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douseahouse

vinyl siding cleaning revisited

Question

i'm looking for the "ultimate" vinyl siding cleaner. i've got a large job coming up on an apartment complex that i'm going to have to use an x-jet/m-5 to reach the upper floors. this will be my biggest job yet and wanted to have everything in order. i currently use shc/laundry detergent/water and have had great results on houses using a downstream injector. if you have a great recipe using an x-jet that you would like to share please accept my thanks in advance. you guys are great!

rando

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Rando - You need to contact Steve Rowlett 1800-357-6295. Lots of us use his products for vinyl and they are AWESOME. He is also very cool to work with.

- John

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Ditto to Steve's chems - Bob's Simple Cherry is also very good :)

If you're having problems with your downstreamer reaching those heights, give Roger a call....he can gets soap up that high with ours :) 336-516-6139

Celeste

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Vinyl on a house is the same as on a complex, you can use the same stuff as you use now. Vinyl is easy. I use for a 5.6gpm machine 1 1/2 - 2 gallons of 12% ( if its cold you can go a little stronger)and some apple blossum Dawn in a 5 gallon bucket top the rest off bucket off with water. Thats if your just cleaning some dirt, mold & mildew . Simple and it works and works great on giving you spot free windows, rinse well and move on. If theres pollution I use RPC Citra Clean

Congrats on your largest job ever, dont let it worry you, it will surprise you how easy it will be. Look at it like this, its just a big house!

Congrats & Good luck

Jeff

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tell me about citracleen. why do you like it? who sells it? how do you mix it? i've heard good things about this product but if i'm not mistaken it comes in liquid form only and that is a little costly to ship. please correct me if i'm wrong. thanks for the input.

rando

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Citraclean mixed correctly melts milldew, dirt, and bug stuff. Just rinse. I kick myself whenever I don't have it on board.

ISYHTRAH

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For those of you who use wax to your mix, what kind do you use? If you use wax, is there any problems with windows?

Terry

We add wax to our rinse but we also use 'rinse aid' from RPC (Rowlett) so we don't have any problems. The Rinse Aid keeps your mix from spotting the windows. As long as you rinse plenty you shouldn't have a problem. Hope that helps.

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Rinsing the windows is always a big thing. Especially in the summer. My first year I soaped up a side of a house in 95 degree heat and the sun was beating down. I let it sit for about 5 minutes and the windows looked like crap! Now I immediaty hit the windows after the soap, then hit them a few more times.

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Don is correct. Use the following procedures when house washing.

1. - Apply soap to portion of house.

2. Rinse windows RIGHT AWAY!

3. Wait 2-5 minutes for soap to work. (Moldy siding especially.)

4. Rinse siding, gutters, soffits & windows well and move to the next section.

By the way, Emulsifer Plus has always worked really well for us.

Click on this link and read it. http://mobicleaninc.com/store/category/9yd2/House_Washing.html

This comes in a powder form and is not as costly as other chems.

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I don't rinse windows right away as the area under them can get diluted and weaken the chem too much IMHO. There is always a "hot" side of a house and I just work that one a little more carefully. I just stand there and make sure it all stays wet with chem for what I think is enough time, just keep misting it. Then a big rinse.

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I use Steve's Citracleen as well. It really does work well. Buy the 55 gallon drum kit. I have also used Power House from Sun Brite with good results but it is more costly to use.

Mike

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I don't rinse windows right away as the area under them can get diluted and weaken the chem too much IMHO. There is always a "hot" side of a house and I just work that one a little more carefully. I just stand there and make sure it all stays wet with chem for what I think is enough time, just keep misting it. Then a big rinse.

I agree with Keith, I may pre-wet windows, or I beleive the best way to cool them is to just soap them down a little longer. I then Brush the gutters and then do a quick rinse on the windows as I rinse the gutters. Then I rinse shrubs, do a full rinse on the house paying a lot of attention to the windows, and then rinse shrubs and flowers again before going to next section.

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wow, great info on this one. concerning the citracleen, i am faced with alot of green mold on the vinyl siding and you say that the citracleen just melts it away. do i need to add any shc? does it also leave a good smell?

thanks all,

rando

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Nothing works better on mold mildew than sodium hypochlorite. I wouldn't wash a house without some % of it in my mix.Yes It does leave a citrus smell.I use e-plus now eucalyptus smell.Both are good.

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wow, great info on this one. concerning the citracleen, i am faced with alot of green mold on the vinyl siding and you say that the citracleen just melts it away. do i need to add any shc? does it also leave a good smell?

thanks all,

rando

Yes, you add bleach. Steve will give you the formula to use if you buy.

Mike

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