House Wash - Leaks from underneath

[CannonW 14]

Just did my second house wash this past weekend. I have a question... When I washed the vinyl sided house, the pressure forced water up underneath the siding which washed the dirt and grime out from underneath. The problem is that the grime kept leaking out. I tried hitting it hard to force it all out... Then I tried just rinsing it off the top after it leaked out... but it just kept coming.

Any suggestions?

BTW, I used 6136 & Bleach (2 passes) to clean... worked great!

[squirtgun 122]

Cannon,

It sounds like you may have been using to much pressure and may have been to close to the siding.These 2 factors often force water under the siding.

We use our Xjet to apply our housewash and also to rinse.We stand back from the siding about 10ft when applying and rinsing.If we find a spot a little harder to clean than other we put the low pressure tip on the Xjet a get a little closer(maybe 18")from the sidng.This happens rarely.

If you notice dirt coming out of weep hole back up and keep rinsing,it will stop draining out eventually.It will add on to your cleaning time,but the customer will remember that you didn't leave there house all striped with little dirt trails.

[Don EMS 14]

Jeff, when we get some time we'll grab that beer. I try not to spray upwards under the seams and into the weep holes. I spray my wash on and then spray down over the siding. This has worked for me and keeps anything from getting behind the siding. With all the mold issues I think its a good idea to try to keep as much water out from underneath the siding as possable

[CCPC 26]

I find that when that's a problem I continue on a leave that spot for a few minutes then come back and give it a light rinse just enough to remove the last bit of dirt that had leaked out before and it should not come out again. Also, the same principle works great on the vents underneath the eaves ( of course you always want to avoid the vents as much as possible anyways).

[RyanH 14]

You never want to keep rinsing to try to "force" all of the grime out. The dirt is most likely residual from when the house was being built, when they put up the insulation and the dirt and dust adhered to it. The siding goes over it and all of the dirt stays, so you will most likely never get it to "run clean." If you keep trying to wash it out, the water you are using to displace the dirt will remain behind the siding and can cause problems for the homeowner down the road (mildew, rot, mold, etc.). If you do happen to get some under the siding and the grime runs out, do like CCPC (not sure of his real name) said and go on to another area, then come back and *gently* rinse with low pressure (far away) the dirt off, and if any more dirt comes from under the siding, use a towel to clean it off. Same with the eaves and vents. Think about this, when it rains on the house, rain comes from above and nothing comes from underneath the siding. If you are washing a house, you should be mimicking the flow pattern of the rain, and you see something that is normally not present after a rainfall, the pattern you are using to clean might not be correct for the job (doesn't really matter with brick or stucco, or other solid sidings). Even spraying straight on with the siding could force small amounts of water under the siding directly above your point of impact (water will move equally in all directions). It's best to have a slight downward angle to avoid this situation. Something that *is* a pain is when the grime runs from behind shutters. This is usually from dirt from the wind or from bugs (the flying kind that sting) making homes behind it. This will come out and is fine to clean since there is usually adequate ventilation to dry out whatever water you put behind it, just rinse it from the top and let the water wash everything out at the bottom until it runs clear.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

A trick that has worked for me is once you soap the siding stand back and rinse from a distance ....after rinsing the wall then move in on it and use the pressure. What causes the streaks is soap going under the siding.

Andy

[CannonW 14]

Thanks everybody. The homeowner just called me to let me know that it continued to leak after I left. He was cool about it and knows that I am just starting out. I plan on going back and making it right. I will wipe it all down if I have to.

[John Orr 206]

Many good suggestions have been made, but the most important (to me) thing is to spray in the direction of the siding joints. As you sight down the side of the house, you should not be able to see the joints. Most of the water that gets behind siding will get in through the joints and drain through the vents. (Small holes spaced about 1' apart, which are really too small to let much water in.)

[CannonW 14]

I went back and cleaned up the mess. I redid the trouble spots with LOW pressure. It still leaked. So, I ended up using an extension pole to wipe it down by hand... over and over and over. 3 hours I will never get back... but, I have a satisfied customer.

[Paul B. 523]

Sometimes it's just unavoidable to shoot water under the siding, as they are building more and more homes (in sub-divisions) that are 5-10 feet apart and 25-30 ft high.

The key is not to keep putting more water on it (at high or low pressure) but to wipe manually. Leaks that are high up can be reached with a soft truck type brush on an extension pole. You can also wet the brush SLIGHTLY with your soap if the streak has dried and wrap a rag over it to dry.

When you have a situation where water weeps, you should stay on site until all weeping has stopped (keeps you from having to ga back). In the long run, it less expensive to stay than to go back and avoids at least one type of customer complaint.

[Guest rfitz]

Same thing happened to me about 1.5 months ago, but it wasnt dirt that was coming from behind the siding and down, it was some type of blue colored dye, I suspect it was the dye from the tyvek wrap under the siding, I told the homeowner that this was a defect in her siding, and that we were not responsible, but we would do everything possible to remove it, we even spent 1 hour extra trying to get rid of it, so I told the homeowner, call me in a week or 2 and we will come back and try and get it off, because just throwing more and more water on it wasnt helping, so we did come back in 10 days, and it was much easier to remove, anyway, I am just glad we have on our estimate/contract, we are not liable for material defects, or contractor defects, or items left in the work area, that way, you always have your butt covered, another important thing to remember in this business is to make it a rule, Not To Do work For Family Or Friends, it will just get you into trouble and fights, I simply tell them we are 6-9 months out, which actually isnt that far from the truth...:)