I used 12% SH, 1 gal SH 2 gal water. It got the house looking damn new and the owners were very happy and have not received a call back in over a week.
My only concern is the stuff is REALLY strong. I was planning on using Clorox Concentrated Outdoor bleach on this upcoming job, half bleach half water.
Thoughts? Experiences? Appreciate any info in advance, thank you.
Mike
If your mix is too strong, dilute it more. Don’t waste your money on stuff that’s already diluted 
So dilute the 12%? 1/4 bleach water ratio?
I’m also concerned about plants surrounding the house, that’s my number one concern
How are you applying?
Just wet the plants in before ,an rinse them again after. Around 1% TTW is where you want to be for vinyl.
If your using a 3-5 gallon injector. 2 - 21/2 gallons SH per 5 gallon mix is fine. Ajust on how dirty the house is. If it’s not that dirty I’ve used 1 1/2 gallons SH mix.
I’ve never killled s plant ever this way
A buddy of mine keeps telling me to use this stuff. He loves it. He says he sprays it in starlight. I don’t know 
. I keep telling him why would I try something different
Pool Shock is working just fine.
This is the stuff firm Himendepit right ?
He says it’s thick !
I don’t even know how he’s applying it but swears by it.
Switching to a thickened mix with less SH makes no sense at all. Add more water to your 12%. In fact if you wanted to just buy 8% at the dollar store that would still make more sense to me than buying outdoor chlorox.
Downstream injector with soft wash tips.
3 GPM machine
Just peace of mind I guess.
If a customer specifically asks not to use bleach what would you use in that situation? Just curious if the situation arises. I’ve seen outdoor vinyl siding cleaner at home depot and have no clue how effective the stuff is.
The big box stuff is much less effective. You need to decide if you are going to do quality work. If so you want to use 12.5% if possible. You also want to measure how much your downstream injector is diluting. There’s no reason to guess when it’s easy to measure it.
SH works much better than the nearest alternative. You can try something else or let the client know SH is the right way to get the job done
If someone tells me they dont want bleach I ask why. Most times its going to be some bs reason that is easily disputed. Maybe 5 mins of discussion and info can ease their minds. Im going to use what works or Im not doing it.
The only reasons I think someone would not want want bleach are the smell and there are people out there with a legit chlorine allergy. Some municipal pools use bromine as an alternative because of allergies.
I am not saying use bromine for cleaning and I have not researched if anyone has used it for housewashing.
I haven’t been asked yet but I wouldn’t see it being a problem with the 5 min discussion and info. I’m going to guess a customers biggest concern is plant life. I’m doing a paver and driveway wash on the same house we’re talking about, took a look a week after the wash and zero damage to any surrounding plants/objects. The house looks damned good too, so good they set me up to wash their daughters house next week.
Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it.
tell them you dont use bleach and that you use sodium hypochlorite
If they don’t want the chemical you use, don’t wash for them
Here is a popular vinyl manufacturer that recommends using sodium hypochlorite to remove mildew. Why would you not follow the manufacturer’s instructions? Their ratio of 1 quart 5% SH mixed with 3 quarts water puts the ratio at .6% SH which we know is enough kill mildew. If they have a problem with a chemical that is found in their swimming pool and drinking water…and add to their laundry…then simply don’t wash their home. As was mentioned…most people are concerned about their plants and if it’s safe for their kids and pets…in dilution it’s very safe. Rinsing plants before, during, and after is important especially on hot days. You’ll need to do more reading about ratios if you’re asking about outdoor bleach.
If you mix 1 qt of 5% sodium hypochlorite with 3 qts of water, you end up with 1.25% sodium hypochlorite (not 0.6% as stated above).
