Im with bluewave - Rinse again and lightly brush if needed.
Is that a light in that ceiling? Could be why someone didnt fully rinse in first place.
Our customers are currently out of town. After three days it was still there but wasn’t near as bad. It had algae and light mold before we cleaned the area. I am still confident that it wasn’t our mix. I think it was done in the past and we were the lucky people to come along and fix someone’s mistake. I’m ok with whatever is to come. It’s a small area and we offered to paint the area. I will update when the home owners return
1 Like
Hey folks, so I’ve been reading and from the looks of it, a lot of (but probably not all) hardy board issues have been caused by some environmentally safe Sherwin W. paint. For the reasons I’ve read previously, I’ve always avoided hardy plank houses.
So today I went out to do an estimate, and it’s hardy plank. We got to talking and i explained that there have been a lot of issues with the paint the manufacturers use, so I avoid it. Luckily, she doesn’t even need a house wash, just the facia, soffit, and around the windows, as well as a few other spots. Either way, I would still get soap on a few parts of the house. Long story kinda short, she sent me the paint type and said it was painted after it was installed (I’ve been under the impression most issues have been manufacturer-painted board).
1 - has anyone seen or had issues with this paint on hardy board?
2 - do you think pre-wetting the areas will be enough to avoid issues with HW mix? (HW mix is generally 2 parts 10% SH, 1.5 parts water, a few oz of surfactant, DS’d at between 8 and 9 to 1)
Call the manufacturer they have tec support
That’s the plan in the morning
Don’t understand everyone’s fear of hardy plank… Its not a hardy plank issue, its a rare paint issue.
Most of the homes i clean are hardy plank, and i have no problems. I use a hot mix to, and will even throw 6+ percent on them with no problems.
Just do a small test spot with a hot mix on all sides and move on with your day
3 Likes
Avoid red, blue, brown, green and red and you’ll be fine
3 Likes
Fair enough, I figured I was looking too far into it, just trying to be safe instead of paying to repaint. I overthink stuff…
The problem we had I really believe was just cheap paint. It was new paint but seemed like it was interior non latex paint. We have done plenty of hardy board homes with no problems until that one. It still makes me second guess them now.
Don’t forget the RED! 
3 Likes
Did anyone mention not to do red
3 Likes
Not enough Hardi Plank in my area to risk it. Probably turned down 20-30 houses this season that were hardy
I wash a lot of hardiboard and if your mix is too strong it will have an adverse reaction with the paint. I would go weaker on your mix get it where it’s just strong enough to get the soffits clean. I’ve cleaned everything but red with no issues. I don’t use elemonator for my surfactant on painted siding though.
2 Likes
Most new homes built in my area they use the cheapest paint and put it on as thin as possible. You can always tell which side they painted last. Looks like they started to get to the bottom of the bucket and mixed in some water.
1 Like
What surfactant do you use on hardi-board?
That paint has a flat finish meaning it has limited cleanability due to surface structure, the less gloss level a coating has affects its ability to shed dirt and contaminants when washed. When viewed under microscope flat paint is very rough like sandpaper which is why it doesn’t reflect light much.
This also means it holds dirt and stains and cannot be scrubbed clean easily - if at all.
Easy to repaint as it is forgiving in the respect that uneven roller marks etc dont stand out like they do on lo sheen/satin/gloss .
1 Like
They can be easily cleaned every house in my neighborhood has that type of paint on the porch ceiling.
@Racer put me on limonene. Works great for me. I just ordered the 55 gal drum and I charge more to do hardi than I would vinyl.
1 Like
I have never tried limonene, I just use SH with good results on mould and algae.
Not much success cleaning scuff marks etc as it’s not a hardwearing coating like 100% acrylic or water and oil based enamels.
A stain seal followed fresh coat of paint post cleaning gives a great result if all stains cannot be removed, eg water damage stains.
@Racer I know this is a year old post but when it comes to Hardiplank I think they should always be at the top of the board I read that you had good luck with a surfactant called limonene…Ive never tryed it…where do you get it? I’ve got a Hardie board house to do and normally I would turn it down because it’s gray but all she wants me to do is soap and rinse it…no sh… so I want to use the best surficant I can.
