Washing vinyl siding, product recommendations?

[Owen Lucas]

I need to remove some greenish mold or moss and grime from vinyl siding as well as from the white aluminum soffit / gutter.

Any recommendations on a good cleaning product?

I have a Craftsman 3300 PSI 2.4 gallon / min power washer with soap tank that I will be using.

 

[GON]

I purchased the below product only because Lowe's had it on clearance from $10.99 down to $2.99. it worked so well I thought about searching other Lowe's to stock up.

I have a power washer, but this stuff worked so well the power washer stayed in the garage. Still amazed how easy and well this stuff worked.

 

[Lubener]

I would use Wet and Forget... I would not use high pressure washing on my siding.

https://a.co/d/4HermGr

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

For immediate gratification mix chlorox and water 50/50 in a pump sprayer. Spray thoroughly then rinse. Pressure washer not needed. This tends to accelerate rusting of nails however, as the chlorox turns to salt and you can't ever rinse 100% of the salt off.

For slow and steady non corrosive cleaning use Wet and Forget. I bought the concentrate and mixed it a 5 gallon bucket then used the pressure washer only as the means to spray it up high on the 20 foot tall gables. Wet and Forget is algaecide which kills the algae and it weathers off over time. It takes a couple months to clean up but I treated my house last fall and it is still clean.

 

[RazorsEdge]

Good thread! I need to do this soon.

 

[hrv]

I need to remove some greenish mold or moss and grime from vinyl siding as well as from the white aluminum soffit / gutter.

Any recommendations on a good cleaning product?

I have a Craftsman 3300 PSI 2.4 gallon / min power washer with soap tank that I will be using.


View attachment 243240

Wet and Forget works for me...

 

[skyactiv]

I've used the same product as GON with complete success. Make sure you wear old clothes when using the product.

 

[Nukeman7]

I purchased the below product only because Lowe's had it on clearance from $10.99 down to $2.99. it worked so well I thought about searching other Lowe's to stock up.

I have a power washer, but this stuff worked so well the power washer stayed in the garage. Still amazed how easy and well this stuff worked.

View attachment 243241

Mold Armor is a good buy at $2.99, but overpriced at $10.99 since it is mostly 5.25% Sodium Hypochlorite (i.e., Clorox bleach) with a bit of detergent/surfactant added in. I usually get the 2-pack of the Wet-N-Forget concentrate when on sale at COSTCO. Mold Armor or bleach works instantly as opposed to Wet-N-Forget which takes a few days; however, Wet-N-Forget seems to have a lasting effect for months.

 

[shortyb]

Just finished up the north exposures with Mold Armor. Love this stuff, works VERY well and doesn't damage anything if used correctly. Seems to keep mold/mildew at bay for quite a while too. Tip of northern end is 40ft. up so yeah, pressure washer is a must. I use special nozzles to get that high and puts out a flood of water/soap vs. a high pressure pencil type stream that can wreak havoc on vinyl siding if you don't know what you're doing. Also picked up at Lowes on clearance, but transfer to gallon jugs instead of using the built in sprayer.

 

[burbguy82]

1:10 bleach will destroy the mold and every other living thing on earth. All that cleaning solution is, is premix of bleach and water.............save your money. Get bleach.

It will not kill the waterbear.....

fyi.

 

[kschachn]

You can also check the website for your siding manufacturer, mine has a cleaning mixture that they recommend. IIRC for ours it contains some bleach and trisodium phosphate.

 

[Donald]

Soft wash, not pressure wash.

 

[zzyzzx]

I've used the same product as GON with complete success. Make sure you wear old clothes when using the product.

Why?

 

[vwmaniaman]

I also use the Mold Armor like Gon. I have a extended brush with very fine bristles from HF and I do lightly scrub and then rinse. I used to pressure wash too but after using this stuff the pressure washer isn't needed and I am done in a couple hours with the whole house and garage.

 

[DriveHard]

I purchased the below product only because Lowe's had it on clearance from $10.99 down to $2.99. it worked so well I thought about searching other Lowe's to stock up.

I have a power washer, but this stuff worked so well the power washer stayed in the garage. Still amazed how easy and well this stuff worked.

View attachment 243241

I used this, and then refilled with 1 cup bleach and 1 cup laundry detergent, and water to fill. Let sit 15 minutes, then rinse...worked amazing.

 

[Cujet]

I would use Wet and Forget... I would not use high pressure washing on my siding.

https://a.co/d/4HermGr

If it's not too bad, use something like car soap, or if really bad, Simple Green and a car wash brush on a broom handle. Although Simple Green can strip protective oils.

But before I put effort into scrubbing or pressure washing, I'd try this:

I use the Wet n Forget mixed 50-50 with 10% pool bleach. Costco sells the hose-end Wet n Forget sprayer that works really, really well. I find that screwing the Wet n Forget into my hose nozzle is a better way to manage it, rather than turning the knob each time.

 

[opus1]

If you're looking for spot-treating parts, I'm another Wet and Forget fan. If you're looking to clean the whole exterior, I defer to the other answers posted.

 

[alarmguy]

I purchased the below product only because Lowe's had it on clearance from $10.99 down to $2.99. it worked so well I thought about searching other Lowe's to stock up.

I have a power washer, but this stuff worked so well the power washer stayed in the garage. Still amazed how easy and well this stuff worked.

View attachment 243241

Agree Best stuff on the market.
I never had a power washer. Last house was much larger too. Personally I have seen some homes damaged by power washers if not done correctly. More so broken seals on windows years later. But bottom line I dont see the need vs a gentle soft wash that works, Actually it is more easy as far as I am concerned and faster maybe.

This stuff also has the best built in sprayer compared to other brands.
As another posted bleach, Clorox works well. Last house all I did was once the container of this stuff was empty I would fill the bottle back up with Clorox (bleach) plain stuff not the non splash type. Works as good.

On this house I bought 5 bottles and did not use Clorox, only because the house is new, it was the middle of a hot summer, though I save the sunny side of the house for when it is shady. It stays on the house a while before drying. I also figured what the heck, most all my neighbors hire people to do their houses so I figured the money I am saving is enough without putting Clorox in empty bottles. But the Clorox does work the same, jsut not a soapy solution but still good.

Warning there is a product that the big box stores also sell, forgot the name but says 30 SECOND wash on the outside or something to that effect. It is horrible, VERY strong solution, more fitting maybe for decks, it dries very quickly on the house to.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Wet and Forget is excellent. Keeps the mold away for years.

 

[Donald]

When I had professional people wash my stucco they used a soft wash. 300 to 500 lbs with pool chlorine and a surfactant..

Need to worry about plants that can get the chemicals dripping on them and maybe down spouts depending on house.

All the products that take awhile are ammonia based. They will kill mold and mildew but maybe not remove the killed mold and mildew patches.

I know everyone likes pressure washers but people have gotten smarter about what to pressure wash.

Basically concrete and bulldozers. Not much else. It will clean wood surfaces but will raise the grain damaging the wood. It can get behind surfaces like vinyl siding.