swirls on vinyl siding from the x jet

[dennis mcguinn 14]

Hello. I'm Dennis, I live in Charleston, SC. I am a semi-retired commercial fisherman who is moving into pressure washing. I've got a Hydrotek SC3008, commercial/industrial grade machine. I have used and been familiar with various types of pressure washers during my 25 years of fishing. I've been doing this professionally now for less than a year. I'm licensed and insured. I am so glad to have found such a treasure trove of information on this and a couple of other boards. I thank all of you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

Can you help me with a problem I recently had? I got an x jet, and used it for the first time on vinyl siding. On one side of the house (the side I started on), swirl-type streaks showed up after it dried. Does anyone know what caused this? How do I get rid of them? I did apply soap from the bottom up. I did get a little loose applying it, mostly cause I just wanted to try out the x jet, and see what this baby could do. Should I have run the x jet for 5 - 10 minutes before applying the soap? LIke washing the starch out of a new shirt? Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Dennis

[PressurePros 249]

Hello Denis and welcome. After commercially fishing for all that time this should seem like a walk in the park to you. The X-Jet puts out a fairly narrow stream and under a decent amount of pressure. You simply were too close and you damaged the siding. I did it once when rinsing up high and as I came down I was closer to the wall then I thought I was and boom, swirl marks in the vinyl. It was minor and I was the only one that noticed it. I do not own an M5 but I believe it spreads the pattern of spray out a bit so this dmage would be less likely to happen. What I do now in that situation is soap up with my back up X-Jet that has the close range hardware installed then switch to my main X'er to soap the remainder.

Anyone that owns an M5.. can I eliminate the need for the close range proportioner by using an M5?

[svp07 14]

Yes, the M5 has no close range extra nozzle, just turn the tip and it goes from jet to fan. As soon as I heard about it I bought it and it has been extremely versatile. Just be careful when injecting acids the 2 metal strips that squeeze the jet into a fan may not hold up under constain acid use. It is beautiful for house washing and I have also used it to do wood; drops my pressure to around 500 psi and I can vary the cleaning path.

[PLD 14]

Can you help me with a problem I recently had? I got an x jet, and used it for the first time on vinyl siding. On one side of the house (the side I started on), swirl-type streaks showed up after it dried. Does anyone know what caused this? How do I get rid of them? I did apply soap from the bottom up. I did get a little loose applying it, mostly cause I just wanted to try out the x jet, and see what this baby could do.

Is the side chalky? If so, you may just have dislodged some of the oxidized vinyl. Re-rinse with a fan tip and see if it creates a wide stripe. If so, re-do the whole wall.

Also, If you've never rinsed with an x-jet before it could be plain old dirt. I have had stubborn dirt/grime that would tracer with an xjet and required a fan tip and 100% coverage rinsing. I could have gotten it clean with an x-jet but it would have taken awhile longer. Keep in mind that even though you can use an xjet to soap up a whole side in a few wide passes, you cannot rinse that way. You still need to side-to-side and top-to-bottom the whole wall or you can leave trails in the dirt.

I hope that's all you are facing.

[dennis mcguinn 14]

The vinyl siding in this case is probably about 10 years old. I think I may have knocked off more oxidized vinyl than I would like.

I'm curious, because another customer told me, unsolicited, that the last guy she had wash her house left swirls, which disappeared in 3 months. I'm wondering if that is going to happen on this house.

I'm going to wash it again this weekend, and see what happens.

Any other suggestions? I would greatly appreciate any help I can get.

Dennis

[dennis mcguinn 14]

I forgot to ask. I hate to sound like a dumbass, but I want to be sure we are talking about the same thing. What is a fan tip? Thanks again.

[svp07 14]

A regular QC nozzle....the fan shape it gives the water when sprayed.

[PLD 14]

I forgot to ask. I hate to sound like a dumbass, but I want to be sure we are talking about the same thing. What is a fan tip? Thanks again.

The only dumb question is an unasked question.

