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How to Clean Your Vinyl Siding
It's summertime and that means it's the perfect time for exterior house maintenance. One of the things we tend to put off the longest is the cleaning of our vinyl siding. We're all guilty of it; we let our beautiful siding fade to green as dirt, muck, and mold slowly take over the surface year after year.
The good news is that cleaning your siding is straightforward, if not somewhat labor-intensive. However, all that sweat and elbow grease is worth it because once finished, your house will look nearly brand new with its clean, sparkling siding. Let's go over the different ways you can approach cleaning your vinyl siding.
Hire a Professional
Is this a cop-out? We don't think so! The adage "if you want something done right, you should do it yourself" does not always hold with home ownership. Sometimes it's much easier to hire an experienced professional to make quick work out of a project, especially if you've been dreading it.
A professional vinyl siding cleaner will have the tools, products, and expertise to get every nook and cranny of your siding, making your home gleam in the process. Ensure you do your due diligence and check online reviews to find a company that is known for doing a great job.
Use a Pre-formulated Detergent & Brush
If you opt for the brush method of washing your siding, then all you need is a "general use" washing brush (like what you'd wash your car with) and some pre-formulated detergent that is rated specifically for vinyl siding.
Would Dawn dish soap work? More than likely it would. However, siding detergent has antifungal additives that will quickly wash away mold and mildew and thwart it from immediately coming back. Both a telescopic general use brush and siding detergent can be found at your local hardware store.
For minor cleaning, many products don’t even require scrubbing; they simply attach to your garden hose. You spray, let the mixture sit on the surface of your siding for 10 minutes, then rinse off.
Make Your own Detergent
For light mold and mildew, a solution of 70% water and 30% distilled white vinegar is perfect for cleaning your siding. For dirtier siding, we recommend a mixture of one gallon of water, one cup of bleach, and one cup of powdered laundry detergent. Always test out a small area first.
Use a Pressure Washer
Last but not least, a pressure washer will make easy work of any mildew and grime on your vinyl siding. While the water pressure alone will clean your siding, we recommend using your washer with an anti-fungal additive to ensure mold and mildew don’t come back any time soon.
If you choose to use a pressure washer, you need to make sure you arm the sprayer at eye level and keep the spray level. If you spray at an angle, you risk damaging your siding or shooting water behind the vinyl planks and into your home's insulation.
Clean Siding Can Do a Lot for Your Curb Appeal
When you clean your siding, you let your true colors shine. You’d be surprised by how dirty the exterior of your home is. It happens so slowly that we often don’t notice, yet, once it’s clean, we see just how much the color used to pop. Don’t settle for dingy siding when you have multiple options to make it sparkling this summer.