Vinyl siding oxidation removal?

[staudend 14]

I am washing 14 big condominiums that have oxidation on the vinyl on a few sides. I doesn't really stand out except for on one side of one building where I can't get all of it off with pressure and a weak mix of bleach and emulsifier plus. Should I mix my detergent strong and try again? That one side looks like crap at least to me. Some parts are whitish color on the originally blueish siding, and the rest looks new where the oxidation came off with the whitish oxidation interspursed. Help!!!

[RyanH 14]

Might try a little elbow grease with a brush and some greased lightning. I've found that what chemicals won't do, a light scrub will.

Of course, if it's too high that might present a problem.

I'm coming for you on Tetris! Just wait and see.

[staudend 14]

Thanks Ryan, I was hoping that I might be able to do it with the chemical sprayer and little elbow grease. I'll probably try emulsifier full strength first and see what happens, then resort to elbow grease next. Oh well. I'll be waiting a long time on Tetris. Tetris champion of the Universe!!!

[Henry B. 4]

I've never had a problem with oxidation on vinyl siding. Is it cheap siding or what? Has anyone else ever had oxidation on vinyl. Maybe I'm just lucky or its the chemicals I'm using..

[Pams Pressure & Clean 64]

I did a house the other week that had a considerable amount of oxidation.

baby blue/ blueish grey colored house, vinyl siding, about 10 yrs old. (cheap siding and I believe that it has something particularly to do with the blue end of the color spectrum...read that from Rod some time ago in reference to aluminum siding..I'm guessing that it's potentially the same or a similar issue with cheap vinyl.)

I purposely did NOT attempt to remove the oxidation. Just washed with the wand as good as it would get. I avoided brushing as this would have equalled doing the entire house to get it all to match. The client was not interested in a price for hand brushing a 2200 sq. ft. house.

End product was a clean house with some apparent oxidation, but overall looked pretty well, although I use a somewhat different house wash mix than some so it might have a bit to do with the final product.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

a lot of colors are discontinued by the siding manufacturer for that reason...oxidation.

andy

[staudend 14]

These condo's are cheap and old vinyl. oxidation is nearly white, and the siding is blue. I tried heat and stronger emulsifier, but no go. It's just one side of one of fourteen huge four person condos, so I'll just educate the management of the oxidation problem. It should fade back fairly soon I hope? Nick

[James 624]

Pam how much extra to hand brush 2200 ?

[Jesse 15]

Hey Nick,

I have not had any luck with oxidation in the past other than evening it out with a green tip. The x-jet just makes it more noticeable. Same thing with shutters.

Jesse R. Kirchhoff

Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions LLC

Advanced Power Washing and Restoration Services LLC

114 Forest Hill Ave. Jefferson City, Mo 65109

Local 573-635-2708 Toll Free 1-866-635-2708 Fax 573-634-8882

E-Mail jessekirchhoff@mchsi.com

[Aplus 525]

It is true that vinyl siding comes in different grades. However, any vinyl siding, given certain neglect and conditions, is prone to oxidation. Cheaper siding may in fact be more prone to oxidation, but I have no proof of that.

I've also seen many times, other pollutants that permantly stain vinyl siding. I've tried everything in my trailer, including but not limited to: Emulsifier, Simple Green, Greased Lightening, HD-80, truck wash, bleach, Tide, and others I can't remember now. Brushing may help a little bit, but in many cases it is not practical to even think about brushing an entire house.

I've washed a lot of houses, and I've learned to spot trouble spots in advance. When I see them, I will make a note on my estimate sheet that some stains may not come completely off. I also discuss with the customer that when removing the chalky oxidation, the siding will likely be dull, and no longer have a sheen to it. A wax application helps a little, at least temporarily, but is not a fix all solution.

The bottom line is that some damage on vinyl siding can not be remedied. As long as you set those expectations with the customer in advance, you are in the clear when problems arise. It is very bad to promise a sparkling clean house, and not be able to deliver it.

I hope Paul B is checking in here, because I know he will have some experiences to share.

Finally, the green tip that Jesse mentions, is merely the color coding for a 25 degree tip. The evening out, is really just making a particular area extra clean, and in reality dull as well. Not a great solution, but better than nothing, and it can make an area less noticable.

[Paul B. 523]

Oxidization of vinyl and paint is a similar change that takes place to iron as it rusts (oxidization). Oxidization is wearing or breakdown of the materials and will happen to vinyl, aluminum and paints that are exposed to the elements (sun, rain, cold, heat). Some colors take longer to break down, while others break down quickly.

How many of you remember the red car paints of the 60's and 70's? You were lucky if the paint was not oxidized in 4-5 years. In most cases it could be buffed out if you didn't let it go too long. There were other colors that oxidized fast also. Then came colors and urathanes with UV protective additives and it seemed to improve things.

You are dealing with similar breakdown of the vinyl materials.

We washed a house with vinyl siding a few weeks ago which had extreme oxidization. The worst of it was on the shutters and 2 sides exposed to sun all day. The siding ended up decent using a strong mix of butyl degreaser and pool shock and some hand brushing, but the shutters were ready for the trash. Upon talking to the owner, she told me the siding and shutters were only 7 years old. Well, it went 7 years without washing and applying a protective wax.

I believe you need to treat vinyl siding like a cars paint job - wash it and wax it every year. (OK, the car should be washed more than once a year.)

Oxidization levels vary so greatly that it's impossible to predict how easily it will come off or if it will come off totally.

By the way, a 2200 sq ft house can be hand brushed in about 3-4 hours by 1 person (gutters extra).

[Pams Pressure & Clean 64]

James,

This particular house would have been fairly straightforward to hand brush as it was a single story ranch on flat ground with excellent accessibility all around. Paul's estimate is in the ball park in that we could have accomplished this add-on service in about 2 hrs. on this house. For this client, we would have added $175 to the price of the wash for hand brushing.

Similar to Paul, we also used a butyl mix on this home.

FWIW the color of the vinyl that we experienced is about the same color of baby blue as you see here before you on the color scheme of this website.

[staudend 14]

Hey Jesse, I didn't even use the X-jet on this building, I used a 120volt shurflo I borrowed for the job to apply chemical in the meantime before the X-jet came in the mail. Still low pressure rinse, it was that badly oxidized though. X-Jet M5 rules!! We are faster and grossing about 800-1000$ per 8 hour day on this job.

Jesse, call me if you have any more info on subbing- I'm thinking about a Columbia newspaper ad to fill me up for the rest of the summer because work is going to thin out pretty soon due to my lack of interest in door to door and flyers anymore. Nick