If it’s your own house and making profit isn’t an issue and you really want them gone you may have to carefully remove remaining roots with hand tools.
Like others have said its difficult if not impossible to remove without causing some damage to substrate.
I have removed them many times and process varies according to the substrate, type of coatings (if any), and amount of roots to be removed.
upload an image it would help us to help you
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@AUSSIE, good points. When my greenhouse was getting pressure washed there were a few vines on it. A couple of them were actual single full vines and not pulled off first. The turbo nozzle took them off but it was on painted cinderblocks and the mortar isn’t 200 years old. I’m waiting to hear from the two suppliers about the artillery spore removers. Maybe they have info. ShoreBest’s product claims it removes “most organic growth”.
Glad to see you pick up the torch!
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Sheesh, says you have to let it dwell for 1.5 to 2 hours and keep wet the whole time. For what I’d charge for that it’d be cheaper for the customer to get new siding, lol.
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I agree with @Donut. It does seem like you’ve made up your mind. I can tell you that acid applied to the vine’s roots on vinyl does nothing, would think they’d be even more embedded in stone. But since it’s painted, maybe not. Have you tried it yet?
I’ve used bleach-water on the vinyl siding and it’s been the only thing that helped at all (still took some pretty good scrubbing)…
Had an estimated 100 plus spots per square foot. A high pressure sprayer, bristle brush, plastic pot scrubber, and strong (vinyl safe) cleaners had no effect on the spots. A sharpened bamboo chop stick was the best tool we found for removing the spots. A sponge and detergent would then clean off the rest.
The last thing we had done was to paint over the spores that were on the aluminum trim using oil-based paint and to have a few screens re-screened.
Couldn’t be removed with a brush and if picked off with a fingernail left a brown stain); called a power washing company, described the situation and they told her it was Artillery Fungus and they wouldn’t even take our money because it was virtually impossible to get off.
I have started using an ink eraser on the spots. It does leave a smudge, but takes out the stain completely. I am going to try car wax to even out the smudges.
Labor intensive. I used a sponge with Simple Green on it (full strength is good) and on the other hand you take an INK eraser and you erase it, adding some Simple Green every few strokes. It removes it completely, then you buff the siding hard to remove any eraser smudges.
Only way that I have defeated the fungus is to wash the walls with “outside clorox” along with a brillo pad. It is not a sure cure.
Had one product that has recently helped me in cleaning off the spots left by the artillery fungus. It’s called ‘Pro-Tek Chemical’ and when mixed in about a 10-1 solution of water ( and while using some small bristled type pad and elbow grease) I have been able to remove much of the worst of it. While I have just started using it, I cannot say what (if any) long term negative outcomes might be on my white siding.
Within a week or two after landing, the spores may be emulsified with soapy water or removed with mineral spirits.
I have heard that a product called Jomax and bleach may work.
I’ve tried to get the spots off the surfaces and they don’t really budge.
I am able to remove the “spots” on the windows with a drywall putty knife and some soapy water. We have casement windows, so the fungus that is on the “white” vinyl casement around the window is the worse. Our siding is a wood grain tan color, so it does not show as bad.
Here is a solution we recommend for removing the black spots:
1/2 cup detergent (Tide, for example)
2/3 cup trisodium phosphate (Soilax, for example)
1 quart 5% sodium hypochlorite (Chlorox, for example)
3 quarts water
We suggest applying this solution with a soft bristled brush and removing with water.
Beforehand we tried to remove the black spots with a power washer but to no avail. A year passed by and the condition grew worse. I tried steel-wool, but that really didn’t do much. My wife tried a green Brillo pad and water. That had some noticeable affect but seemed to take a lot of scrubbing. Then, I tried Mr. Clean Magic Eraser out on the siding and with very little effort the spots came right off. I tried it on all three sides of the house and it removed every bit of it from the areas I applied the pad. Our vinyl siding has texturing to it, and so it was surprising to see how easy the spots were taken off with the Mr. Clean product. So ecstatic was I that I kept wiping away the spots within arms reach until the pad was depleted.
Each spring I take a plastic scraper and remove all the spots I can find, then wash the siding with Clorox Cleanup. It’s time consuming and a pain staking process, but I manage to remove 98-99% of the spots, with a thin outer circle usually remaining.
