I got a call from a homeowner who said he tried to pressure wash his house himself. It is Vinyl siding about five or six years old. Apparently it was another company who tried to wash it with 3000 psi. They sent me pictures and said they tried:
3000psi with Simple Green Oxi
Zep 505 degreaser
Zep Purple degreaser
Extra str bleach
Cleaning Vinegar
Goof off with magic eraser
They want me to come and fix it if possible. I would try bc cleansol but I wonder if they just messed up the finish with the high pressure to begin with? Seems way to new for oxidation to happen.
I really don’t get trying to remove oxidation. The west side of my house has it and I’ve experimented plenty. Sure, you can get it off, but it doesn’t last. Why spend money having someone remove the outside layer of broken down siding just to have it look like that again in no time??? There are lots of companies out there now that paint vinyl with good results and long warranties. That or replace it.
I really don’t think that people completely understand oxidation. It will continually occur until there is no more chemical to react that way. I have it on mine too, and I don’t try to remove it. I actually tell customers that the chemicals to remove it are too expensive and that it isn’t a permanent solution. I really don’t want to mess with it anymore. I will if someone insists and they pay premium rates, otherwise, no thanks. I still have half a fiver of cleansol BC in my basement, it makes a pretty good car wash and removes oil overspray.
Builders tell people to have the front of their house face south so they get maximum sun exposure throughout the day. IMHO, those southern facing houses always get the worst oxidation if there isn’t any shade.
I think the only time it should be done is to even out when someone screws it up like this (random google image). If it’s chalky but uniform, just leave it alone.
I used bc cleansol on two jobs so far. The first was on a big warehouse wall that I posted about last year. Didn’t really seem to work at all. The second time was on another $11 million home with stucco siding that had oxidized and I actually got nervous about ever using it again because it seemed to make an area actually worse. If there is no oxidation, is that product safe to use on most everything for general cleaning? I wonder if it is similar to powersolve from Hydro-chem systems. We had a Sherwin Williams blue house to wash early last week and we did not want to use SH for fear of ruining the organic pigment in the paint. The powersolve actually did a fantastic job of washing it. @Nickski his is that exact scenario these people are facing. I may give it a shot with the BC Cleansol but I’m wondering if it will work after the onslaught of things the other guy tried. I wonder if just brushing straight bc cleansol on from the pale would work, completely undiluted. Although the product is quite expensive it is nothing in comparison to having to replace somebody’s siding. Thankfully this is not my problem but would like to help this guy out if I could.
This is what is in it
Sodium Hydroxide 1310-73-2 5-15 *
Dissolvine E-39 64-02-8 5-15 *
Balance Trade Secret Balance *
Page 2 of this link says what it can used on and the dilution levels.
I know for a fact it will clean oil overspray off a house because I used it to remove oil overspray I put all over the side of a house when the wind started gusting. I also know it makes a pretty good car wash, because I used it on my truck that had oil overspray all over it. What else it is good for I have no idea. I do know that I am using the rest of that fiver up before next winter, even if I have to wash my truck several times more than it needs to be cleaned.
