hey everyone i’m currently doing a project in a development with a lot of stucco homes. I have cleaned stucco before ,but some these seem to have the heaviest staining under the corners the windows.In the past I have used sh and a soft scrub brush,but did’nt get these areas as clean as the rest of the house,anyone use another meathod?
Using a roof mix of half water half SH is the only thing that has worked for me… In my area all the houses are stucco so no one really soft washes cause it doesn’t work on stucco…
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I softwash stucco all the time. I’m going to do one right now. Stronger mix, longer dwell time, hit it twice on stubborn spots, Whatever it takes.
Pressure washing any house is out of the question. There are other chemicals that can be used, if the stains are not organic.
Well its never worked for me, I must be doing something wrong hah
If your not soft washing it (DS or roof pump) how are you cleaning it? Pressure only?
We do mostly commercial work, not too many houses. But yes pretty much just rinsing it down to remove debris on the house (basically soft washing without the chems). If there are water runoff stains below the windows then hit them with a pump up sprayer with roof mix.
Ive tried down streaming SH on stucco and it just doesn’t work for me, an x-jet works better. (10% SH at a pool store is the best SH around here)
In southern California people don’t really get their houses washed either. There is no mold/ mildew so the service is uncommon. Most of the pressure washing guys around here run 4gpm machines and just rinse, no chems. They also clean roofs with surface cleaners and high pressure too, its all concrete tile roofs though.
I have focused on only commercial pressure washing for these reasons…
Yeah stucco def requires a stronger mix to fully remove mold ect…
From what it sounds like…you have an opportunity to open a profitable niche where others are failing at. Do your homework…educate the clients…and make your $$$$.
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Thanks for the feedback everyone,I wasn’t sure if too strong a mix would turn the stucco to mush
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I see you do alot of stucco work. I have a commercial job coming up with stucco.it will be my first stucco job. it has a lot of mold over the doorways & windows. I seen Where most recommend a 1/2 sh 1/2 water mixture. My only concern is there is fabric awnings over all the windows & with a stronger mix should I be concerned about damaging the awnings? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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Luckily I have never had to resort to a 50/50 mix, for really stubborn stains I use my injector to fill the hose with mix then use my Xjet. In my experience awnings are made of nylon or polyester or whatever blend they use is not affected by SH. BUT…I would do a test with your mix on an inconspicuous place.
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Thanks for the info… Here’s what I’m up against. I Downstream my mix, what kind of dwell time would you recommend?
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Ricky. I can’t tell you how long your dwell time should be. Every situation is different. With my set up 10 -15 minutes will usually be good. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Depending on surface, the stain, temp, mix…
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I understand… Thanks for the info, I appreciate that…
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Use soft pressure using low pressure tips available from guys online like Bob at pressuretek or power wash store. Really you’ll want to let the chemicals do the work. I would suggest a fairly strong mix of SH and surfactant.
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I got some low pressure tips a couple weeks ago, so should be good to go. Thanks
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My guys were doing roofs all day so my Chem pump wasn’t available. I used the XJet with straight and 8oz of Elemonator. It was a hot day today and the sun was beating on the side so I rinsed the building to cool the surface then hit this wall twice over the course of 15-20 mins. It came out well and the home owner was impressed.
Britton Emerson
Emerson Exteriors
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Where about in California are you and I’m also noticing this type of business stucco homes here in ca owners don’t really even want soft washing or no what it is .
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What concentrate was your SH? And which surfactant did you use .? Looks great
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We call “straight” 12% SH and the soap we used here was Elemonator. I live in Canada on the west coast.
I hate stucco and I’ve only done one
