Streaking on Vinyl - HELP!

[Mike Williamson 198]

These are pics of a house I washed for a friend a couple months back. I just re-washed the heck out of it today to see if I could get rid of the streaking...I had assumed the streaks were un-rinsed soap (it is chalky, and comes off if you wipe your thumb across it), but it doesn't appear to be. What it looks like is oxidizing vinyl...I'm not even sure if vinyl does this. If I take a wet white rag and wipe the streaked areas, it comes off on the rag, and is the same greyish color as the siding.

The strange thing is that the streaks are in regular intervals, about 16=24" apart..I didn't think to measure while I was there. They're also not lined up with any particular part of the wall (seams, etc).

This wall is on the south side of the house, which gets sun most of the day, most of the year. That, in my mind, might explain the oxidation, but not why it shows up in streaks like this. The rest of the house is vinyl/brick, and the vinyl didn't do this on the other three sides.

I've never had vinyl siding do this, and I washed this house with the same soap/bleach mix that I always use. I tried a pretty strong wax mix (1/4 gallon in 5 gallons of water) and applied that with the XJet, to no avail.

It appears to come off, or at least look better, if I scrub with with soap and a brush (and I mean REALLY scrub). I'm hoping to avoid having to do this.

Is there a cleaner that will work in this situation, and can anyone give me some insight into why it looked like this AFTER cleaning, and not before?

[Don EMS 14]

You should take a mesurement, that might where the studs are. Is the vinyl soft in or bulgeing in those areas

[John Orr 206]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...Those are not streaks, they are caused by the nails used to apply the sheathing being super-heated, concentrating heat in one spot and "cooking" the siding. (Sometimes the nail gun isn't adjusted properly and the nails are not driven below the surface of the sheathing.)

There is no amount of washing that will fix this.

[Aplus 525]

I think it could be the weep holes in the siding. Check to see if there are holes under the lip of the siding that line up with the streaks.

Weep holes can collect water and soap, and slowly realease them over time, causing streaks.

[Henry B. 4]

I think Tony is right about this, expecially if your using an x jet to shoot your soap. You may have shot from underneath a bit more than usual and it got behind the siding, slowly ran out and then dirt stuck to it over time.

Another possibility that's going to sound completly crazy to most of you. <G>

Bats

I've seen very similiar markings like this from bat excrement. Occasionally they roost up in very small openings behind the rake board wrap and poop on the siding. When they do it will run down the siding and leave a similiar chalk like mark.

If you figure it out or remove it finally let us know the results.

Henry

[Paul B. 523]

Hard to tell from the pictures without a close-up.

Vinyl siding does oxidize. The sunny side of the house will get most of the wear and tear.

Did you use hot water to wash the siding?

Some streak areas look too long and too even/straight to be streaks - looks almost like the studs imprinted on the vinyl. The sheathing would normally keep the studs from coming in contact with the siding but you never know - the siding may be attached directly to the studs. (???)

Did you check to see if the streaks lined up with the weep holes in the siding?

The weep holes are on the bottom edge of the siding (some are round holes about .063" dia. and others are narrow slots about .063" x .188"). Most of the weep holes I've seen are 24" apart (there could be other intervals).

Can't tell from the pictures but it look like there are streaks at the window edges also which seems to indicate dirty water coming from behind the siding.

Brushing with detergent is one way to remove the streaks, but I've found that a phosphoric acid based cleaner works best to remove the streaks. You can buy a commercial grade cleaner or most grocery stores carry a product called "The Works - Tub and Shower Cleaner" (green label - 32 oz size spray bottle - buy 4 or 1 gallon under $15). Works great on cleaning dried streaks on siding (also works well cleaning rust off vinyl siding).

Normally, we make a streak check around the house before we leave and dry off runs with a dry truck brush and rags. If you're getting excess runs, you may have to wait until it all stops - lot easier to clean that way than to go back.

[Paul B. 523]

Bat(ter) is out on this one Henry - as crazy as it does sound!

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

There are a lot of coextruded (probably mispelled) sidings out there....that is they use recycled plastic and fuse a layer of virgin vinyl on the surface....easiest way to tell is to lift a piece of siding and see if its the same color all the way through. If not...stay away from it....i did one house where the color washed off....the wall was black..no longer white. Another give away is the siding chalks.....those streaks may fade away in time as the rest of the wall chalks up

Andy

[Mike Williamson 198]

John:

That would be a possibility, but the streaks weren't there prior to the first wash.

The weep hole idea is a possibility, I hadn't even realized vinyl siding had weep holes (we don't have a lot here, and I've never messed with it much). I'll check that first.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

The coextruded siding wouldnt streak until you wash it

[John Orr 206]

If the finish was oxidized, it would have masked the problem, only to reveal it after cleaning.

[Mike Williamson 198]

John:

Let me make sure I'm understanding what you're saying. What I'm getting is that ALL the siding was oxidized, but the portions of the siding where the nails were placed were REALLY oxidized due to the heat of the nails etc...so when I washed it I removed the oxidation that wasn't very bad, leaving the oxidation that was REALLY bad?

