Cleaning vinyl siding on 2nd floor recommendations

[Ugahunter2013]

I have white vinyl siding on my home. Wrap around porch on the 1st floor with a hip roof on the 2nd. The actual area of vinyl on the 2nd floor is very little, but it is hard to get to and I don't feel comfortable getting on the roof mainly because there is nothing to hold on to . The pitch of the "1st story roof" is very little so it isn't bad, but I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction on a good cleaning solution I could use to "soft wash" the 2nd floor vinyl. I can reach the siding with water from a latter so I believe it is do-able with the right cleaning solution that will cut through the dirt/mold on vinyl. Due to the size of the job I am getting fairly high quotes from Commercial pressure washing guys I assume is a minimum job charge, which I totally understand and agree with. I may end up having to go that route, but I want to exhaust this option before I do. Thanks

 

[ryanh487]

I have a similar issue, 2 story house with vinyl on slab. My research pointed to a foam cannon with a 32 oz tank filled with 3 oz dish soap, 20 oz bleach, remainder water. I haven't tried it yet but the videos I found show it to be effective. Foam on the mixture, should reach from the ground with a good pressure washer. Wait 10 minutes. Rinse off. Repeat if necessary.

 

[Lilly001]

I use the stuff from Home Depot.
Spray it on with the hose wait 15 minutes and rinse it off.
A light brushing is ok, if needed.
I use it once a year on the shade side of my Fl hose that gets algae on it.
It doesn’t seem to fade any paint nor does it appear to hurt the shrubs or flowers.

 

[ilbcnu]

Wet and forget is great on vinyl siding

 

[B. White]

Not vinyl, but I'm painting now and using TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) with a brush that attaches to my extendable paint roller pole. I have it mixed less than the recommended dilution rate and it still cleans the green stuff of quick. It did a good job on cabinets I repainted recently, so stuck with it for the exterior.

 

[hipster dufus]

Washed houses for yrs. Drill out the soap tip on ur pressure washer , it wil shoot the soap up where u need it. Mix bleach w liquid laundry soap. Wet, soap, wait, rinse.

 

[sleepr71]

That^^^ is what I use. How high are we talking? Is it fairly level,where you can get up on a step ladder? I have got over 20-24’ using a 10’ step ladder & extendable wand on the end of my pressure washer hose. I use same sequence as Hipster above..except I use a 2 gal pump up sprayer to spray my soap/bleach solution on. Do just a few feet at the time…you don’t want it to dry..and streak on the vinyl

 

[Anvil Head]

Word of caution with you bleach users - most termite companies will void your warranty if they find out you are using bleach. It negates the effectiveness of their treatment chems. So don't talk about it around them (didn't say don't use it, just keep it to yourself).

 

[K80Shooter]

Jomax is what I always use, get it at Home Depot or Lowes. It mixes with bleach and water....good stuff.

 

[awstapp]

I recently cleaned my house. You need to get a bottle of liquid chlorine from local pool supply or HD/Lowe’s. The bleach is 10-12%, verses household bleach is only around 4%. I mixed 1 part bleach to 3 parts water and squirted blue dawn to use as a surfactant( helps it stick, instead of running). Example: 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of bleach, generous squirt of Dawn. Like others have said, spray, wait and rinse. I didn’t leave mine on long, and looks like brand new when done.

 

[DAWG1419]

I recently cleaned my house. You need to get a bottle of liquid chlorine from local pool supply or HD/Lowe’s. The bleach is 10-12%, verses household bleach is only around 4%. I mixed 1 part bleach to 3 parts water and squirted blue dawn to use as a surfactant( helps it stick, instead of running). Example: 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of bleach, generous squirt of Dawn. Like others have said, spray, wait and rinse. I didn’t leave mine on long, and looks like brand new when done.

You can buy it at Walmart also. This is what I bought and it works to good with the above mixture.

 

[Core Lokt]

I have a young man soft wash our house every 6 months. Most people use chlorine or bleach. both will weaken siding.. He uses a product called House Clean mixed with water. no need to wash off and it leaves a slick residue that a plain water hose will wash off anything for several months.

 

[Ugahunter2013]

I ended up going with a bleach/water mix with a little dawn mixed in and it worked really good. I had to get on the roof to apply and rinsed off with the water hose from a ladder on ground level. It worked great, but I would like to find a way to apply the bleach/water mix from the ground, just not sure what would have the power to get it up that high.

 

[HuntingFool]

30 Seconds 1 Gal. Outdoor Cleaner Concentrate 100047549 - The Home Depot

30 Seconds Cleaners are the Original and still the best Outdoor Cleaners since 1977 when you need to remove stains from Algae, Mold and Mildew or KILL Lichen and Moss. No need for noisy, expensive Pressure

www.homedepot.com

Been using this for a couple of years and works great. No more dragging pressure washer out and beating myself up for entire day pressure washing house.

 

[snookdoctor]

30 Seconds 1 Gal. Outdoor Cleaner Concentrate 100047549 - The Home Depot

30 Seconds Cleaners are the Original and still the best Outdoor Cleaners since 1977 when you need to remove stains from Algae, Mold and Mildew or KILL Lichen and Moss. No need for noisy, expensive Pressure

www.homedepot.com

Been using this for a couple of years and works great. No more dragging pressure washer out and beating myself up for entire day pressure washing house.

This stuff is great. It works on vehicles with mildew/crud also!

 

[DAWG1419]

This stuff is great. It works on vehicles with mildew/crud also!

Mix you own with the stuff in post 11. You can mix it stronger than the 5% they sell you. For $13 they sure do include a bunch of water and not so much bleach.