Vinyl Siding Cleaners That Actually Work
Good weather brings homeowners outside to enjoy decks, patios, and porches, but with the summer season comes the introduction of mold growing on vinyl siding. Sometimes its stubborn stains from topsoil, rust, dirt, and other debris that leave your vinyl siding less than desirable to look at.
No homeowner wants to be distracted from enjoying the backyards of their homes by green tinted mold covering the vinyl siding. Fortunately, there are plenty of vinyl siding cleaners to help kill the mold and restore the siding back to its original beauty.
Whether you use a mainstream product available at your local hardware store or supermarket, or if you choose to make your own concoction with bleach, vinegar, or cleaning substitute, the task of cleaning vinyl siding can be quick and easy with the right tools for the job.
What Can You Use To Clean Siding On Your House
The best vinyl siding cleaning solution uses gentle products such as dish soap and water, or vinegar and water. Or, you can purchase a commercial vinyl siding cleaner to do the job. Apply the solution and clean the siding using a soft-bristled brush or microfiber cloth, then rinse off with a spray hose.
The Right Way To Clean Vinyl Siding
Dip the cloth or brush into the solution and scrub the siding until you see noticeable changes. Though you want to scrub hard to get rid of the grime, be gentle with the siding as too much pressure may crack it. Rinse with water from top to bottom often as you go to avoid uneven drying and spotting.
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Clean Vinyl Siding With A Pressure Washer
Cleaning vinyl siding by hand can be long and tiring, so some choose to pressure wash a house. Pressure washers save a lot of time and energy and produce clean results, but can also damage siding and cause more problems if used incorrectly. You can rent or buy one at various costs, anywhere from about $50 and up. Here are the steps you should follow when pressure washing a house with vinyl siding.
Tree Sap Can Cause Mold On Siding
You may not realize the amount of sugar and sap that falls from trees and the damage it can do to your vinyl siding. Think about times youve parked your car under certain trees and return to find your windshield covered in countless tiny droplets of sap. Similarly, sap from nearby trees can fall on your house, becoming a breeding ground for mold and mildew on vinyl siding.
For mold prevention, you should keep tree limbs from pressing up directly against your house and prune all plants and bushes to ensure there is space between them and the siding.
Be sure to frequently inspect siding exposed to surrounding trees, both Evergreen and , as this siding maybe more susceptible to mold and mildew growth.
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Mix Vinegar And Water
White vinegar is a gently acidic cleaning, deodorizing, and disinfecting agent. It works well with both porous and non-porous surfaces and obliterates most of the contaminants from the surface.
Speaking of vinyl siding, it is proven that vinegar alone can remove 82 percent of fungal species breeding on its surface.
Simple Methods For Cleaning Your Vinyl Siding
Home » Blog » Simple Methods for Cleaning Your Vinyl Siding
Cleaning your siding is vital to your homes maintenance. While pressure washing is a common method employed by homeowners to clean their siding, there are other ways to go about this task if you dont have access to a pressure washer.
In this post, Spicer Bros Construction, Inc., your trusted siding and roofing contractor, discusses simpler methods of cleaning your vinyl siding.
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Sap/sugar Aerosols From Trees
You might be wondering how can mold survive on PVCs? Well, the problem is deeper than you realize. The months-old dirt accumulated on the vinyl siding of your home exterior acts as a breeding ground for molds.
Moreover, trees and other smaller nearby plants are also likely to release sappy aerosols rich in sugars. Molds are fond of such organic matters. So, what molds are actually feeding on are not plastics but delicacies that have been accumulated on your vinyl sidings over time.
Does Pressure Washing Remove Mold And Mildew
A pressure washer can effectively remove the mold that grows around your home. Use it when building walls, fences, decks, awnings, sidewalks and driveways. Regardless of the exterior surface on which mold grows, be it wood, vinyl, brick or concrete, a pressure washer should be able to remove it all if used properly.
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Clean Vinyl Siding With A Household Cleaner
You dont have to go out and purchase a bunch of different types of cleaners to take the grime off your vinyl siding you likely already have what you need in your laundry room. Take a third of a cup of powdered laundry detergent and mix it with one gallon of water. Next, place about 2/3rds cup of TSP cleaner in the mixture. TSP is trisodium phosphate, which is white, granular or crystalline solid an inorganic compound that dissolves in water to produce an alkaline solution. Its an excellent stain remover and degreaser that will help your laundry detergent and water mixture cut through the toughest grime. Be careful when working with TSP, because it is a toxic substance that must be handled with care because it can be harmful when in contact with skin and to the environment.