When I started to answer this, your use of the word "swirl" kept sticking in my mind. You weren't using a turbo nozzle were you?

[dennis mcguinn 14]

no and once again thanks for the input

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

you may want to try 2 stepping the siding with an acid and then an alkaline. Although not often, vinyl siding, especially the cheap stuff can chalk up. Also be careful with the recycled vinyl. You can recognize this by pulling on a seam and checking if the color is all the way through. If the siding is white, for example, but black underneath...stay away from it. The color could come right off. And believe it or not, at least in ohio, you find this crap on the 300,000 plus homes.

Andy

[CLASSICPW 14]

This happened to me when I first started, but it was aluminum. If you just fan wash ther areas to even them out it will be fine, as long as you didn't gouge the vinyl too deep.

[tropical wave 22]

you may want to try 2 stepping the siding with an acid and then an alkaline.

Andy

can you provide examples of the chems you are speaking of? what acid and what alkaline? i mean specific products.....

[Jim Carroll 14]

dennis do you live in chucktown, mt. p, west ashley? I am in charleston area just about four days a week. I would be glad to look at it with you. you can call me if you want 297-3335 (local #). i live in murrells inlet.

[RyanH 14]

Chalston, SC eh? (if you're from Charleston, you pronounce it "Chalston" if your family lived in the area for a long time)

Ah...my hometown. I'll be heading down there in about 3 weeks to eat some of the country's best bbq (that'd be Roberts).

[dennis mcguinn 14]

Chalston, SC eh? (if you're from Charleston, you pronounce it "Chalston" if your family lived in the area for a long time)

Ah...my hometown. I'll be heading down there in about 3 weeks to eat some of the country's best bbq (that'd be Roberts).

Hi Ryan...Yes, that's the way I pronounce it. Chalston, the land of shrimp and grits. And Barbeque. I prefer Duke's BBQ, also a little place in Hollywood, SC called the Smokehouse that has delicious BBQ. Don't forget Melvin's, famous for the best cheeseburger in the world, at least according to Emeril.

My daddy was a fine Southern Colonel, and I'm proud to be from the south. We're all down here eating fried chicken and watermelon.

Give me a call when you get to Charleston, and we'll get together. Talk shop. Eat bbq. Dennis

843-442-0630

[RyanH 14]

Give me a call when you get to Charleston, and we'll get together. Talk shop. Eat bbq. Dennis

843-442-0630

I may do it...my granddad has a weekend house on a little river (close to Toogoodoo) in Hollywood where I spent many childhood days casting for shrimp and picking at the fidler crabs, catching shark (before the trawlers), and playing on the mud flats. When I would swim in the river, we'd tie a 50' rope to myself and the dock so the current wouldn't carry me too far away. Oh how those were the days. I'll probably be making my way down there quite often over the next few years to visit him before it's too late (gave up one of my businesses...now I have more time for the important things in life!!).

Ryan

[dennis mcguinn 14]

do call. im from edisto beach and moved to charleston 12 years ago so my kids could go to school here. it was great growing up on the island. so i know what you maen when you say "o those were the days" i have to put in another 8 years in this town then i can go back. hunt ,fish, and swim with the dolphins. i have lots of long term friends in hollywood what is your grandfathers name? like i said call me when you get to town.

[dennis mcguinn 14]

Here's what I did about my swirls problem.

I went back to the house 3 weeks later. I used simple green soap, crud cutter, and a little bit of Cascade, and no 12.5 sh cause I figured I had already taken care of the algae. I downstreamed it on, let dwell 10 minutes (it was on the shaded side of the house), then rinsed with my 8 gallon a minute tip. First tried one half, let dwell for 5 minutes, but it didn't work. Ten minutes did work. The owner is happy, I'm happy I'm not buying vinyl siding, the wife is happy I'm not talking about swirls anymore. It'll be too soon if I ever see another one.

Thanks for all your advice and input. Couldn't have done it without you. Dennis