Hello everyone,
After reading the great advice on this forum I washed my house for the first time. Please note that I am a DIYer who washes only my own house, and I will not do this commercially. I undertake these types of projects for fun. 
I used my Simpson ALH4240 (4.0 GPM HONDA GX390 with CAT pump). If fitted my washer with a GP high draw downstream injector kit from PressureTek (part #5913).
I began with the following mix in a 5 gallon bucket:
2 gallons of water
2 gallons of 10% SH (Walmart Pool Essentials Liquid Chlorinating Liquid)
4 oz of Elemonator
I agitated the mix by stirring it with a plastic rod. (QUESTION: Is this step necessary, or can I just pour everything into the bucket without stirring it?)
For both spraying the chemical and rinsing, I used only the soap nozzles on my J-Rod. These are 0040 (soap high) and 2540 (soap low).
I did not use either of the rinse nozzles on the J-Rod, as I read that they put out too much pressure for vinyl siding. To switch between applying chemical and rinsing, I simply moved the downstream injector’s pickup hose from the bucket with the SH mix to a different bucket of straight water. That seemed to work well.
I cleaned the house section by section. Before starting each section I sprayed down all plants, colored shutters or doors, and outdoor furniture with water. I sprayed them down again with water immediately after applying chemical to the vinyl, and then waited approximately 10 minutes before rinsing the siding.
I tried not to hit any windows or glass doors directly, although I occasionally did. It didn’t seem to do any damage, thankfully. (QUESTION: Is there a risk of breaking the seals on windows when using only the low pressure soap tips mentioned above?)
For the most part, this approach worked great. There were, however, some areas with heavy mildew that was not going away. To deal with these stubborn spots, I made up a stronger batch of soap with the following mix:
4 gallons of 10% SH
4 oz of Elemonator
The stronger mix removed the heaviest mildew fairly quickly, leaving only clean siding behind. (QUESTION: Is this mix too hot to be used safely as my primary go-to mix?)
All in all, I was very happy with the results. Here are pictures of my north facing wall, which was by far the worst:
Before
After
As I indicated above, everything turned out great, and nothing appears to have been harmed, including plants.
There was, however, one problem. By the time that I was finished, my hand was in pain. Specifically, the skin is badly chafed directly below my thumb, here:
What is the best way to avoid this happening next time? Should I wear gloves? Or is the problem my gun?
I am using the spray gun that came with the pressure washer, which is this:
Would you recommend using something else instead?
Thank you again for this great forum, which is full of terrific advice. I’ve learned a lot from reading the posts here.