When my husband noticed it I went to action right away- the Mr. Clean sponges work really well and I have been able to get the majority of it off of our bay window, screens and door. Of course this is only feasible because it is not as severe as in the past and the rest of the house is brick, but thought you might want to pass this along. It removes the entire spot and doesn’t scratch.
I have two gardens in the front of the house off the foundation. One side has pure peat moss and the other a wood/bark mulch. Surprisingly, the siding on the peat side has no spotting on the siding! This may be a solution to the problem. Possibly peat inhibits fungus growth.The only downside is cost.
From DDDavis: “This is interesting, since many mosses including peat moss specifically are often anti-microbial, even being used in the old days for wound dressings in wartime!”
We are having some success with one home with vinyl siding… have been soaking with cleaning solution called power house butyl degreaser and hand brushing, then rinsing. Although there is still a light stain [approx. 75% of the stain is gone], it seems to fade as it dries.
We just got vinyl siding on our home…Alcoa’s latest. I noticed the black dots this spring but wasn’t surprised as my neighbors have been fighting them on their white vinyl pool fence for years. “Eagle 1 all around [automobile] wheel cleaner” took the dots off of the house siding fairly quickly…with my wheel brush…the cleaner is listed for painted or clear coated wheels. There doesn’t seem to be any etching. The dot’s have only been there since this spring…We’ve also used the magic eraser sponges from QVC on the neighbors pool fence but it takes some elbow grease.
Live in new condo area. Artillery fungus a very big problem. Believe it or not, used Simple Green, a spray cleaner used for cleaning cars and tools. Tried it on siding. Takes off dark residue and doesn’t leave stain. Seems to have no effect on siding.
Here is an older. but interesting one: “I am a tenth grade student attending Battlefield High School in Gainesville, Virginia. Through much experimentation in an independent research project I have found the cure to the pestering peridiole problem. Are you interested to learn of my results? I replied,“Yes” and she sent the following abstract and report (FULL TEXT IN PDF). And, I have received email from people who tried her suggestions, and they said it worked great!!! [Note: some of the “ingredients” are apparently no longer available as of 2012.]
Just a quick note of thanks for your page on this blight to mankind that has cost me many hours of scrubbing of my cars and siding. Of particular usefulness was the link describing the experiments of the 10th grader in Virginia. Don’t know if curiosity got the better of you and you actually tried her recommendations, but if not I can say the kid knows what she’s talking about! Following the 2-step process, the spots literally wipe right off. My fingertips and nails are saved!
There are hundreds of articles on-line saying you can’t get the spots off. But, The kids method works! We did refine it a little by replacing the toothpaste with the Mr. Clean Magic eraser. It’s a breeze. We wet a paper towel with mouthwash, wiped down the spots until they softened and wiped off (6-7 swipes did it) and went over the stain with the Magic eraser. The spots were completely gone.
The only solution that I have found to remove the fungus is Soft Scrub cleaner with bleach…and lots of elbow grease! The fungus attaches to our windows, front door, siding along the farmer’s front porch and the porch rockers. I think we will resort to stone, peat mulch, or pachysandra next year as it takes days to scrape off the fungus each year. I am going to try the Scope and toothpaste idea this year. Will let you know how it works. Thank goodness we park our cars inside…I never thought of it attacking vehicles.
I have removed all of the infested mulch already, and I am looking forward to putting something down that will not be prone to growth of the artillery fungus.
My current plan is to remove the mulch and replace it with small rocks. The time consuming job is to remove the dots. I tried the mouthwash and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser technique and that does work.
After looking at the blight on my aluminum siding for years, I decided to do a little research on the internet and stumbled across your web site FAQs on Artillery Fungus. I’ve tried many cleaners, but it mostly came down to a lot of elbow grease. Tonight I decided to try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I was so excited that I called my wife and kids out to take a look at how easily it removed the spores and stains. Within a matter of minutes I had the front of my house clean. If we can’t get rid of it, we may as well learn to live with it. This certainly makes it manageable.
Thanks for the article regarding artillery fungus and how to remove the spores from vinyl siding. My husband and I tried everything in the house to try and remove the spores. We found by accident that if you sprayed the area with Easy Off oven cleanser and let it set for 5 to 10 minutes, it came off a lot easier. The oven cleaner acted like it would normally in an oven. I did first scrape off the spore with either my fingernail or a plastic scraper. Then I applied the oven cleaner. Let it set on the spores for a few minutes, then using the Mr. Clean Magic eraser was able to remove most of the spore. It did leave a small red dot, but it is faint, and we are hoping the sun will eventually fade he red stain over time. Hope this will help others.
