Tough stains giving me fits....HELP!

[Aqua Pro 22]

I could really use some help here. The following photos were taken of a dryvit house I was recently contracted to clean. I have cleaned Dryvit/stucco homes in the past and have been very successful removing all types of containments including rust, black streaks on gutters (hydro-static bonding), mold, mildew hydro-carbons etc etc.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what these stains are or how to get them out.

The house is obviously two-tone and the problem only occurs on the white trim section of the homes exterior. The tan/beige color of the home looks great EXCEPT where the trim and walls meet in some areas.. I will say this; the builder did an extremely poor job in the construction phase as there are multiple areas on/in the trim that is bubbling, scaling, flaking, etc. etc.

There are spots where you can see the exposed mesh underneath the “trim.”

If you look very close at the areas affected, it almost looks like those areas are actually worn away. In other words, not so much a stain that we need to remove as it is erosion of the surface that needs to be replaced/painted.

I have tried chems from 0 to 14 and everything in between trying to find something that would take this off/out. Among those tried…..Safe restore (acid based), Sodium Hydroxide (different concentrates) including gutter zap, Power House, TSP, Sodium Met silicate, I believe we even tried some Oxalic.

Here’s something interesting, the next door neighbor has the opposite problem. They have a white dryvit home with beige trim. The trim looks good and the walls have black streaks in them.

ARGH! I’m at my wits end with it. The customer is on vacation and expects to come home to a clean house. My company name should say it all…..Aqua Pro Cleaning SOLUTIONS!

I don’t have a solution for this one.

PLEASE HELP!

P.S…THANKS!

Tom McMillan

P.S.-P.S. Anyone else reading this besides me make it to D.C. this year for the Clean Across America project?

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[AquaCleanTN 14]

i have had this happen before on stucco that has been installed improperly.the only alternative is to paint the trim.they will need to repair stucco that has mesh exposed.you have done everything you can.remember this when giving estimates on stucco in the future.

[James 625]

I have a house that is one of the oldest and first done in the US with this material. Some areas where out over time and do stain.

[Tmrrptr 164]

If the stucco/dyvit flakes off, it must be re-done.

The black stain does not seem to me something that bleach would not resolve.

Dwell time, and all that...

r

[Tom DeFrancesco 23]

I had the same problem on Friday. I cannot figure out how to get rid of the apparent water marks. i was affraid to try ox because i figured it would then make it brighter then the rest of the house. Any suggestions ??? BTW this is the second stucco house that has been a PITA to clean. The mold does not just rinse off like it does on vinyl.

[Tom DeFrancesco 23]

Here is another house I went to look at that is about a 100 years old and has never been cleaned. NOTHING I have tried so far has even made a dent to take this stuff off. I plan on trying safe restore next to see if that works.

[ron p 500]

hey tom

that black is caused by passing cars and truck's

Have you ever used the 2 step method of cleaning?

You shoot it with an acid then shoot it with a base?

then rinse.

It's not dangerous if your safe about it.

I'll say your best bet would be a pospheric acid [as in the same stuff in your coke bottle in your fridge] followed by a good sod. hyd. based soap.

Both applied with an x-jet and washed with an ext. wand.

A good soduim hydroxide soap should do it by it's self.

Do they still make BROWN DERBY in a mix kit?

[dpaull 80]

Hey Ron, great idea...I have been looking into two-step myself. How far on the pH scale do you have to go? Would a nice citrus cleaner followed up with a little alkali (say a mild 6% and surfactant) do the job...or do you need a stronger acid?

I've been meaning to try it, but didn't really want to try as I've been busy lately and didn't want to start experimenting on people's houses lol. I'm waiting until someone I know needs their house done to experiment.

[Tom DeFrancesco 23]

Hey Ron, no I have never tried two stepping on a house. It definately sounds interesting. I totally understand about the passing traffic but it is completely around the entire structure. I tried a strong concentration of my house wash mix and then tried a strong mix of F-18 along with 225 deg rinse. Not a dent. I am willing to try anything because I know this will be a profitable job. Eacho-chem swears on safe-restore. I have some so I will give it a shot.

[Tom DeFrancesco 23]

Only the front of the building faces the street.

[PressurePros 249]

Stucco houses are common around here. We do a good amount of them and we charge double to triple what a normal housewash costs because of high concentrations of chems/hot water/ higher pressure needed.

