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DAS · Dec 6, 2013

Oxidation on vinyl siding

garyw · Dec 6, 2013

I have had good success usuing my pressure washer with a fan spray tip for rinsing only, after the chemical wash. Most of time it dries with a shine.

Central Iowa Roof Cleaning · Certified Cedar Shake Roof Cleaning Specialist

Try some F-9.

dabber · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

What is F-9 Iv never heard of it Thanks Dabber

John Burdine · Dec 10, 2013

You can also add various "paint prep" chems to your mix or as a substitute for the surfactant. Nothing beats a scrub but when that's not in the budget nothing beats heat and medium pressure. Vinyl can get oxidized, but not as bad as metal siding.

opie451 · Jan 8, 2014

garyw wrote:
I have had good success usuing my pressure washer with a fan spray tip for rinsing only, after the chemical wash. Most of time it dries with a shine.

This method is what I would do as well. If you hit it with pressure you are disturbing the oxidation and leaving basically stripes on the siding. These "stripes" of ox. removed and where it is not is highly visibly if you look at the siding on an angle. Removal of the ox. is a hole different beast compared to the standard house wash.

A good degreaser and a little elbow grease will loosen the ox. Lowes has a really good degreaser made by ZEP. I forget the name of it though.

Central Iowa Roof Cleaning · Certified Cedar Shake Roof Cleaning Specialist

I have also used iron out you can buy it at Wal-Mart. It is for cleaning out irons.

Green Apple Roof Cleaners LLC · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

Is the roof cleaning mix too strong ?

opie451 · Jan 16, 2014

Green Apple Roof Cleaners LLC wrote:
Is the roof cleaning mix too strong ?

Its got nothing to do with the mix's strength. It's not dirt,mold or mildew. If your gonna pursue removing the OX. you need to use the right stuff.

andy hinson · Jan 29, 2014

If you are quoting a home that you can drag your fingers across the paint an your fingers are colered and the surface shows the marks. Drive Away!!!! Just kidding. This is where cleaning with pressure can cause problems. If you get wand to close it will leave a color variation. No miracle chemical can be sprayed to evenly dissolve the oxidation It requires chemicals and Much more work than a standard house wash would involve.

falanagan · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

I was asking the same question and like providence,I pick up this hitch hiker that has been cleaning vinyl siding for 20 years with a good brush and a garden hose. He put me onto this super cleaner,seeing as I was out of his radius and he was grateful for the ride. I practiced on my shed using his formula and a "fleet wash mix from the power washer store.
Both worked about the same,but needed to be scrubbed by hand. when done,I did not get a new shine,but it was clean and consistent like a matt finish.
This guy tells me to "never" use any serious pressure on vinyl because the siding is actually porous,and at the factory they use heat to solidify and smooth the exterior surface and if that is disturbed,then the siding will degrade much faster. As far as I know so far is a bucket with warm water,a good car or truck wash and a good brush with soft split ends. It needs that manual agitation to break the bond.

J AND E GUTTER · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

das why not give TSP A try.....

DAS · Aug 8, 2014

Thanks to all for the replies, we now charge double for removing oxidation on siding.

Josh Brown · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

DAS wrote:
Thanks to all for the replies, we now charge double for removing oxidation on siding.

Maybe a little late on the post but I ran into this problem about a month ago. Some guy charged cheap to wash a house and left streaks all over the house. I wanted to make a good impression so did some research to see if I could help. I contacted Russ Johnson of Southside Equipment and he told me exactly what to it.

He recommended his product called BD-200 which was originally designed to clean black streaks off gutters. Downstream this onto vinyl and oxidation will melt off. Don't let it dry on vinyl. Fast and easy. If you have to, mix it a little stronger than recommended, but shouldn't have to brush. Worked for me. If you find that you do have to brush and your better with another product, you still win because now you now have a great gutter cleaner lol.

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"Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"