I’m pretty new to this profession and I’m still figuring a lot of things out so I’m sure you’ll hear from me a lot because I want to know everything I can to be as successful as possible!
I recently had a softwash job on hardie siding and my mix didn’t seem to remove the stubborn dirt on the siding at all! I went with a 2.5-3% mix using Walmart pool shock (10%sh) and used gain as my surfactant (1.5oz per gallon)….only kicker is I don’t think I got it to mix in well. Any ideas as to what could’ve gone wrong and why the solution didn’t do its job? This is the second house in a row this has happened to me on and caused me to scrub every inch with a brush.
Welcome, and good on you for taking initiative to learn more.
When purchasing pool shock from Walmart (or anywhere for that matter) be sure that the stuff is relatively fresh and not several months old already. SH/Bleach has a shelf life that degrades relatively quickly and will degrade faster with heat and sunlight. So if it’s been sitting around on a pallet in Walmart’s warehouse since last year it’s already weakened. Then, if you have it just sitting around in the uncovered bed of your truck all week before you go to use it that’s not helping either. The Pool Essentials bottles will have a date code printed on the side of the bottle that you can use to verify.
Also, what’s your method of delivery / application from tank to siding? Perhaps whatever you are using to draw the chemical is incorrectly sized for your machine or has become restricted in some way?
Lastly, understand that SH is really only going to tackle organic buildup such as mildew and algae. If the house has either of those “stains” on it then SH will take care of it. However, there are MANY other types of stains out there that can end up on the side of a home and SH won’t begin to touch them. Keeping a small pump up sprayer on the truck/trailer with just SH and water (and a splash of your preferred surfactant) will allow you to do a test area on the house if you’d like to confirm that 1) it’s indeed mildew that you are trying to remove, & 2) that your SH/mix is strong enough. I keep a 2 gallon sprayer with a 50:50 mix of SH and water (and a splash of surfactant) on my truck and if I ever have to do a touch up spot while doing a final walk-around inspection I can quickly hit it with that. But it also allows for me to spray a stubborn stain and verify that it is indeed something that can be remedied by SH. Yes, the pump up sprayer’s contents are way more potent then what I usually apply to the side of the home, but because of that, I can verify that if the pump-up’s mix isn’t making a dent in the “stain” then there’s no chance my regular house washing method would be effective.
2 Likes
SH doesn’t remove dirt. You may have run into what’s called ‘fallout’ where the circulating air currents under the eaves deposit dust in the air and it builds up into this nasty, hard to remove crust.
Also be VERY careful with Hardie, neutral earth tones are generally ok but some of the other colors are not SH friendly. Ask me how I know.
1 Like
Thank you! I’m really trying to get this moving in the right direction so the more questions I can get answered the better! Researching online doesn’t seem to answer all the small, important questions!
My application system as of now is a batch mix drawn from a 55gal drum and a pump. So I’m not using a proportioning system or anything yet.
So I guess my biggest question here for my issue with baked on dirt/dust….which seems to be a normal issue over here and the type of jobs I’ve been getting so far. What should I use to remove that? Every video I’ve ever watched makes softwashing with sh the fix all for everything on your siding and will remove everything stuck to your house……now that I’m being told that’s false haha, I need a new approach for these jobs that are typically just old baked on dirt. What would you suggest?
Figured I’d copy and paste my question I replied to PPW incase you don’t see it!
So I guess my biggest question here for my issue with baked on dirt/dust….which seems to be a normal issue over here and the type of jobs I’ve been getting so far. What should I use to remove that? Every video I’ve ever watched makes softwashing with sh the fix all for everything on your siding and will remove everything stuck to your house……now that I’m being told that’s false haha, I need a new approach for these jobs that are typically just old baked on dirt. What would you suggest?
EDIT: for anyone who stumbles across this thread, the writer of the thread had not posted any photos of the stains they had difficulty removing. After photos were posted (you will see them later in the thread) it is determined that neither “fallout” nor “artillery fungus” are what are going on here.
I think you may want to look up the term “fallout” and see if that assists you with what you have going on. Use the search bar at the top of the page and type in those key words you want know more about. Environmental fallout is usually seen near the top portion of siding where dirt and other environmental pollutants mix with heat escaping the attic of the home and essentially baking onto the boards/pieces of vinyl near the roof line.
You may also want to look up “artillery fungus” and see if that’s what you have going on. I doubt it, but it’s good to know about.
2 Likes
I’ll do that for sure! I appreciate it! Here’s a pic of the siding with the dirt stuck to it just to give a better idea. Didn’t get the best pic to show the haze on the entire place but you can see it in the caulk spots and the edges of the wood grain design. None of it came off with softwashing and I couldn’t even get it all off with pressure either
What is going on with that window? Did you rinse after you applied your mix or did you let it dry on?
That was the neutralizer. Sodium thiosulfate….no concern….it wiped right off as intended.
the hardies boards, somw look like painted over caulk of some variety. caulked over nail heads, then painted.
1 Like
Yes you are correct and those areas specifically held onto dirt or fallout….whichever it is. The sh mic didn’t touch it, pressure washing didn’t touch it, I tried simple green down streamed….didnt work….only thing that mostly or fully worked was scrubbing it.
What are you using a neutralizer for?
I like to pour a little in my transmission every now and then. Helps keep it from getting stuck in gear.
wow. just wow.
Lots of surprises on this thread…
Real common on Hardie board. Because it’s not suppose to have any holes in the surface of it, which many do if not installed correctly, the painters or installers, will swipe over holes with matching caulking or paint over the caulking. If they’re messy, may be big marks. Don’t worry about them.
People get sold on the hardie being maintenance free. It’s not, needs to be painted regularly. It will UV age and any spots touched up, the paint will age differently. It also shows scrape marks.
Where do you live? You need to go work with someone who knows what they’re doing.
Throw that neutralizer crap on the windows in the trash.
Where in the world did you hear to use that?
1 Like
Plants, grass, etc. I put it on the windows too to make sure the bleach doesn’t etch itself into the glass and create a problem that I have to fix. I’ve read about it numerous times and when I read about the neutralizer from the chemist girl on here (I forget her name)……she suggested it for windows too
What surprises do you mean?
Yeah hardie siding is a waste of time for what they market it for. The paint only generally lasts 5-7 years before needing repainted which is not even close to how long it could last on wood.
I live in southeast Washington state. No one else is over here that does this work so I’m left alone to figure this out. I read about the neutralizer from a thread on here that the chemist gal (I forget her name) recommended. And in that thread they mentioned putting it on the windows to keep bleach from etching them. I followed the instructions of what I researched here and I’m being told to throw it away……this is the problem I’m having with this crap. I read and read and ask questions and people tell me I need to learn or read more or throw that away……so many mixed reviews, how the hell am I supposed to get the right answer when I’m told or read different things all the time??
Not pointing at you or anyone else directly about it but damn this is so irritating!! I just want facts!! I wish there was a no ■■■■ list of do’s and donts and chemical instructions for each siding, each material, each situation. No one has broken it down on a chart and shared it
Racer has been doing this stuff for 100 years. He’s got 70 days of read time on this here forum. If he offers advice, take it.
3 Likes
