NO 12%, HELP research

[Jeff 232]

I got a call today from a PM who only has used us a couple times . He has a property 38 condo buildings all or mostly vinyl ( I havent looked at them yet)

The HOA want them cleaned BUT!!!!! they want NO bleach used. I told the PM right away that thats a big PITA....Bleach removes mold & mildew blah blah blah.

He understands its a PITA and I asked him why the HOA doesnt want bleach used at all. The PM said the HOA was told that bleach over time will dry out , make brittle and or damage vinyl over time. He also said they said theres a non bleach bio degradable cleaner at Lowes they mentioned, I told him ya there is but it works better with bleach.

I told him I'll work up 2 quotes, one with & one without bleach

Now I need some help I dont search well on the net,

1)can anybody tell me if there is a product out there I could use that will remove mold & mildew. If theres a product I will use it, but is it more difficult time cunsuming etc.

2)Anybody know of a way to dispute the bleach damaging info they have

I need advise and or info how to approach this . I dont want to use some PITA product that isnt going to be much help and I have to use a lot of pressure etc etc

Anybody know of any websites I could look into this

Thanks for any help ALL

JL

[Chappy 138]

what about something like efc-38. pre carb cleaners are supposed to remove mold. I havnt tried it on moldy siding, but it does lift dirt pretty well.

[jgoral76 14]

Go on google an dtype bleach effects on vinyal and see what ya get.

[Kory 14]

I just tryed a chem from newagain.net its a house wash that claims to kill mold & mildew. It worked so far but that was a week ago. also Zep claims there house wash at HD has a mold mildew killer.

[Larry B 55]

Look at the Vinyl Siding Institute website. They recommend bleach solution for cleaning.

Here is the link to the care page:

http://www.vinylsiding.org/aboutsiding/cleanmain/cleaning/

The last line in the mold and mildew section says to use bleach

found another link form "amazing siding"

http://www.amazingsiding.com/PPF/Parameters/24__/amazing_siding.asp

[Barry M 73]

2)Anybody know of a way to dispute the bleach damaging info they have

JL

The info they have may be true if bleach were to be left on vinyl. But that's why we rinse, rinse, and rinse again. They have no info, that's their problem!

[James 624]

They is no way to ecnomicaly clean vinyl with out bleach. May be Hot water? other problems may happen with the heat...

[PressurePros 248]

Jeff, they are just misinformed. Let them know you are very methodical about rinsing. If bleach caused things to dry out, I would open my boots to a pile of sawdust every night. Vinyl siding is made to stand up to the rigors of exterior elements.

Let them know you will use a very low dilution of bleach (2% does the trick with the right soap), This is your opportunity to downstream. As an added benefit you could add a scent or ask Bob at Pressure Tek about his new cleaner.

[Jeff 232]

Thanks everybody, I'm going to try to write something up for the PM to give to the HOA and ask him if I can speak with the HOA

Thanks again

JL

[James 624]

I think I have ADD. I can't write or spell.........

[Jeff 232]

I checked out websites of many manufacturers of vinyl siding Owens Corning, CertainTeed etc etc. In the warrenty, care & maintenance section they all say bleach can be used to clean mold/mildew from siding

I'd just like to know who puts this miss infomation out there about it damamging siding. I had more than one residential customer over the years say that there siding company told them not to use bleach

Bleach removes mold & mildew plain & simple. Im going to highlight sections of material i printed saying use bleach & send it in with my proposal

I wouldnt mind getting this job 38 buildings good sized project

JL

[PLD 14]

I have found it mostly propagated by painters (about paint). I suspect that since most painters do not use bleach (cost?!?), they sell against it.

[plainpainter 217]

I am a painter, and I have never heard or seen any painter against the use of bleach. The only time I have seen people against bleach is when I first came to this website and people saying bleach was bad to use on wood. As a sidenote - I once mixed in 11 scoops of oxi-clean and 1 cup of tsp into 5 quarts of warm/hot water in a pump up sprayer - and it knocked off all the mildew and dirt off a vinyl sided home.

