Vinyl siding is the most popular choice for home exterior in the United States because it is inexpensive, low maintenance, and gives Classy looks to your home but if you live on the busy road then sticking or collecting dirt on siding is common.
It is rather tricky to clean a 2-story or 3- story siding of the home but cleaning with a pressure washer makes it easy but most people have concerns about how to clean vinyl siding with a pressure washer? I won’t suggest you do it alone with a ladder without support because it is quite risky.
A pressure washer is the best and easy option to clean siding.
It is not compulsory: But clean your siding once in two years to eliminate rusts and stains, it will brighten or renew siding and will surely enhance the life of your vinyl siding
In this article, I will discuss the best way to clean vinyl siding with a pressure washer by following safety precautions.
Step By Step Guide of Cleaning Vinyl Siding with a Pressure washer
Step #1 Clean the Area
- Before performing any job It is the universal rule to clean your workplace to enhance your productivity and proper work is done. Move aside all The unneeded things like Barbecue, patio furniture, bike, etc from the bottom of the siding.
- Close the windows, door, and ventilation to avoid entering water inside the home.
- Sprinkle the water first in the garden plants to avoid damage against chemical detergents. You can also cover the plants if you have a covering source.
Step #2 Eliminate fire hazards
- Do aside electric equipment and external wiring near the washing area and cover the external circuits.
- Cut the Main Power connection of the home before washing to avoid shock.
Step #3 Applying Detergent Solution
- First of all, fill the detergent tank with a cleaner. You can also use homemade cleaner, and load the Soap nozzle on your wand. soak the vinyl siding with soap. Wherever you see medium-light mold and mildew stains target that place and point your gun there and give extra time.
- Soap nozzles give gentle rinse and make a 60° spraying angle. The soap nozzle always comes in a black color tip.
Step #4 scrub Brush
- Not for all siding, you have to scrub brush only for tough stains & grime because sometimes you need to apply your effort to old stains. Choose a long handle brush for easy cleaning and scrub careful while on Ladder.
Step #5 cleaning with water
- After spraying with soap, off the soap switch and Load the gun with a 25° Nozzle tip. It is the most common nozzle for gentle cleaning.
- Perform the spray cleaning job with your operating skill. This pressure is high so avoid targeting the same place too much it may damage your siding
- Now you will see the bright face of your siding and you will feel happy. I can say that from my personal experience this is the best way to clean vinyl siding with a pressure washer, you can even make the homemade detergent that I discussed below how to make homemade vinyl siding cleaner.
Use Safety Precautions while cleaning
Safety Goggle: Smart peoples don’t take the risk, especially for precious eyesight. Do keep in mind On performing the high-pressure water & chemical jobs wear the safety goggle first it is much needed for eye protection. Most people avoid it but a single mistake can cause a huge loss.
Safety Boots: safety boots have slip-resistant soles that avoid slippage.
Avoid Too long Ladder: Avoid fixed ladders when you are cleaning more than 2-story Exterior. Generally, ladders are risky when you are using pressure washers because when you are running pressure washers at 1500 PSI it creates a back force on engaging the gun trigger, it may be a hazard.
you can use extension wand and fall prevention device safety equipment while working on height.
Which Type of Pressure washer Best for cleaning Siding?
There are two types of pressure washers available in the market, the Electric pressure washer or a gas Pressure washer, and choosing one from electric vs gas pressure washer is a big task for some people. Here we will discuss the short description that will help buyers in selecting according to their need.
Of Course for cleaning siding we required 1600-1800 PSI Pressure but this pressure is enough for a 1-story house but if you have a 2-story house you require more pressure.
For the 1-story Electric pressure washer is best and for a 2-story house you should go for a Gas pressure washer it saves the time and energy and most of the cases don’t require a ladder.
Usually, the ‘‘Electric pressure washer’’ forces the water out with the maximum pressure up to 2300 PSI at 1.8 GPM (Gallon per minute) and it is best suited for light-medium duty household cleaning jobs. Like cars, bikes, decks, and outdoor surfaces cleaning but all these types of jobs are the Ground floor jobs. Therefore electric pressure washers are best for them. The electric pressure washer costs around $120 to $300.
check out The most powerful electric pressure washer for cleaning vinyl siding
‘‘Gas Pressure washer’’ is also known as a power washer. Normally, A good Gas pressure washer has the capacity to forces the water out from 3000 PSI to 4900 PSI at more than 2.4 GPM. This pressure washer is used for High-duty cleaning jobs like 2-story vinyl siding, stubborn, garage oil, and grease stains, chewing gum, grimes, muds. Etc. the gas pressure washer costs around $250 to $500
Is it safe to use a pressure washer on vinyl Siding?