(I tried) bleach, stripper, M1, acetone, mineral spirits, gasoline, a prespray of fungicide and nothing worked. What I did find upon alot of research and finding your site was MAGIC ERASER! I presprayed my siding the evening before with a mixture of clorox bleach and M1 mildew aide and let it sit until mornin… The next morning I started scrubbing with a tad bit of water and Magic Eraser and amazingly almost every stain came off. I did find that the earlier you do this the better! This fungus had went approximately 12-15 feet up from the ground. Now, my siding is fairly spotless again and I hope that this information will help assist people so that they will not buy chemicals that do not work! MAGIC ERASER AND ELBOW GREASE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
The abstract by the 10th grade student in Virginia identified Cinnamon Ice Scope mouthwash. I could not find this in my local stores, but we had some Walgreen’s Spring Mint antiseptic mouthwash. It worked well, after allowing it to penetrate for about 5-10 minutes. Using a heavy-duty Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and mild rubbing for 15 - 20 seconds removed the stain effectively.
Your background, FAQ and readers’ suggestions have been helpful. We live in CT, have used a pine mulch for years but this is the first year we noticed the fungus, probably just missed it in the past. We tried most of the suggested solutions without success. Today we tried a product called ECO ORANGE, produced by PRO-TEK Chemicals. A 10:1 ratio removed most of the spots with limited scrubbing. We are just experimenting with it in small secluded areas and giving it a few days to see if there are any after effects. Thanks for your research and recommendations.
No one in our area [eastern Illinois] ever heard of this fungus. Landscapers, lawn service, cleaning services, insurance provider, let me rephrase that, insurance non-provider, knew what the black dots were. Yes we removed all the mulch. We had a 15x25 flower garden area at our entrance, on the North side of our home. We tried to burn it and what was left we buried. We had obtained the mulch from a wood palate company in a town north of us. It was not treated, and we thought that was why the fungus grew. We have scraped the soil after removing the infested mulch, sprayed with a fungicide, for extra measure, lay down a plastic barrier, and purchased treated cypress mulch. There are still many many spores on the surrounding plants that make me very nervous… I was successful in removing the spores off the six large windows across the front of our home. A large razor blade in a handle was convenient. I learned quickly not to scrape in a vertical motion. All the spores popped off all over my hair, face and down my t-shirt. Yuck!! Thanks again. I hope we can help others in their plight.
I read all your posts on removal and I have to say I didn’t have much trouble at all removing the specs from my vinyl siding. I mixed mouth wash with bleach roughly 2:1 and wiped the spots down then went back about 15 minutes later with the same mixture and a magic eraser.
I, too, just tried the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean artillery fungus spots from my windows, window frames, and door frames, and it worked great. Like magic! Took a little elbow grease, but not much. I think it works better if you wipe over the spots with the Eraser and let the wet solution start working for about 15 seconds before trying to remove them. It appears to reduce the amount of pressure required when scrubbing them off. Not sure what I can do, yet, about the spots on the stained cedar, though. Mr. Clean doesn’t work on that.
Incidentally, I have been able to remove the periodiles from my siding using either Simple Green or an antiseptic mouthwash, followed by some hard rubbing with Extra Strength Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
I had thousands of black spots on my James Hardee Siding and Anderson Windows. After trying many techniques, here is what worked best for me. Take a new paint stir stick. Cut a piece approximately 4” to 5" long. Using a pair of pliers, break the piece in half (long ways). Round the corners slightly by scraping the stir stick corners on dry concrete. Get a bucket of warm water. Drop the stick in the water to get it wet. Use warm water, and a two sided sponge (one side is abrasive). Rub the abrasive side across the black dots until the tops scraped off. Don’t have to grind. Rewet area with the soft side of the sponge and let soak for several minutes. Continue working other spots. Then after several minutes of letting a spot soak…use the wetted stick to rub off the remainder of the black spot. Periodically, re-wet the stick. Works amazingly well and does not scratch the painted surfaces. Very effective getting off spots in the siding grooves. Also gets residue brown stains off of metal window frames and gutters.