-Dan

[PLD 14]

Dan,

I'm glad to see you chime in on this one! In my area, it seems to be the latest fad for the painters who also pwash to use "bleach chalks up paint/vinyl" as a sales tool against us full timers. I actually encounter it alot when bidding against painters. Why they do it, I do not completely understand.

Also, I owe you an apology. When you first jumped into TGS, alot of us (myself included) gave you a really hard time because you were a painter doing PW'ing. You have contributed a great deal to this forum, and obviously I was wrong about you entirely. For that I apologize.

In my own defense, I can only offer that my opinions about painters have been prejudiced because most painters I have encountered don't care about quality (with respect to PWing). Hence, when you joined as a "painter", I quickly pigeonholed you. Again, please accept my apologies.

[Mike Williamson 198]

In my own defense, I can only offer that my opinions about painters have been prejudiced because most painters I have encountered don't care about quality (with respect to PWing).

Ditto that here...Many I've seen don't use any type of chemicals. I think most of the problem is simple lack of education. They simply don't know the right way to do it, just as I didn't before finding these boards.

I don't get how you can not use bleach, at least here...Without it, I can blast away with all the pressure I want and there are areas that just will not come off, especially gutters, soffit and fascia.

[FCPWLLC 233]

My experience with painters here.... I send work to painters all the time with no cut in it for me except knowing that My customer/friends etc are using a good painter that does a good job. None of the paiters that I refer have ever sent me any Pressure wash gigs. I know that they see dirty vinyl all the time. Pees me off when I know that I can save these guys money and time doing the work because most only have a Sherwin Williams crap-washer and very rare to find one that knows the quickest most economical way to use thier machine. And to beat it all, When I have bid on vinyl against a painter and follow up with customer they say they went with the Painter because he threw th pressure washing in to get the interior painting. Which is fine but at least call me up and have me do it versus spending 6 hours to do your "throw-in" that only takes me one hour.

That said, I'm sure not all painter are this way. That's just been the way it is here in KY. For that matter, usually the other PW'ers are taking 6 hours to do what I do in one and charge less than I do. :eek:

[Mike Williamson 198]

Which is fine but at least call me up and have me do it versus spending 6 hours to do your "throw-in" that only takes me one hour.

The thing is, he has his $10.00/hour grunt do the washing for 6 hours, instead of paying you $150.00 to do it.

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Try to find one reputable painter that does'nt want to PW. Maybe he'll send you jobs AND you can do his prep. My 02.

[PLD 14]

My experience with painters here.... I send work to painters all the time with no cut in it for me except knowing that My customer/friends etc are using a good painter that does a good job. None of the paiters that I refer have ever sent me any Pressure wash gigs.

Ditto. I have a good painter that I refer to (and use regularly). I send him 1-2 leads a week. In two years, I've only gotten one in return lead. Oddly, it was his sons house for paint prep. And the reason I got that one was it was just too big (3 stories, 5000sq.ft) and he thought it was a bit much for his guys.

[Jim Carroll 14]

a got a painter bud that knows the right way to wash a house............cause I bought him an xjet and told him where to get 12%. he could not believe the difference the first house he washed. he called an said he had sprayed the front and side and had came back around to rinse and everything was clean.

[TNT Pressure Washing 14]

JEFF--Can you post the sites of the info you found in this forum? I know I would (and I am sure there are others) that would like that informationif a case like this came up.

I actually had a case like this earlier this year where he didn't want me to use bleach. He said a friend of his had his place washed a couple imes a year and over time turned light blue siding white. I looked at him like he lost his mind. I told him that the person obviously didn't know what they were doing. Is this even possible? I tried that Simple Green stuff from Lowes and it didn't work that great.

[Mike Sullivan 15]

It's not that all painters are drunks,

it's just that all drunks think they can paint! :rotfl: