Cleaning Vinyl Siding

Cleaning Vinyl Siding | This new house is being covered with vinyl siding. It's not dirty now, but it will have to be cleaned at some future date. The young homeowners don’t want any maintenance other than this periodic cleaning. Copyright 2020 Tim Carter

Cleaning Vinyl Siding TIPS

Trees and bushes broadcast invisible sugars
Do NOT use a pressure washer - it puts water behind the siding
Use Stain Solver certified organic oxygen bleach
Add Dawn liquid dish soap
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Do Trees Produce Food for Mildew on Siding?

Trees and bushes produce airborne sugars that drift through the wind and stick to vinyl siding. This nearly invisible layer of sugar is a food source for mold and some algae. Dust and dirt can also stick to the vertical sides of vinyl siding, and these are also food sources for some mildews and algae.

How Do You Clean Vinyl Siding?

The best way to clean vinyl siding and vinyl siding trim is to rinse it down with a regular garden hose equipped with a nozzle. Set the nozzle to a medium misting spray.

Never use a forceful direct stream of water, as it can penetrate behind the vinyl siding. This means do NOT use a pressure washer.

Can You Call Me on the Phone If I Need Advice?

Yes, I can call you on the phone if you need help cleaning your vinyl siding. You don't want to make a costly error.

Are There Waterproof Membranes Under Vinyl Siding?

There are many homes covered with vinyl siding that do not have waterproof membranes that cover the frame walls. The wood sheathing and framing lumber can get wet easily if you direct water at the edges of vinyl siding, seams where two pieces of siding overlap, at inside and outside corners and next to windows and doors.

How Does Vinyl Siding Repel Water?

Vinyl siding is designed to shed water falling from the sky, not water that is shot up from the ground. Always rinse off the siding pointing the hose down towards the ground.

Never aim a hose up at vinyl siding as it can cause massive amounts of water to seep behind the siding.

What is the Best Vinyl Siding Cleaner?

Stain Solver is MADE in the USA with USA ingredients that are food-grade quality. CLICK THE IMAGE to order some NOW.

If you want to remove algae, mildew, dirt, diesel exhaust soot, etc. from vinyl siding, then use Stain Solver - a certified organic oxygen bleach.

You mix it with warm tap water, stir until the powder is dissolved and apply to the siding with a garden hand-pump sprayer. A great professional sprayer can shoot a stream of this solution nearly 25 feet in the air. I know as I own one and used to use it to clean the exterior of my own home.

You can mix regular Dawn liquid dish soap in with the solution to get extra cleaning power.

Will Regular Soap Work to Clean Vinyl Siding?

Regular dishwashing soap will do a very good job of cleaning vinyl siding, but if you mix it with the Stain Solver, you'll end up working much less.

Squeeze a generous amount in a bucket, and add warm water to make a frothy mix of soapy water. I like to pour this water into a hand-pump garden sprayer to apply it onto the vinyl siding once it has been rinsed with clear water.

Here's a handy hand-pump sprayer. I have one almost identical and when the nozzle is adjusted to a stream, it will shoot about 30 feet up in the air! CLICK THE PHOTO NOW to have this sprayer delivered to your doorstep in days.

Work in the Shade To Clean Vinyl Siding

Always work on a section of siding from bottom to top, and always work in the shade. You never want the soapy water to dry on the siding before it can be rinsed off. I prefer to clean an area about six to seven feet wide at a time.

Cleaning Vinyl Siding Video

Watch this video. I like this man, but not a fan of his cigarette. Just be sure you use Stain Solver in the sprayer and NOT any other product that contains chlorine bleach or sodium hypochlorite - that's the chemical name for chlorine bleach.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local cleaning services that will NOT use a pressure washer.

What is the Best Brush to Clean Vinyl Siding?

The best brush to clean vinyl siding is one used to wash a recreational vehicle (RV). These special brushes are used on long poles to clean the sides of RVs.

This is a perfect brush to clean vinyl siding. It's got an adjustable handle and the perfect bristles that remove dirt loosened by using Stain Solver oxygen bleach. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO HAVE THIS BRUSH DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME.

These brushes are superb tools to use on dirty vinyl siding. Once the vinyl siding has been coated with soapy water, dip the brush in the soapy water and use side-to-side motions to remove dirt.

What Direction Should I Clean?

Start cleaning from the bottom and go up as far as you can reach. Immediately rinse the area you cleaned. Proceed up the wall until you get to the top alternately washing and rinsing. As you get higher, always make sure you rinse all dirt all the way down the siding to the ground.

IMPORTANT TIP:

Never use chlorine bleach as an additive to your soapy water solution. Chlorine bleach is a deadly toxin for any and all vegetation around your home. The chlorine ions soak into the ground and kill the roots of the plants, grass, trees and bushes.

If you feel compelled to use a bleach to help kill the mildew, use oxygen bleach. Oxygen bleach is non-toxic, has no odor and it injects oxygen into the soil.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local cleaning services that will NOT use a pressure washer.

Message from Tim:

Years ago while researching a column about cleaning decks, I discovered the wonders of Oxygen Bleach. It is perhaps the 'greenest' cleaner I know of as it uses oxygen ions to break apart stains, dirt and odor molecules. There are no harsh chemicals, and it works on just about anything that is water washable.

I decided to create my own special blend using ingredients made in the USA. In fact, the raw materials in the active ingredient are food-grade quality registered with the FDA. I call my product Stain Solver. I urge you to use it to help with cleaning your vinyl siding. You will be amazed at the results!

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