weep holes troubles

[JBenson 14]

I recently washed a house with white vinyl siding, i used an X-jet. A couple days later i got a call about stains on the siding and i went to look and it was where water came out the weep holes in the bottom of the siding. It was mostly towards the top of the house so i imagine it has to do with the angle of the water as it hits the bottom of the siding and the lower your washing you hit the face of the siding head on. I spray with the seams and not into them so i know that is not where it gets in. This all came about after i left the homeowner happy. What did i do wrong and how do you prevent this. Thank you in advance. One more question, I can not get bug poop stains off the siding, i even scrubbed with a bristled brush and the homeowner swears they will come off but this has been on the siding for a long time, i think the stains penetrated the siding, what do you think.

[JeffW 14]

Actually,my customers do not have the final say,I do. Because I am the proffessional on the job I feel it is my duty to ensure quality work.The customer doesn't always know what to look for in this business.I've had customers tell me not to bother with the gutters because the black streaks on the gutters would not come off.Now I could easily say ok and not do them and the customer would be just as happy but I would'nt be.If I'm happy with the way a job turns out I know the customer is happy.Alot of customers do not even know what to expect out of this service,..so to say they have the final say is'nt exactly correct.

[GymRat 14]

I'd say that the customer is the final judge on this.

Doesn't matter if you use an X-Jet, a ladder, lift, or a bar of soap and a wash cloth, if the customer is happy with the end result and writes you a check, then you've done your job to their satisfaction, regardless of the method that you use.

If your prefered method is making customers happy, getting you referals and other jobs, then there is no reason to change how you prefer to do the job.

Well said Lou.

[the_GUNN_man 14]

I used to have problems with water dripping form the weepholes in the siding. I use the X-Jet to apply chems. I now use a Shur-Flo and have been for the past two years and have had zero problems with weeping weepholes. X-jet had too many problems with forcing water and chems. I also like my shurflo so I can control the ratio better. I use the shurflo to apply while the other guy rinses off. 95% of my houses are washed using no more then a soap tip and they turn out very nice.

[CCPC 26]

I used to have problems with water dripping form the weepholes in the siding. I use the X-Jet to apply chems. I now use a Shur-Flo and have been for the past two years and have had zero problems with weeping weepholes. X-jet had too many problems with forcing water and chems. I also like my shurflo so I can control the ratio better. I use the shurflo to apply while the other guy rinses off. 95% of my houses are washed using no more then a soap tip and they turn out very nice.

Just curious, what's your method for reaching the high areas when applying with a shurflo?

[PA Dutchman 14]

Honestly the weep holes are only doing what they were designed to do....let water/moisture drain out from behind the siding. Indoor mold on the other hand is a whole other ball game

[LyonsPressureWash 14]

I recently washed a house with white vinyl siding, i used an X-jet. A couple days later i got a call about stains on the siding and i went to look and it was where water came out the weep holes in the bottom of the siding. It was mostly towards the top of the house so i imagine it has to do with the angle of the water as it hits the bottom of the siding and the lower your washing you hit the face of the siding head on. I spray with the seams and not into them so i know that is not where it gets in. This all came about after i left the homeowner happy. What did i do wrong and how do you prevent this.

Great thread guys. Now back to the original post. You know now that what you did wrong (as you put it) was to get water under the siding. Not so much wrong as it sometimes part of the process. Using less pressure obviously helps. But to help minimizing the chances of this happening again, here's a few tips. Even though very simple, some guys don't think about this. Ask my helpers who can't seem to grasp why always want to start in a specific corner. Start by washing at the closest corner of the house near your machine, not using the front as an option ( I always like to do that last). Start washing using your normal procedure of washing and rinsing, and continue washing further away from your machine until you get all the way around the house doing the front last or until you run out of hose, hopefully to the opposite corner. Now when you get to that point, you go back to point one, rinsing again, looking for any dirt seeping out from the weep holes, hence the term double rinsing. The customers love to hear those little catch phrases. It especially helps when they love to come out after you're half done and say you missed a spot. You simply tell them that you'll get it on the way back with the final rinse. But getting back to the point that surprises me....is nobody really seemed to touch on the point of what really may have caused these streaks. I have had this happen on occasion, and on an extreme case that just got the best of my curiosity, I had to find out why. I took my siding tool (and before I get bashed, I was a former construcion foreman and still a handyman) and removed a piece of the vinyl to find out the cause was due to dormant flies. They were everywhere, on the plywood, stuck on the siding and of course laying on the bottom lip of the vinyl siding. What amazed me was that their wasn't any water on the building directly behind the siding. It was only laying in the channel. On occasion, when it happens and I have the time, I'll check to see what causes these streaks. I've also found ladybugs and bees/bees nests to be the culprit. One thing you don't want to do is continue to add more water to the problem. I would reccomend waiting until you've packed everything up, wrap a slightly soaped rag around your brush that is attached to your telescoping pole and hand clean those streaks. If that doesn't work, simply put the cleaner of your choice in a pump sprayer and lightly hit that area direct. A bit of rambling there, but I hope it helps.