Removing Mold And Mildew
If you have mold or mildew on your vinyl siding, youll need to take a more strategic approach to your cleaning. Try a product thats specifically made for killing outdoor mold and mildew such as Wet & Forget outdoor.
You can also use bleach to kill mold and mildew on your vinyl siding, but make sure you water it down to the right concentration. One quart of household bleach to one gallon of water is ideal but you should weaken it even more if possible. And in order to protect landscaping around the house, wet or cover these plants prior to application.
Since you dont necessarily want to be in direct contact with bleach, try using a pump sprayer. Work from top to bottom and then allow the solution to set on the siding for roughly 10 minutes. After the time passes, scrub the siding with a soft bristle brush and rinse the solution off with a garden hose.
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How To Prevent Mold On Vinyl Siding
Vinyl siding is undeniably growing in popularity, and with good reason too. Its attractive and durable- plus it holds up better than wood siding. Vinyl siding is made to withstand cracks, chips and fading. But that doesnt mean you cant get mold on vinyl siding.
As sturdy as vinyl siding is, its not resistant to pesty mold and mildew. In order to keep your beautiful vinyl siding in tip-top shape, there is a bit of upkeep involved.
Luckily its easy to prevent mold on vinyl siding with just a few simple preventative measures.
Option 1 Pressure Washing
One option for cleaning vinyl siding mold problems is pressure washing. This is best if done professionally because improper pressure washing techniques can damage your vinyl siding, blasting a hole through the vinyl material causing dents and warped areas. Concentrated pressure can also leave streaks or water marks across the front of vinyl siding. If you decide to do the pressure washing yourself, make sure to use the widest setting on the pressure washer, and point straight at the siding, not at an upward angle. Move the nozzle constantly and dont focus too long on one spot or you risk forcing water underneath your siding which can cause you even bigger headachesPressurized hot water mixed with a mold-killing agent does wonders at cleaning off that nasty mold growth.Some cleaning products have chemical agents that kill mold before it has a chance to grow. Using a cleaner like that will keep the mold away and allow for longer periods between your home siding cleanings.
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Why Its Important To Clean Your Vinyl Siding
Youll want to get in the practice of washing the exterior of your home once per year, as you would any home maintenance task, like cleaning your gutters or sealing your driveway. A popular time to do so is in the spring, especially in more northern climates where snow, ice, and salt can do a number on your home over the winter. But, the truth is, you can clean your vinyl siding any time of year, as long as you have a mild, sunny day in the forecast.
Many natural factors can lessen the luster of your vinyl siding. Theres pollen, dirt and debris blown onto it by wind and passing traffic. Bird poop and bug goo are other pollutants that can really muck up a pretty house.
If youve noticed a neon green crud creeping up your siding, say hello to green algae build-up. It can be pervasive and bold, especially if youve gone more than a year between cleanings. Dont confuse this with gray and yellow-ish mildew, another problematic organic growth that crops up in warm, damp, humid climates.
Wet & Forget outdoor stain remover cleaned up all the nasty green algae and mildew on my siding in about 72 hours.
Another reason to regularly clean vinyl siding is to protect it from being damaged by household maintenance products that may have splashed onto it while working around the yard, like deck stains, grease or a grease remover, chlorine bleach, and other corrosive solutions.
How Do You Clean Dirty Vinyl Siding
The best vinyl siding cleaning solution uses gentle products such as dish soap and water, or vinegar and water. Or, you can purchase a commercial vinyl siding cleaner to do the job. Apply the solution and clean the siding using a soft-bristled brush or microfiber cloth, then rinse off with a spray hose.
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Does Vinegar Kill Mold
White vinegar is a mildly acidic product that cleans, deodorizes, and disinfects. It can also kill 82% of mold species, including black mold, on porous and non-porous surfaces. You can use it safely on most surfaces, and its offensive odor goes away quickly. Pour undiluted white vinegar into a spray bottle.
