When power washing siding, here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid that are made by homeowners and contractors are:
These are the types of mishaps that many people have when attempting power washing siding on their home. If you decide to use a power washer on your home, here are some general guidelines to use.
Consider buying this guide on power washing houses.
Most homeowners will buy a machine from a hardware store that puts out 1,000 PSI but only uses 2 gallons per minute of water. While this machine may work, it will triple the amount of time to do the job properly.
Be careful if your making your own house washing chemicals. For example, mixing bleach and ammonia can create a poisonous gas.
We suggest that home owners buy a siding wash that’s available in most hardware stores and follow the manufactures guidelines for the product. Leave the stronger agents to the pro’s or you may end up removing the paint along with the dirt!
The best way to clean siding is by using a power washer that has a chemical injector built into the machine. Using a chemical injector will allow you to pull the soap from the container, mixing it in the machine with water and spray it onto the house using low pressure starting from the bottom up. Make sure when using a power washer that you don’t shoot water or chemicals up under the siding, this can cause significant mold problems behind your siding.
Allow the chemical to dwell on the siding, then using low pressure, rinse the product from the siding. Make sure when your rinsing the product off the siding that you start at one end of the siding all the way to the end. Do not stop or vary your distance from the siding, or it will cause the surface to be cleaned un-evenly.
If you decide this project is more than you want to handle on your own, we would be happy to tell you how to do the job safely and correctly or to find a reputable and experienced company. Just give us a call.
Henry Bockman