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Old 05-31-2008, 12:08 PM   #1
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Cleaning MY house

Hey Guys,

Just looking for some suggestions for cleaning my own White vinyl siding. I have seen several posts that say your rely on chemical more that "pressure" for the cleaning. Could someone point me in the right direction as far as what chemicals I need. Thanks for the help.

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Old 06-10-2008, 03:27 AM   #2
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Hey, thanks for all the pointers....appreciate it!
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Old 06-10-2008, 04:20 AM   #3
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power washing vinyl would require a cleaning chemical, unlike paint, you arent knocking off the old stuff, your actually cleaning, ive never power washed vinyl, just painted homes, but if it was me, id check the material manufacturer in reference to what they recommend and go from there, also, you wouldnt need near as much pressure, probably around 2000-2200 psi, i wouldnt go any higher, again, ive never done vinyl, so i would check with the manufacturer.....if there is no way, or you dont know, cant find out, etc... find a test area out of the way and see what works best, there are several cleaning chemicals on the market that work great, (guess my garage doors are vinyl, and i have "blown" them off with the pressure washer with a meduim tip, using just my car wash solution and it worked fine)
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Old 06-18-2008, 11:54 AM   #4
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Visit www.eacochem.com they may have a distributor in your area. For your house you could get by using about any multi-purpose concentrated cleaner at a hardware store or something, but try finding a power washing supply store in your area and they should be able to answer all your questions. If you have mildew problems add a little bleach in your mix. Just remember that you didn't hear that from me, thats a home owners specialty.

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Old 06-19-2008, 01:29 AM   #5
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thanks guys
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Old 06-19-2008, 08:28 PM   #6
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I have been using Krud Cutter from Lowes or Tractor Supply and it works well. I mix it with water too so it isnt as strong or it will leave streaks where it ran down the siding. I also is a soft bristle brush for automobiles with an extension handle to scrub the siding and facia and this works great.
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Old 06-20-2008, 03:31 PM   #7
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vinyl is best cleaned using low pressure (no more than a couple of hundred psi), and aided with a house wash mix containing some kind of surfactant and chlorine.
If your mix is right, you should be able to simply spray it on, and rinse it off clean.
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Old 06-29-2008, 04:25 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by ccpc View Post
vinyl is best cleaned using low pressure (no more than a couple of hundred psi), and aided with a house wash mix containing some kind of surfactant and chlorine.
If your mix is right, you should be able to simply spray it on, and rinse it off clean.
Exactly, you shouldn't have to scrub vinyl, (except in very rare instances) and low pressure is a must for all your cleaning substrates. Some chemicals can bleach the color out of the vinyl. Heat streaks from chemicals can be avoided by either purchasing a better chemical that has been properly buffered, which i would strongly suggest doing, or water it down. Another way to avoid these heat streaks is by cleaning from the ground up. It takes more time, uses more chemical and water, but is well worth it if you prefer your cheaper and more damaging chemicals. If your content on bleaching colors out and chalking your surfaces, you might as well do it evenly.
But we prefer to do the best work we know how to do.

Gutter Clean & Power Wash
Hickory NC

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Old 07-01-2008, 02:29 PM   #9
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Only use Soft Washing techniques on vinyl. Spray on, rinse off.. I have a link on my site to a guy in PA that may be near you. JCSoftWash is my site, click on "in your State" and scroll down to PA.
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