Tom M, what you have still looks like mold to me (as evidenced by the greenish shadowing that also remains). Stucco is capillary. Water gets down pretty far and so does mold. How strong did you take the sodium hypo? Did you try a hot water rinse? I have done stucco houses where I needed to X-Jet straight 12%, sodium metasilicate and TSP. Its a nasty combination that kills grass and etches glass. Be careful. But, the stucco comes up clean. Pump water from your tank and have a helper standing right next to you with a garden hose wetting everything down. Any stains that remains after that GSR from Eaco will remove.

Tom D, Safe Restore or GSR should take care of that .

[CCPC 26]

I agree with Ken. I also clean a lot of stucco as well, and frequently come upon areas that require full strength 10% chlorine via shurflo or pump up sprayer to even have a chance at eradication.

[StainlessDeal 16]

If you can pardon the hijack, it is very good to see two prolific members that have been missed, returning in the same thread.

It's great to hear from Lance and Ron P., two gentlemen that have contributed to my education, & the education of countless others, I'm sure. Thanks for stopping in and adding to the discussion.

Hope all is well with you guys!:lgwave:

[Aqua Pro 22]

"Hey tom

that black is caused by passing cars and trucks"

Thanks for the advice everybody. My original thought on what the stain was/is comprised of was hydrocarbons/petrochemicals as well. That would also explain why it's worse on the side facing the street. I even thought possibly jet fuel rinsing down on the trim. I did try a two step process with no success. I'm a little nervous about going 10% or higher with the bleach as the white trim borders a beige/tan side. My son was up on the ladder and said "hey dad, come here I want you to see this." What he was pointing out looked to me like exposed metal mesh from when they formed the trim and added stucco (looking down on the top of the trim). Although the stain itself does not resemble any type of metallic ferrous or non ferrous stain, is it possible that what I am looking at is, some kind of reaction with whatever the mesh is made of, interacting with the stucco/air/elements themselves? Or does the general consensus say some sort of embedded hydrocarbon/atmospheric pollution?

Maybe I'll try brushing on a stronger solution with hot water. Problem is, even if I was to find that "magic mix", It would not be cost effective to clean the entire trim areas over again with a brush method. Second problem is there is still a structural integrity issue as there are a lot of areas that are flaking, delaminating, popping out and bubbling......sounds to me like the builder needs to get involved as well.... your thoughts???

-Thanks all

Tom

[MMI Enterprises 289]

At what point do we call it a day and say "hey.. it could use a sand,prime, and paint..pressure washing can't solve everything" to the owner?

I'd have to say when 6% don't work or when ya know it is chipping or so thin that ya think your looking at the underneith.

[AquaCleanTN 14]

You have to be very careful when cleaning stucco especially if mesh is exposed. Dry-vits website tells what that can be used on stucco to clean it. See website http://www.dryvit.com/fileshare/doc/us/description/ds152.pdf. The best solution I have tried and another stucco mfg recommended is sodium hypochlorite and tsp. I add borax and a commercial surfactant. Sounds like Applesauce. We use some pressure as they recommend on real dirty areas.

[CCPC 26]

If you can pardon the hijack, it is very good to see two prolific members that have been missed, returning in the same thread.

It's great to hear from Lance and Ron P., two gentlemen that have contributed to my education, & the education of countless others, I'm sure. Thanks for stopping in and adding to the discussion.

Hope all is well with you guys!:lgwave:

Thanks for the kind words Scott. It's nice to see so many familiar faces. I need to start dropping in more often.

[CCPC 26]

At what point do we call it a day and say "hey.. it could use a sand,prime, and paint..pressure washing can't solve everything" to the owner?

I'd have to say when 6% don't work or when ya know it is chipping or so thin that ya think your looking at the underneith.

Good point here. I think one thing that seems to take a little time to finally realize is that somtimes perfection falls out of the scope of whats profitable in this business, and what outcomes are reasonably expected from the exterior cleaning trade . You have to know your limitations, and when it may be time to call it a "job well done".

[Tom DeFrancesco 23]

Good point here. I think one thing that seems to take a little time to finally realize is that somtimes perfection falls out of the scope of whats profitable in this business, and what outcomes are reasonably expected from the exterior cleaning trade . You have to know your limitations, and when it may be time to call it a "job well done".

That is somewhat true Lance, my problem is it kills me to walk away from a job knowing "I COULD NOT DO IT" I work so hard to let people know that we are not amateurs that we are professionals. I don't know.....it is an Italian thing I guess.

Ken, I had my guys test a spot with safe-restore and they said it did nothing. I will admit, I might question how long they let it dwell. Would GSR work better you think ???