Vinyl siding problem

[hpwasher 14]

well i have a problem I never come across in 5 years. I powerwashed this vinly sided mobile home in the beginning of summer. I down stream 12% bleach let it dewll for no longer then 5 minutes then rinse. never had a problem in 5 years. Got a call from this customer and he e-mailed me this picture of this house. looks like wand marks all over the place. obviously you can only see it in the sunlight and at an angle, not straight on. there has to be a remedy for this thanks

[All Surface 24]

Doesn't sound like you did it if all you did was ds and lite rinse. Someone before you must have gotten right up on it and now it's showing up at certain angles and lite like you said. Unfortunatly the only couple of ways your gonna get rid of it is by hitting the whole thing and trying to blend it in or You could also try a sodeum hydroxide based ds'ing which may remove some of the oxidation that probably caused it in the first place. Is the surface oxidized? Like I said, I don't think you caused this! Possibly follow up with a good vinyl wax ds'ing to help with the oxidation problem.

[Paul Kassander 26]

Looks like the home owner got at it with a 0 degree nozzle.

Like Larry said just resoap the whole area and parrten clean it trying to keep the fan on one lap of siding at a time to prevent any more marks.

[hpwasher 14]

next question. No one likes to lose customers and especially not in a sitution where I don't feel like it was my fault. Now, I have to make a decision, do I powerwash this whole house again and most likely free of charge for something I didn't do?

[Cajun Cleanin 64]

I always question things people find months later.I mean c'mon are you now the owner of every thing that goes wrong at their house now.

I find it hard to believe you did that,unless you rinsed with an x-jet but it ain't your first rodeo if your 5 years into the biz.

I rarely wash trailers but they are famous for oxidized paint.

[MudDuck 20]

I'd try a good wet wax with hot water if you have it. Or the "restora" stuff on that side of the house. Unfortunately free yea. Need to try to make it right for them at least to show effort but I'd tell them straight out that I don't think I did that because that is caused by someone not knowing what they are doing using the wrong tip and too close. And explain to them what it is. Maybe they'll admit the "bro in law" cleaned it last year....Or little Bobby down the screet...

[hpwasher 14]

The homeowner has only owned the house for 18 months. This is the first time he has had it powerwashed under his ownership. Since this post he has e-mailed me back and i have some more valuable information. He has more pictures of the house prior to him owning it from the realtor. he says it looks like the wand marks were already there and he asked his neighbor and the previous owner did have it powerwashed. He would like to get it fixed. I've never used wax on a home and I've never heard of waxing a home. do you downstream it? can someone fill me in

[All Surface 24]

WOW! Just saw the pic. At least we know you didn't do it. I don't think the owner would ask you to fix it for free now. As far as the wet wax. I've never applied it but from all the reading I believe you can just ds it. Your probably gonna have to hit that house again though IMO and hard to blend it in. I'de use a butyl based soap with sodium hydroxide (degreaser) to help with the oxidation. Nice zero tip job someone did. I'de beat myself silly if I ever did that. :lgbonk:

Edited November 4, 2008 by All Surface

[k2waterwerx 14]

I had the same problem a month ago using an x-jet but it was only on one side. It is on the side the sun constantly hits. I rewashed it 2x ditching the x-jet and increasing the pressure and the water temp. alittle. It worked and I also used a wax. It sucked at first but I guess I will start paying more attention when I initially look at jobs.

[4000psi 16]

Just something to think about. When I do estimates I usualy ask if and when they had it washed last. Was it done by them? or a Pro? Then look for marks like that, show the owner, that way you know that they know what was already there. My $.02

[cleanhoods 43]

I not saying this will help but with my experiance i always use about a gallon of bleach,gallon of degreaser(caustic based)and gallon of water this is in a 3 gallon garden sprayer.Wet surface first soak surface then wash off.Always have good resolts.Also this mix works well on wood.Hope this helps. Thank you

[Brad Corns 14]

I always do a prewalk thru with customer and take pics of things that may come back to bite me in the ass. When I'm done, I again have homeowner do a walk thru to make sure it all is looking up to expectations. Don't like unnecessary return trips.

[PressurePros 248]

An X-Jet will do that so will a low pressure 0 degree tip at that height. In your defense I have uncovered marks like that that were covered in mold or dirt from a previous attempt. Since neither you or the homeonwer knows the history of the home and who worked on it, meet him on it and explain that you did not cause it but because you are the professional you should have noticed it. Have him meet you at the house and duplicate you technique in front of his eyes. I'm assuming you used a black soap tip or a dual lance wand.

[jnoden 15]

As you probably all ready know wand marks are usually caused from removing oxidation. If this is the case here then you can make all the siding look like the actual wand marks but it takes a little time. Bump up your house wash with a little sodium metascilate and use more pressure than you normally would one lap at a time perpendicular to the siding and not in to the weep holes. This usually cost a home owner 2x as much as what a regular house wash would cost because we use a large artiulating step ladder and a 7 ft wand and it takes time. I always ask the customer if we can do a test on a bottom lap of siding. I havent done a lot of it but havent had any problems yet. Aluminum siding is a different story.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Did you do an oxidation test first? (wipe a finger across the surface)

Sounds dumb but if you don't cya before hand, you leave yourself open to previously existing conditions and the question of whether it was by your hand or not.

To me, it looks like it was washed with high pressure and a 15*-25* tip. The bleach created an oxidized surface (not necessarily your application but bleach none-the-less) and your process revealed the condition.

Mud Duck had a good suggestion with the restora product to fix it. We have some on hand if you cannot find any locally. Let me know. It didn't cost me anything so I will only ask for shipping.

Rod!~

ps, check with Tom @ acr products. He is a distributor and may have some for you + advice if you need it.

Edited April 29, 2009 by Beth n Rod
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