Vinyl siding dried "blotchy"...?

[dpaull 80]

A little background on the house...

HO bought house 3 years ago. He pressure washed it himself, and got a bunch of lines in the siding.

So I wash it this year and it gets the mold off fine. We used some BEHR No. 62 with bleach in it (1/2 gallon), mixed with 2 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket, then down-streamed (so we're talking VERY low percentage of bleach).

We sprayed down side 1...brushed a few spots, rinsed like hell...

Moved to side 2, sprayed it down, brushed the gutters, and rinsed like hell...

I walk back to side 1, and you can see where the brush marks are (this side is in direct sunlight), rub my hand on it, and it's chalky...so we decide to go back over, and use this garden-hose house wash sprayer, and hose it on...hose it off...

So we do side 3 and 4 (least bad sides) with just the garden-hose house wash sprayer (one of those little bottles you attach to your garden hose that says "HOUSE WASH" on it)...we don't let it dry on the house, we simply hose on, let sit a couple minutes, then I hosed off thoroughly with a 0040 and a 1530...and I mean we rinsed this house like crazy.

So anyway, I do a walk-around with the customer and he's happy, the mold/ mildew is all gone, but the sun is at the horizon...

So I am driving by this morning just to check how it looks in the sunlight, and it looks pretty blotchy even from the street. Even the sides that we just used the garden hose house wash attachment are blotchy.

Near the bottom, the blotches get bigger.

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So I need some help because I'm thinking he's going to call me no doubt about it. What can I do to rectify the situation, or should I do anything (for free)? My buddy said maybe offer to hose on some wax..but I've never waxed a house before and wouldn't know what type to buy.

A friend of his who runs a big pwashing company in DC says that it's the siding and the paint is just old and needs repainted. He's saying we're definitely not to blame and that we shouldn't do anything...

Although I'd definitely like to keep the customer happy. I'm willing to go work on the house for a while just to make him happy. If it means getting out a ladder and washing it with windex by hand and waxing it like you'd wax a car, I'm willing to do that...even if it's just the siding is old and oxidized and has nothing to do with our process.

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That being said, we've done a bunch of vinyl houses with this method and never had this happen.

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I'd like to hear some opinions on what I should do and what you folks would do.

Thanks so much!

Feel free to call me if you want to, or leave your # and I'll give you a ring.

[dpaull 80]

Oh yeah, on the brick below the siding, before washing, there was some chalk run-down also.

[PressurePros 249]

Your problem occured with the brusing. You removed some of the oxidation but left the rest remaining. It always best to use between 1.5-2% sodium hypochlorite (bleach) hitting the house. Throw the Behr crap in the garbage. Your wasting your money. Thats why you had to brush.

Solutions include:

• Wash every inch of the house with even pressure

• Brush every inch of the house

• Use a higher caustic wash to remove the oxidation (not my favorite idea unless you know what you are doing)

• Apply acid followed by caustic for two step process. We do this for oxidized aluminum..not sure if it would work on vinyl

The house is going to dry dull. If you have a hot water machine, you can apply a wet wax to enhance the shine a little.

My advice is to wait until the customer cals you. I admire your attention to detail and willingness to do quality work but sometimes what we see and what the customer sees are different. There will be plenty of times for calbacks.. no use creating them where they may not exist.

[dpaull 80]

Ken, thanks so much for the info. So you think that if he calls, I should re-do the house with Sodium hypo....maybe throw 1/4 cup dawn (apple blossom) in there, and brush every square inch?

Or do you think just some detergent this time with no sh?

I've used these same procedures before and never had a problem. Was I just lucky, or is the fact that this siding is older and has a lot of oxidation what caused this to happen this time?

Thanks.

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edit:

The only thing that gets me is we didn't brush side 4...or the front side, and it's blotchy too....all we used was that garden hose attachment then rinsed with low pressure. I thnk this guy's siding is just beat or something.

Either way, I would like to hear any and all opinions.

[PressurePros 249]

David, when mold is left to grow on siding it wreaks havoc on the colorant. Age and sun are also factors. This guy needs new siding or a paint job.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Sounds like oil based paint chalking..

Ken, what wet wax we want? :)

[PressurePros 249]

Master of Alliteration, tongue tying champion, lord of all that is technical..

Plex-Master is the ticket.

[dpaull 80]

OK well, he called and said that there's some residue-looking stuff on his siding and wants me to come fix it up. I said I'd be out tomorrow to take a look at it.

I need a plan of action here.

I'm afraid that if I use more bleach, it will make the areas that already look lighter even lighter...

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What should I do?

6.5% Sod. hypo. with dawn, brush every square inch...

Or just use some laundry detergent mixed with dawn and brush every square inch...

Or something else together?

Thanks, and feel free to call me. I'll tell him his siding probably is just to the point where it needs painted, but there has to be a way to make the faded parts look 'even'.

Thanks!

[dpaull 80]

If that is oxidation, will just laundry detergent and a brush take care of it?

If it's sod. hypo. residue, is it still considered a caustic in it's dried form? And if so, can I use a light acidic cleaner to neutralize the 'cling' and rinse it right away? Or could I just simply use a light acidic cleaner and brush the whole siding and then rinse it away?

Thanks!

[PressurePros 249]

David, I hate to break this to you, but you are on your own. There isn't really a one-size-fits-all solution. My feeling is you are going to have to do one of the things I suggested. I doubt you are going to be able to spray on a solution of any chem; bleach, caustic or acid to rectify the problem.

Always test for oxidation when you bid a house with your fingertip. Don't use brushes. Soap from bottom to top and rinse from top to bottom. Use strong enough chemical to do th job without overkill. These are all things this and future experienc has to show you. I wish you the best of luck. Let us know how it pans out for you.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Maybe treat it as if it a car....get rid of oxidation and then wax..

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Master of Alliteration, tongue tying champion, lord of all that is technical..

Plex-Master is the ticket.

What you aint never read the back of 3m car spay wax?.. carnueba melted in yup you guessed it... 2-butoxy.. lol..let's make some.

Suppose some diluted behr silicone masonry products could work also..hehe

[dpaull 80]

Ahh well...all is good now.

The side that was the worst is the side that gets the most sun...and it looks a ton better. The mold on that side was mainly to the side of a aluminum sided box (I'm assuming it covered the gas meter or water meter), and underneath the wood at the top.

I used a brush and got every square inch.

Left to get some lunch, came back and everything dried up nice.

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It was definitely oxidation that was on the siding. The spots where I had brushed the oxidation was removed. So I have learned a valuable lesson:

Check for oxidation before doing siding...and if it's present, charge accordingly.

I don't know why I've never seen this happen before. I know I've read about plenty of other folks that have seen something like this happen, but I always just assumed they didn't rinse properly.

So anyway, thanks for the help...another satisfied customer...and that's what counts to me.