Just a note to let you know that undiluted hydrogen peroxide completely dissolved (quickly) the artillery fungus spores on my lanai [terrace]. Just poured it onto the concrete, covered the entire area with a using a scrub brush (no scrubbing) , wait a few minutes and VERY EASILY removed with gentle brushing then rinse! Very Happy now! Tried EVERYTHING else.
Here is something that worked for me and is only $10.00 per gallon which makes 32 gallons after mixing with water. ODOBAN. it even states that it removes mold… You do have to wet with the solution, then take a terry cloth (rough) and use some elbow grease and it goes away. I would recommend leaving a solution on the vinyl to prevent further spores. I was unable to do my gutters last year…and this year you can see that they look bad and the house still is clear of the mold/fungus.
Thanks. That is what I was hoping. I found the ultimate tool for removing the spores. It is a dremel tool with a very narrow wire brush. The tools set to the lowest setting and using a very gentle touch it removes the spores. And often the stain without damage to the siding. A quick wipe with a magic eraser removes any remaining stains.
May I suggest that you try a product called Wizards Power Clean. It is made by Wizmar Int. Inc…This product sells for about $10.00 for a 22 oz. spray bottle. It is environmentally safe and I guarantee that you will be pleased with the results. It will remove the fungus by simply spraying it on the surface, letting it stand for about 7 to 10 minutes and rinsing it off with a pressure washer. Not only will it clean the fungus, it is good on bugs, white walls, rims and pretty much anything you want to clean easily. I know, I sound like a salesman for the company but I assure you I am not. I have however spent 30 years in Law Enforcement and 18 months in Southern Afghanistan and I know what it takes to replace siding on a home. So, tell you readers not to cry but to try the product.
I live in southwest Florida and noticed these ‘blood spots’ on my lanai [terrace] and after some research on the net figured I had an artillery fungus somewhere in the lanai [terrace]. Tried several types of chemicals then sat down and thought about it. I’m a nurse and hydrogen peroxide works wonders getting blood (an organic compound) out of my uniforms so I tried it. IT WORKS!!! Full strength (it’s a cheap buy) and after it bubbles and kills the spores they just brush off with a wet brush! Please post if you can, didn’t see this solution on your site.
I had a pretty severe case of the artillery fungus on my vinyl siding, so I mixed up a solution of 4 parts Clorox Bleach with 1 part water, and added a dash of dish washing detergent. Then I took a soft bristle brush and attempted to remove the fungus from my siding with this solution. To my surprise, the fungus came off quite easily with very little elbow grease. The fungus has been removed without any spotting or staining. I’m amazed, since my previous attempts to remove the fungus all failed.
Just a quick update on how I am doing getting the artillery fungus spores off my home. Perhaps you could add to your FAQs for others to read. On my vinyl/plastic fence, I used a combination of water and Comet cleanser. I dipped a brillow pad into this and scrubbed and hosed off. The spores came off realtively easily. On my aluminum siding, I used TSP mixed with water after scraping. This was more laborious, but got the spores off.
I was able to get the fungus off my windows using a paint scraper. I was able to get it off the window capping using by gently using a brillow pad. I got if off my plastic/vinyl fence using a brillow pad and TSP. My aluminum siding was another story. I cleaned it off as best I could, but ended up repainting it.
I found that Krud Kutter works great. I have to scrape the tops off the adhered peridioles first by spraying the Krud Kutter, soaking for a minute and using good old fashioned elbow grease, but then soaking with Krud Kutter again for a minute and using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser removes the spot as if it were never there. This is time consuming, but removes every trace. Mine have been there for two years prior to finding that this worked, and they are being completely removed. Please add this to your article for others.
First I scrape the siding with a plastic putty knife. This gets rid of the “top” of the fungus spot. I then spray automotive “tar and bug remover” on the siding and let it soak for several minutes. Next I take a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (extra power) to the remaining stain. It comes off fairly easy although it still takes some scrubbing. The results are pretty good.
I have a house on Cape Cod. Two years ago I noticed that my white vinyl fence had these stubborn black dots that did not come off when I power washed the fence. I tried scrubbing with soap and water, used a TSP cleaner, nothing worked. I read your web page and decided to use the mouthwash/magic eraser on the spots. My wife found the spots cleaned easily with this method, so she used the magic eraser alone and that worked just as well. This morning I sprayed Fantastic brand spray cleaner and used a Scotch Bright No Scratch Heavy Duty kitchen sponge (using the green scrubber side of the sponge) on the spots and they simply wiped away without any scrubbing effort.
