Large Scale Central

Cleaning Vinyl Siding

Tools and Tips
#1

Whether its the train building, garage or house, eventually the vinyl siding is going to need to be cleaned. Heard this recipe on KMOX Home Improvement Show the other day. Haven’t tried it, but I put it here for future reference. Bob does a great job. :wink:

In a 5 gallon bucket mix-

4 gallons water

3/4 gallons bleach

8 oz. Simple Green

Apply to wet vinyl with brush or by being syphoned through a high pressure spray, but scrub before rinsing. Do small enough area at a time to keep wet until it is rinsed. Protect shrubs and the other stuff she’ll yell at you about.

#2

Hopefully since it came from TV the Bleach / Simple Green combo has been proven safe. I always worry about mixing bleach with anything after I nearly killed myself as a teenager cleaning a meat cooler with a bleach / ammonia mix. Chlorine gas isn’t anything to fool with.

#3

Jon,

Morning Jon,

For those of you that live on the edge, you may be unaware of KMOX. :wink: It is a 50,000 watt radio station that broadcast through the vast “fly over area” of most of this Country and I had an assumption (yes, I know the joke) that people would know what I meant.

I am aware of Chlorine gas and the creation of hydrochloric acid when bleach is mixed with cleaning solvents that have ammonia in them. “Simple Green” does not contain ammonia. This solution is to be used outside in the open.
Probably not a good idea to bring the vinyl siding of your house inside to clean, but then again in this litigious society, I guess all disclaimers need to be stated. :wink:

We are having a beautiful August. Hope you are, too. If August was always like this, it certainly would make July more tolerable around here. Corn is over 8 feet tall.

#4

Ric:

Thanks for the cleaning tip and clarification.

As to the weather: My contractor started some repairs to the house last Wednesday. First was to remove ~2500 square feet of shingles from the house and prepare it to be re-roofed. Maximum temperature Wednesday through Friday was right on 100 degrees! Not very friendly for roof-top work, but all the old stuff was removed by Friday evening. I took a last load of ~4 cubic yards to the solid waste transfer station on Saturday. Temperature during unloading was ~95 degrees.

Now that the initial roof-top work is complete, the high temperatures have dropped to the low 80s. Very enjoyable.

We expect the roofing material to be delivered next week and I am guessing we will be in for another hot spell.

Glad to hear the corn crop is doing well, as we are going to need all we can get to support the government mandated alcohol fuel initiative!

Off to get some framing lumber, siding and a couple of doors.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

#5

Just an update, I have now tried this mixture and it does clean vinyl siding very well. I am putting it on with the syphon on my electric high pressure sprayer after using the high pressure spray to wet the surface and blow the dust off. Then soaking with the solution and scrubbing with a soft brush (deck brush) and rinsing with the high pressure stream again. The parts of the house that are complete looks spiffy. :wink:

#6

The question is…does Jan think it’s looks spiffy???..:wink:

#7

Won’t ““Spiffy”” siding kind of blind a person, if the sun is out???

#8

Yes Andy, there are dangers in the outside real World. :wink:

#9

Dang, my corn never made it past the 6 ft tall stage before the frost killed it.

We had snow flurries yesterday here in beautiful downtown Deer Park. Of course, we are at 2,400 ft ASL.

#10

Looks like our weather in the Midwest is in for a change when this new weather system moves east out of the Rockies. Also we are picking up more moisture out of that Mexico storm. Pumps ready, batten down the hatches. All watches set 12 and 12. Relief watch subject to immediate recall. Enjoy the day, but stay sober.

#11

Ric wont to come do my place when your done?

#12

Geoff,

No problem. Stand outside with the garden hose until I get there. :wink:

#13

Pond was frozen this morning.