If it were nails, wouldn't it show up as round spots of oxidation where the nails are, rather than even stripes?

It'll be a few days before I can get back over there to check on the weep holes and remove a section of siding to check what's behind it.

[Henry B. 4]

Hey Mike,

I can understand that your busy but I would suggest you bump a job if you need to. In situations like this, you have to jump on it quick and be there busting your butt to fix a problem that could result in bad customer feedback and even worse, a lawsuit. If this is something you can fix the faster you fix it the better you will look. We all make mistakes on occasion but the thing the customer will remember the most is you were there to fix it immediatly. Some of the mistakes we have made in the past were actually the best PR we could ask for. Everyone loves and trusts a company that goes completly out of their way to fix a problem. Waiting on this is just going to make you look like you don't care.

Henry

It'll be a few days before I can get back over there to check on the weep holes and remove a section of siding to check what's behind it.

__________________

Mike Williamson

North Florida Pressure Washing

Gainesville, FL

352-213-7765

oneness@gator.net

[Mike Williamson 198]

Henry:

Normally I would do that, but this was something I did for a friend, not a job I was hired for. In this case, it won't be a problem. I've talked to her, and she doesn't have a problem.

[ron p 500]

got $200 www.vinylrenu.com

[Mike Williamson 198]

Well, if it oxidation and nothing I did wrong, I'd hope the owner has $200.00. :)

[PSI Phil 12]

weird, we clean a huge number of sided houses and have never seen that look before, but the "streaks" are to in line to be something that you could even possibly create, it is definately something with attachment or studs, it really appears to be severe oxidation, most guys on here are not familiar with Florida sun damage, but I am in Orlando, that shade of blue does tend to fade out and oxidize here. Realistically, you cant fix a problem like that here, its UV damage, all you can do is to cover it up, kinda like armorall'ing a damaged surface.

Phil

Pro-Surface(PSI Pressure Washing)

Orlando Fl

[Mike Williamson 198]

What would you use to "cover it up"?

[bill3752 14]

Ron, what is this stuff? A cleaner?

[Paul B. 523]

Looking at the pictures again, I do see some weep hole streaks under the window edges and some near it, but the majority of the streaks on the right side of the wall look like they are impressions of the studs or heavier oxidization where the studs are. If they used metal strips to hang the siding vs. the traditional nailing or if there were aluminum studs not covered with sheathing, I could follow along the line of what John is saying. The nails are a possibility, but as Mike pointed out, they would most likely show up as round spots vs. the very straight lines you see. Again, I'm guessing as I've not run across anything like this. Looking under the siding may solve all of the mystery.

[Paul B. 523]

What would you use to "cover it up"?

One option would be to paint the vinyl siding - you can take a strip of it into your paint store and they should be able to analyze the color to match it exactly.

Vinyl siding paint is 100% acrylic latex house paint. Some paint manufaturers have labeled it as "vinyl siding paint". RICHARDS #400 SATIN ACRYLIC is excellent for vinyl siding and if a higher gloss is preferred, then use the #200 gloss acrylic.

Sherwin Williams' vinyl siding paint is called “Duration” or “Super Paint”.

They also sell a cleaner called "Pro Clean Prep Wash", but you can do the same with a detergent, water and adding TSP to etch the surface for adhesion. Their primer is called "Prep Rite Bonding Primer".

However, anything that is done to cover the oxidized vinyl is only a band-aid until the cause of the problem is determined and is properly dealt with, as the problem will most likely return in one form or another.

[joe g 14]

ive found that streaks like this r from weep holes has it rained at all where u r most of the time rain will do the job for you ,it always does for me house will dry evenly rather then drying completly then an hour later dirty water comes down from weep hole and dries ,trace the stain it will take u to a weep hole then hand clean stain with a standard cleaning solutiuon using a rag no powerwash this way weep holes cant bleed again on u looked like u had 5 good streaks there goodluck but thats my process

[Mike Williamson 198]

Nope, the rain didn't help, nor did re-washing it.

[James 624]

In 6 months the sun will blend everything back to normal.....

[valle 14]

Vinyl Siding: Has been in vogue as a siding material since 1957. In the last ten years alone, 314 billion square feet of vinyl siding has been installed. Oxidation and fading have been creating warranty problems for manufacturers. In some cases, within two years after installation the chalky appearance that many believe is color oxidation is titanium oxide that is blended into the capstock of the vinyl siding during manufacturing. The purpose of the titanium oxide is to protect thesiding from becoming brittle from the sun’s rays. Once exposed, the siding is now subject to brittleness. Pressure cleaning will not remove the TiO2, as there is an electrostatic bond between the TiO2 particles and the vinyl. A high PH cleaner will remove these particles at the expense of damaging the siding, and pressure washing will create streaking. Applying the proper cleaner and using light agitation will remove the TiO2 without damaging the siding. The homeowner thought that the siding was trouble and maintenance free, not so. Vincent