Cleaning Cedar Shake Siding

[milkshake 14]

I Would Like To Know What House Wash Chemicals You Would Use To Wash Cedar Shake Siding. The Cedar Shake Has Turned Black And Grey In Places And Also Has Mildew. I Told The H/o That The House Needed To Be Completely Stripped And Stained, But He Only Wants It Washed. The House Also Has Cedar Siding That Has Some Type Of Stain On It, Possibly Behr. The House Is Two Stories 60 By 30. All Help Is Appreciated.

[Celeste 341]

Look at the Extreme Solutions product line - EFC38 will clean (and if mixed strong enough has stripping capabilities :)) We're not far from you, if you want to see some samples of cedar cleaned and restained with Wood Tux, we've got them!

Celeste

[milkshake 14]

I HAVE PLENTY OF HD-80 AND CITRALIC BRIGHTNER ON HAND BUT THE H/O WANTS IT JUST WASHED RIGHT NOW. i HAVE 2LBS OF EFC38. IF I USE THE EFC38 TO JUST CLEAN HOW WOULD I MIX IT TO KEEP IT FROM STRIPPING. i LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THESE CHEMICAL AT YOUR ROUND TABLE CELESTE.COULD I JUST DILUDE THE HD-80 FOR A CLEANING AGENT AND NOT A STRIPPER.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I'll ask Russ Cissell to chime in here...

Beth

[Celeste 341]

Russell - do your stuff! Milkshake - we have EFC38 on hand if you need it sooner than it can be shipped.

Celeste

[Russell Cissell 65]

I would caution that often the homeowner does not understand the restoration process. A homeowner saying "I just want it cleaned" can be translated into. . ."I really don't want to spend that much money."

In order to "wash" that house successfully you will most likely "strip" some of the existing finish. This is especially true any time you are dealing with old failed finish and mold or mildew.

The straight answer to your question would be to use EFC-38 at about 1/2 strength and follow with Citralic. I personally would not take the job unless they understand the restoration process and elect to have the job done right. My experience is that it is very difficult to "wash" natural siding if the finish is over a couple years old. If it has mold or mildew it only compounds the problem.

Feel free to give me a call. I am manning the contractor support hotline all week so you can reach me at 1-866-536-7393.

Best of Luck!

Russell

[milkshake 14]

I Appreciate All The Help. I Will Try To Convince The H/o Of All The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Properly Restoring The Wood. I Also Appreciate All The Effort And Time Each One Of You Spend In Helping Each One Of Your New Adopted Family Members In Wood Restoration And Pressure Washing. Thanks Again

[PressurePros 248]

This actually sounds like a problem the guys over at the NACLO corporation could handle. I would have to agre with their unique persepctive in this particular case.

(Bleach)