Customer wants vinyl sidings oxidation removed

Residential
1

I’ve had a unique request from an affluent customer. He removed his downspouts and sees that his house is oxidized and there is a line where the downspouts were. He is requesting a quote and I am interested in helping him provided it can be done correctly and is not a job that may end up biting me.

Does anyone have experience removing all oxidation from a vinyl house? I have blended, but never removed all the oxidation.

2

Can you wait a week or so before you do the job. I’ll send you some BD6 to use. You can’t buy it online except for gutter butter. Its the same thing only alot stronger and way cheaper.

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3

They are in no hurry. I am assuming you downstream and brush the siding. I am not sure if I want to take this job or not, but it would be a good paying job if I got it.

4

I haven’t got a chance to try it yet but my dad says he used to xjet it and didnt need to brush. He used to own a fairly big pressure washing business for 1995 till 2008. Most did new construction and brick.

2 Likes
5

Can you post some pictures of it first it may be something you dont want to mess with or could be something you can use fairly light chemical and a scrub brush on either way it’s a big risk. But without seeing it hard to tell

6

I’ll request pictures from the customer. I am nervous about it, but it might be worth doing a test and all that. I typically walk away from stuff like this, but I have read people have had some success.

7

You need to make sure you set the expectations with the customer it may make it worse in the end

8

I haven’t used it before but I’ve heard good things about cleansol bc from eaco chem. No brushing supposedly. Worth looking at.

9

Nah still have to brush with it sadly.

10

I recommend cleansol bc. I just did a 1500 sq ft house and only used 16oz. It worked better than gutter butter and it’s safe on windows and plants. Price is similar to gutter butter.

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11

I get gutterbutter for $8 for 10 gallons :grin:

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12

What is bd6 and I’m guessing gutter butter has some of it in it? I have gutter butter and only used it twice. Once on gutters and once on smooth stucco to remove water lines. I don’t know a whole lot about this chemical. Thanks in advance!

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13

Digging up an old thread…I know…

Pulled up to a house wash yesterday and knowingly drove past the home to turn around in the cul-de-sac just up the road. Upon coming back to the home on the correct side of the road I was greeted with this:

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For a split second I debated on whether or not to even stop the truck. But I did stop the truck and went and spoke with the homeowner. They said that the “mural” on the side of their home came from the last guy who washed their home three years ago. I explained to her what I knew about oxidation and that this is why I choose to not put 4,000 psi on vinyl sided homes. We agreed that I would continue my regularly scheduled house wash and that I was not to be held responsible for that mess on the side. With homeowner’s permission, I used a brush and scrubbed a two foot wide section while doing my normal house wash process and when it dried she was pretty happy with the results of that area. We agreed on a price for me to come back at a later date and scrub the rest of that side as well as to clean the driveway after seeing how clean the sidewalk leading up to the front door turned out. From the research I’ve done on here it looks like using a degreaser of some sort and agitation will be my best shot at lessening the eyesore that she’s been living with. To me it looks like there was obviously too much pressure, inconsistently swiped and perhaps some solution that had the opportunity to dry on before being rinsed - if at all. For kicks, I asked if she knew the name of the guy who did the last wash and she stated that he went out of business. All photos are of before I started washing.
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14

We’ve done it with Gutter Butter and a lot of brushing in the past. Did a side of one home last spring with Cleansol BC and no brushing. No dry after pics, but nomeowner reported that it looked “like new”, so I never pressed that any further. I believe they used a double application with required dwell times between/after, and a rinse.

Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have really wanted to mess with it, but our guy wasn’t as thorough as you were upon arrival, and overcooked the pressure a bit making it splotchy as well. I think it was messed up from a prior wash as well, but once we went ahead with the wash, we owned the problem…

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15

I have some F-13 Gutter Grenade but was leaning towards trying F-8 Ox Brite oxalic acid after reading up on it on PressureTek’s website.
In speaking with the customer I told them my hesitation with even doing just they house wash as the disturbed oxidation may be associated with me to potential customers. But if I can get this off I think I will likely earn some as the neighbors have been looking at this disaster for several years now.

16

Always good to be able to offer the service, as long as the blame for the result isn’t left on you. I would say that IDK much about those chems for oxidation (The GG will probably mirror Gutter Butter if I had to guess), but it’s almost always worthwhile to invest in making sure you have the right product for the job, than try whatever you happen to have on hand. Especially if you’re setting the price…

17

Found a local-ish brick company that has EaCo Chem Cleansol BC in stock by the gallons. Could pay $25 for shipping from an online distributor but I think I’ll make the 52 mile round-trip drive Thursday afternoon to go pick some up.
I’ve never used it, but as long as the weather cooperates, I’ll know more about it after I use it this upcoming Monday. Lots of vinyl sided homes in my territory that could benefit from this if I can do it correctly.
Stand by for follow-up photos next week. :crossed_fingers:

18

FWIW - I asked my guy to spell out for me the process we used, so I could add it to our processes database…some of it is just quoting from the label:

Label instructions - “first cut at 4:1 to make product ready to use then follow the
dilution range listed below. Apply using pressure washer up or
downstream, or low pressure spray applicator.”

We used the xjet to apply the product as follows:

  1. Wet area
  2. Apply Cleansol (we used xjet)
  • Allow to dwell for 5 minutes, keeping area from drying. (tip: Use the high pressure tip from a distance so that you’re just misting the area works the best to avoid rinsing off the chemical.)
  • Apply a second coat Cleansol.
  • Let it dwell for another 5 minutes, keeping the area wet.
  1. Rinse off area
19

Try a gallon of the Britenol too. You may like it better for that. I use an acid like it is for oxidation removal

20

Where you using Britenol for oxidation removal or something else? Looks like it’s good for fallout.