I’ve been trying many of the remedies with no real luck. Hydrogen peroxide did not work. Mr. Clean magic eraser works but very, very slowly, and with much elbow grease, too slow to remove all. I also tried automobile bug/tar remover - no good, pure kerosene did not work. I will try the mouthwash and toothpaste or extra strength Mr. Clean magic eraser next. The spores on the glass bay window was very easy to remove with a one sided razor blade. Must keep window wet so that the brown residue won’t stick. Comes out nice and clean.
I tried everything listed on this page and to no avail. Nothing removed this horrible fungus. So I got out my small wagner steam cleaner and with a rotating brush on the hand held wand I steamed and scrubbed and amazingly they came completely clean, stains and all just like new siding put on my house. It took quite a few hours for a 6 x 12 ft area but did the trick. Never saw anything so difficult to remove, but worked like a charm.
Have tried many tactics to rid our windows of the spores. Best one by far to-date has been Tilex Mold and Mildew spray. Works well on the glass - have not tried it on the wooden window frames yet. Saves a lot of elbow grease. Next I will try the Magic Eraser and mouthwash suggestion. Thanks a million for posting these for people like me who are faced with a big cleanup.
I read on your site that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works. I just went outside to try it and it worked perfectly on a white metal entry door. This is the best part of my day. (I really hate that stuff.)
Today I experimented and found that Shaklees Basic H (diluted) and Scour Off products, along with a Mr Clean eraser sponge does work. First I spray on the Basic H, then put the scour off on the Mr. Clean pad to do the windows. As for the siding, I did the same, except used a green Scotch scouring pad.
Zep House and Siding Cleaner and a gas-powered pressure washer - DONE! No fungus - no stains.
I have had great luck with Clorox Soft-Scrub and an old t-shirt. A damp shirt and a little Soft-Scrub, and a lot of elbow grease removes the spores without scratching the surface. I have used this on vinyl siding, aluminum fascia, and vinyl windows for several years. I have replaced my hardwood mulch every other year for the past 8 years, as it seems to take a couple of years for the fungus to get established.
A side of my house [in New York] is covered in the dots. I have been experimenting with various solutions on my vinyl siding to remove the spots. I ha
I’ve found the following over-the-counter product works with elbow grease to remove the spots:
a) First, use a scraper or wire brush and scrape over a section of affected vinyl siding.
b) Use paper towels with small amounts Automotive Preparation Solution (“Prep-Sol”) dispensed from a squeeze-top plastic water bottle. You have to rub this in hard, but it does remove the stain. I did have success with this process in removing the spots completely. I am unsure if this would work on painted wood, but I imagine it would remove latex paint. I hope this helps. Again thank you for the article.
I wanted to share with you what I tried recently to combat the artillery mold on the front of my house [Fredericksburg, VA]. After reading all the suggestions submitted, I got the idea to try Dawn Power Dissolver on the mold spots. I sprayed the solution on and left it for about 15-20 minutes, then scrubbed the area with a wet Extra Strong Magic Eraser. Then I hosed down the area to wash off the residue left by the magic eraser. It worked remarkably well. The test area is totally free of mold spots.
For artillery fungus on vinyl siding, use Mr. Clean magic eraser. Make sure it is wet, rub hard and wipe the residue off. This works but is very labor intensive.
After trying everything under the sun and on your site the most effective remover is found in our kitchen; vinegar. Saturate fungus with a spray bottle containing vinegar, let fungus absorb vinegar for several minutes. Use wood putty spatula to remove fungus. Most times will remove all of the fungus substance. If brown spot is left magic easer will remove it easily.
I have a technique to remove Artillery Fungus:
Spray on some water then spray oven cleaner and let it stand for about a minute or two then spray off with power washer . I have white vinyl siding and if it stains light brown then I spray on bleach.
Using dawn on wood siding. Works the best for me.
I had the same problem of Artillery Fungus all over my white vinyl fence. This is a five-foot, open picket vinyl fence and was literally covered in black dots (I could not even see the white in some areas). I used a product from The Home Depot called “Behr Premikum Deck, Fence and Siding Mildew Stain Remover”. This is a biodegradable produce in a one gallon (3.79 L) light brown container.
Using a scrub brush, and this product (full strength), I used a hose to wet the fence, then scrubbed the product on the fence and rinsed the fence section off with the hose. The black spots went away almost entirely without leaving brush marks. The fence now looks as good as the day it was installed.
CAUTION: Areas around the fence (grass and/plantings) needed to be sprayed with water and covered with plastic before using the product.
Without going into detail about my experience with this mold, I would like to simply relate to you a simple solution for MY problem. I simply got a brillo pad out to see if I could remove some of the mold with it. Lo and behold without too much scrubbing I was able to remove the mold with the brillo pad. My siding, which is vinyl, doesn’t seem to have suffered any damage as a result. I’m fairly sure that on metal siding this would not be the case. I have read people’s problems with this and tried a number of their suggested remedies without success. This seems to be a simple solution but it worked for me.
Cleaned large portions of affected area in front of house then applied strong concentration of fertilome systemic fungicide to plants and mulch…after one month spores have not returned.
I had Artillery Fungus on my vinyl siding and removed it very easily with Easy Off oven cleaner.
Just sprayed it directly on the black spots …let it sit for 5 minutes and wipe with a wet cloth.
I used a green ScotchBrite pad and some Westley’s Bleche-White Tire Cleaner. Still takes lots of elbow grease but it did remove most of the dots.
The mouthwash/Magic Eraser worked well on the vinyl casings of my windows. The credit card method of removing the spores worked well although I have found nothing removes the stains from the wood siding.
Your paper on artillery fungus was very interesting to me. I recently retired from the power wash industry where I worked for over 40 years. I thought I might add my 2 bits just for your information.
In Wisconsin we did not have much occurrence of artillery fungus until after Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf Coast in 2004. Huge quantities of downed cypress were processed into mulch and distributed here and other parts of the country. Once that material was spread in plant beds we began to see lots of spores on siding. It was so rare here that I virtually never saw it before that time, though I had been washing houses since 1984.
The spores can be removed from brick, vinyl or steel siding using hot water under pressure with a spot or zero degree nozzle. Each spore packet must be attacked individually and can be time consuming. I have seen some homeowners remove them using popsicle sticks or chopsticks and elbow grease. There are some chemical treatments that can speed up the process but the siding must be able to tolerate strong alkaline materials that soften organic fibers but also can remove paint. Obviously not a choice for standard wood sided homes or painted surfaces.
Many of my customers were able to avoid recurrence of the spores by treating the mulch once a month or so with a 6% solution of household bleach and water, applied to the mulch with a garden sprayer, avoiding any plantings. In general the spore distribution stopped where the mulch ended, except in those cases you mentioned where wind carries the packets farther away.
I have not done any scientific testing to support my methods, just spent hundreds of hours removing the stuff. It can be done but is not a do it yourself undertaking without a tremendous amount of physical labor.
My stuff: oil eater for vinyl with the magic eraser (scrape lump first); on wood siding dawn and water 1/2 and 1/2 after a plastic putty knife scraped off the lump again using the magic eraser. Oil eater softens latex so don’t use it except on oil base paint. These removed all traces of mold. Soaking spots before using elbow grease made the removal easier.
I enjoyed reading your research papers on Artillery Fungus. I have a battle on my hands with this fungus, it is all over the front of my house. I believe that we may have first noticed it about 4 to 5 years ago and did not realize what it was at the time. About a year ago someone had said that it was some kind of fungus, well last week I looked this up on the internet and was overwhelmed. I have tried a few of the suggestions that you have posted from readers of your research papers. I have found that by scraping them with a plastic putty knife and then using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Extra Power I am left with a small faint reddish spot which I am hoping will fade completely over time. This is a very time consuming process but needs to be done.
The experts are right, there is NO easy solution to removing those black spots from your siding. Work on about a three square foot area at a time. Wet it down with a garden hose and keep it wet for about ten minutes. Next scrub the spots off with a soap filled SOS pad. Next rinse the area with the garden hose once again to remove the soap. It takes a little effort but the entire spot is removed including the brown residue. The suggestions to pre-treat with windex, mouthwash, WD40 or what have you all help but plain water from your hose does just as well.
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Not yet @Racer. I’m going to do that this weekend.
Nature is amazing that it can make a bond so strong for those to tiny roots that even acid that etches concrete wont touch it.
One of the artillery fungus chimes had a PH 14. Pretty high. Might even be lye.
Oh my what a extraordinary write up you have here…lot of informative literature.
