the outlets, move your flower pots back and grab a glass of iced tea and admire your work.
Gross Busters serves the Union County area of Southern Illinois
Free Estimates on exterior cleaning and staining projects 618-697-5968
