I Cleaned this siding with a house wash mit. Then cleaned the gutters. I rinsed down the house before and after each of those cleanings. The next day the customer sent me those pictures… does anybody have any idea what this could be or how to remove it
I’m not sure of the method you used. To be clear, you cleaned the siding by hand or that wash mit attaches to some sort of cleaning pole or something. What did you use as a cleaner and how did you apply it? Are these the only spots or just samples?
Those are the only spot he saying. I use a soft wash technique.No mit… that was a typo. I use the suggested amount of house wash soap 4 ounces 1 gallon of sh and the rest water in a 5 gallon bucket
Ok. I’m not sure what it could be, but it could it be coming from the vent holes in the siding (kind of looks like oil like wd40 or something). It may have been there all along and you did not notice it. I would hit it again and see how it turns out. It doesn’t seem to be coming from your work. I would not scrub it though, unless you are willing to do that whole side of the house as it will stand from the rest of the siding.
What kind of house wash soap?
How did you apply it?
If you downs streamed it, I am surprised that 1 gallon of SH in 4 gallons of water got the house clean.
You said you cleaned the gutters. Do you mean clean, or brighten? What did you use to “clean” the gutters?
I think what you are seeing is siding that is oxidized, and the areas the customer has issues with are areas that the oxidation has been removed. Go back there and swipe your fingers on the siding near the affected area.
Whether you inadvertently removed some oxidation, or it was already removed but hidden under filth will be hard to determine unless you have real good before and after pictures? Do you have any?
You may be on the hook to remove all oxidation from the siding.
K Gilligan is right Imo that siding is oxidized and for whatever reason those spots got “reallyclean” if you used a gutter brightener that could have landed on the siding and removed oxidation in those areas. Bad news is I bet you will now have to scrub the whole side of the house to remove all oxidation but I hope not.
Got it.
That is oxidation. I can see it in the photo
yup oxidation, see lots of it down here Vancouver
i’ll never touch another house with oxidation. I had to hand wipe a whole town home once, with bleach and water. After I washed it twice. I had never seen it before .I know now— that i’ll never try and clean another one.
How do you know if there is oxidation before you wash it?
a spotty look( from afar ). Then you go an wipe your fingers against it, if a chalky powder comes off on your fingers, that’s “oxidation”.
Yeah, that was a while ago…it was oxidation…100%… hit it again with reg house mix…all good customer was satisfied…
I have seen many stains before and it is likely these were there before you ever showed up. I carry a camera and take pictures before I start. I walk around the house and capture everything that I find out of the ordinary. It has saved me several times. Sometimes I find that there are home owners looking for a way to get out of paying for a service. One guy tiffed me for $500 for streaks on his big window. I rinsed that window twice and it still streaked (or so he said I never got a look) and most streaks come from the minerals in the water after it dries. So start carrying a camera and start using it. my opinion fwiw
This solution is too weak (even if it’s 12.5%)-as you may have discovered already ! (? ) I hope it’s only 4 oz. per 5 gallons of soap you’re using ?
** Back to the main subject: Some folks here think you should detail the whole house up, and remove all stains on the house ,regardless of what caused them. This is a good way to get burned on every house. House washing is “maintenance” Not repairs.
Now they can pay extra for repairs…I have no problem with that !
Exactly, Even though I’m new to this industry, this is what I tell all my customers before and after the service.
Good luck staying in business
What do you mean by that?