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@instock, that was awesome for you to share all of that and do the research but I’m not sure if you’re clear on what I’m removing. It’s the little roots from ivy vines called tendrils. There was mention of artillery fungus remover that might work for it so it was discussed. Thanks for the effort. Did you come across anything about vines when you were researching that?
Can you post pics?
Too dark for pics now. I can get some this weekend.
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So I started on the mildew and vines today. So far better results than expected!
The vines on the stucco came off and so did the tendrils. There are a few minor stains but I havent soft washed that area yet so I dont know if they will remain. None of the standard nozzles that came with the machine did very well. The one that worked the best was a 2nd story pink nozzle that I bought to use for softwashing. It came in a 2 pack of blue and pink. It was tedious and I had to basically follow each vine trail and slowly knock the roots off but it worked. I havent touched the old stone wall yet.
The softwash didnt cone out very well. I used a 50/50 mix and there are still a few green spots. Mostly where they were heavily shaded. The 0 degree nozzle wouldnt even clean them. Does the mildew get that deep in the stucco? Should I spot treat that with full strength in a spray bottle?
The chimney is also stucco and was black from the top down to the top of a 1st floor window. Some of it turned brown but it didnt clean. What is suggested to use on that? Is that a stronger mix that the rest of the house if it’s that dirty?
FYI I used the only method I have right now to spray. It’s what I was some as a DS injector when I bought the machine. @Racer said it was a cheap copy of an xjet. It may not be sucking enough mix to clean the chimney.
I can see now why he recommended getting a DS and leaving it at the machine with a bucket of cleaner. I cant get suction when I raise the wand high enough to hit the highest peak on the house and when I let off the trigger i lose the prime. Waste of time and a crappy job is what I will get with that. I learned that lesson quick. Much more reliable and predictable table if it’s at the machine.
On stucco, will depend on how bad and how long it’s been there. Sometimes it takes multiple applications of a strong mix, with about a 5-10min dwell time on each. Don’t rinse till the end. I had an office building about a month ago that took 4 applications of a 50-50 mix using my 12v system before it came off.
As usually pics would help. You keep asking us for input and still haven’t posted any pics, so we’re kind of shooting in the dark here.
Better. one pic, lol. That chimney going to take some work, probably multiple applications. You need a 12v. You’ve got plenty of places you could use around there. Be sure you protect anything you don’t want to kill below. Prewet adjoining wood. Find a good source of bleach close to you 12.5 or at least 10% preferably
@Racer, I bought a jrod and a DS injector as you suggested to me on another post. It is way better than using that xjet knock off they sold me with the machine.
The jrod soap nozzle shoots higher then the setup I had. It’s very convenient to not have to be concerned about the bucket and being able to switch to rinse so easily.
I can see why the 12v system would be better at delivering more SH to the top of this chimney. I’m limited by dilution when using a DS. I started at the 50/50 you suggested of 12.5% SH. I read here that degreaser is needed for soot so I added the Zep stuff they sold me with the machine. I added a little Elemenator too. Unless I didnt use enough of the Zep I wasnt impressed and cant see buying it again. I think I saw EBC recommeded as a degreaser and I’ll get some of that to have.
After 2 applications with that mix and about 7 minutes dwell each time it hardly touched it.
I started thinking about what I’ve read in so many posts here and it’s to try a baseline mix and adjust up or down as needed.
I went with a 75/25 mix, the last of the Zep and some Elemonator. Big difference with 2 applications and same dwell time. It was too dark to continue and I couldn’t see so I rinsed it and will have to finish up later.
Do you think I should use straight SH with some degreaser or elemenator to clean what’s left? If not what do you suggest.
The point of all this is that I get why you have to read and then do so you can start your learning curve. A basic starting point is important to search for but useless without an attempt with the right state of mind, attitude and equipment.
Thank you all for the advice that is going to make me learn this job right!
whats up with that paint peeling,IDK if I would wanna mess around with that but maybe you all ready worked that out.just wondering
The house is getting painted. Not related to washing the chimney. That area only got rinsed for good measure. The painters are redoing that.
Is that stucco? If so, even if you DS straight 12.5% you still might not get the results your wanting. I’ve actually had pretty good results with DS’ing straight 12.5 on stucco, but usually it takes several applications. Your probably going to need something hotter than what you can get from DS’ing.
Yes its stucco. So I may have to fill a spray with a 50/50 using 12.5% and start there.