I will say Big yes, Pressure washer is generally designed for medium-light duty home cleaning jobs like cars, bikes, outdoor surfaces, patios, oil, and grease stains in garages and Siding.
Most of the vinyl siding comes under the range of 0.035 to 0.4 thickness and this thickness is capable to bear pressure washing.
But do one thing in mind: Don’t wash with too much High pressure, it may damage the shine of the siding surface but If you have High-pressure gas power washer you can wash from a far distance to help mitigate this problem.
What PSI do I need to clean Vinyl Siding?
Everyone who wants to know how to clean vinyl siding with a pressure washer has a question in mind, What PSI do I Need to wash vinyl siding? I had the same question when I washed my home for the first time through a pressure washer.
Generally, under 1600 to 1800 PSI pressure is considered best for washing siding. This Pressure is enough to clean medium-light mold and mildew stains.
Start washing with the low pressure up to 1300 PSI and remove light dirt after then for high spots and stains go up to 2000 PSI.
I have written a complete guide on good PSI for pressure washer that can help you if you are a regular user of a pressure washer.
Which Nozzle Should I Use to clean vinyl siding with a pressure washer?
Choosing the right nozzle for the right job plays an important role in pressure washer cleaning. A right nozzle decreases the cleaning time and saves Energy. Generally, The 25° and 40° Spray nozzle tips are ideal for cleaning vinyl siding.
Mainly the color code of 25°is (green) & 40°is (white) and this two nozzle tip is considered common for medium-duty cleaning jobs.
Soap nozzle can also give gentle rinse and is used for cleaning of siding, gutters, house, deck patio, fencing, Boat, and Other Lawn Equipment.
Number of Vinyl siding Houses in United states of America
As per the 2014 survey the available vinyl siding house is more compared to other exterior material in the United States of America. According to these statistics there are 184000 single-family houses constructed in the USA in the year of 2014 that is a huge number.
How to Make a Homemade vinyl Siding Cleaner?
Yes, it is possible to make homemade vinyl siding cleaner it will not work like a chemical cleanser. It is a natural remedy & should be in mind so whenever you have no cleanser available you can use your homemade cleanser.
the homemade vinyl siding cleaner works as same as a market cleaner, it removes stains, dirt grimes, molds, algae from vinyl siding, the cost of making this recipe is very low compared to the branded cleaner.
I usually make this recipe to cleaning siding, it is effective and gives a better result, following this recipe and also follow the step by step guide of how to clean vinyl siding with a pressure washer.
| 1. | One gallon hot water |
| 2. | ⅓ cup powder laundry detergent |
| 3. | ⅓ cup trisodium phosphate |
| 4. | ¼ cup Liquid laundry bleach |
| 5. | ⅓ cup powder household cleaner |
Mix it well for 4 to 5 minutes and you can pour it into your pressure washer detergent tank. This is the money saver formula you can use to see the results. It will provide better results. I have personally used it for cleaning.
How to clean vinyl siding without pressure washer?
Because of the long height of vinyl siding it is hard to clean without pressure washer but nothing is impossible in this world, if you think, you can do it then it is easy for you.
Things you need to clean vinyl sdiding without pressure washer is
- ladder
- scrubber
- Bucket
- Helper
- vinyl siding cleaner or homemade cleaner
first of all wet all the vinyl siding from the garden hose, use a ladder for upper sections with safety. After that apply the cleaner or home recipe which I mentioned above and scrub from the scrubber, give extra time and hard cleaning where dirt, dist, and algae deposits are present. After scrubbing again wash from the garden hose.
this is the complete practical guide of cleaning vinyl siding without a pressure washer. after cleaning, your vinyl siding will shine like stars.
FAQ section about how to clean vinyl siding with pressure washer?
Q.1) what is the best cleaner to use in a pressure washer?
Karcher multi-purpose detergent and simple green cleaner are the best ever for effective cleaning
Q.2) Can I use simple green on vinyl siding?
The simple green oxy solve is one of the best cleansers for siding, it will not harm your siding. This cleanser is capable of eliminating any type rusts, dirts, and green stains. Use 1 cup simple green in 2 to 3 gallon of water for best use it will brighten or renew your siding.
Q.3) How do you get green algae off vinyl siding?
Green algae are the most common problem of vinyl siding. it cleans efficiently by the use of a pressure washer. I personally use wet & forget outdoor cleaner in a pressure washer to clean algae from vinyl siding
Conclusion
We come to conclude the best way of cleaning siding from the above guides and principles that will definitely help you and solve your problem in cleaning the Exterior. The exterior cleaning is made simple if you are using a pressure washer. The cleaning siding once in two year increases the life of siding because it clear rusts and stains and renew it.
Always use safety precautions!
if you have any queries regarding cleaning vinyl siding than feel free to ask in the comment.