Clean Your Siding Several Times A Year
Its important to wash your siding regularly to prevent mold on vinyl siding. Cleaning vinyl siding is easy to do and can be accomplished with tools you already have. Simply wash your siding a few times a year with a garden hose and a homemade cleaning solution to keep it looking its best. Water combined with vinegar, bleach or soap/laundry detergent will do the trick.
A 70/30 water to vinegar ratio is an awesome mixture to dissolve tough mold and mildew. Go ahead and use a long-handled scrub brush with your solution for tougher stains and grime.
Before applying a chemical solution to the siding of your home, you need to water the plants around it. While the hydration of your plants may seem irrelevant to your vinyl siding, watering plants nearby is actually for their safety. By wetting down the plants near the house, you are diluting the soil and preventing them from soaking up the harmful chemicals in bleach or vinegar.
Use a pressure washer with caution, as a pressure washer used improperly can drive water behind the siding. Vinyl siding can be effectively cleaned without the use of a pressure washer.
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Apply Baking Soda To Remove Fungi
Baking Soda serves a lot of purposes revolving around daily household needs. It not acts as a smell absorbent but also helps in curing heartburns.
Not only that, it is one of the best fungicides that help in removing molds and mildew with ease. Its safe for you, your family, and your pets because it not only destroys black mold but also absorbs the moisture that attracts it.
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Clean Vinyl Siding With Vinegar
Another way to clean your vinyl siding without a pressure washer to use a white vinegar and water solution. Starting at the top of the section, apply the vinegar and water solution with a long-handled scrub brush. Work in sections so that you can complete the entire section before the solution dries.
Vinegar is almost a miracle worker for cleaning so many different surfaces inside and outside your home. In addition to tackling mold and mildew on your vinyl siding, vinegar is what kills moss in your lawn or between brick pavers in your walkway. It is so versatile.
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water to form a paste
Once the vinegar and water solution is in place, use a small scrub brush dipped in the baking soda paste to go over heavily soiled areas. Rinse the entire section from top to bottom. This all-natural cleaner is based on our homemade floor cleaner recipe.
How To Remove Mold And Mildew Stains From Vinyl Siding
This article was co-authored by Mike Kapur. Mike Kapur is a home inspector and the owner of Sonic Home Inspections, a home inspection company in Westchester, New York. With over 15 years of experience in pre-inspecting properties, Mike specializes in mold, radon, asbestos, lead, water, and air quality testing as well as hazardous materials, pest, infrared, and general home inspections. Prior to founding Sonic Home Inspections, Mike worked pre-inspecting apartments. Mike holds a BS in Accounting from Queens College and is a Certified Mold Assessor in the state of New York. This article has been viewed 29,344 times.
Dark green and brown stains on your vinyl siding can be very unattractive. These stains are primarily caused by mold and mildew. Heres a simple step-by-step guide on how you can get rid of those ugly marks and keep them from coming back again.
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Is Pressure Washing Bad For Vinyl Siding
A pressure washer can quickly ruin vinyl siding by cracking it with the high-pressure stream of water, so its necessary to know which pressure-level and nozzle to use. If you do use too much power, water can sneak behind the siding and soak the wood sheeting behind the vinyl, which could cause future damage.
What Happens If Water Gets Behind Vinyl Siding
What Happens When Water Gets Behind Siding? Because the material is waterproof, vinyl siding tends to trap moisture that accumulates behind it. The damp permeates your homes wood sheathing and seeps into insulation sheets between exterior and interior walls. The result is often extensive hidden mold growth.
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Diy Power Washing Solutions
***Remember! These solutions are best effective when scrubbing the siding by hand. If using a pressure washer, verify on the user manual of your machine that you can use a DIY vinyl siding cleaning solution.
- 5 Gallons Water
- 1 cup bleach
This is a simple solution that you can make quickly! The bleach adds more power to kill the mold spores
***You may also consider purchasing cleaner! Here are some cleaners we recommend for pressure washing. Try them out and let us know what you think!
The Best Vinyl Siding Cleaning Article
I bet you won’t find a better article online about cleaning vinyl siding!
Feel free to use the table of contents to skip to the section you are most interested in or scroll down and start learning everything there is to know about how to clean vinyl siding.
*BTW – This took us 1 week to write & we interviewed multiple professional pressure washers!
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