Is Pressure Washing Bad For Vinyl Siding?

Purchasing a house is an amazing experience. A house is normally the most expensive asset Americans own but owning a house requires routine maintenance that can be expensive. For example, professional power washers recommend that a house’s exterior and driveway may need to be cleaned once a year or at a minimum every 3 years.

How frequently a home will need to be power washed depends on a variety of factors. Does your home receive an abundant amount of sunlight? Is your property located around a large number of trees? Sunlight deters mildew and algae from building on your property, and if your house is located near a large amount of trees pollen, leaves and other debris will start to accumulate.

Other factors that could cause your house to need more frequent cleaning are humidity, close proximity to a dirt road, or other sources of pollutants. To save money, homeowners frequently decide to rent power washing tools or attempt to save money by having an inexperienced individual power wash their house.

Numerous things can go wrong when an inexperienced person gets a hold of a power washing machine. Can you ruin your driveway with a pressure washer? Can you ruin brick siding with a pressure washer? Can you ruin vinyl siding with a pressure washer? The answer is yes to all of the above questions.

When pressure washing vinyl siding extra precautions must be taken to prevent damage. It doesn’t take much to knock a vinyl panel down or to strip vinyl while pressure washing a property. The following tips will help you prevent any mishaps and will help you clean your vinyl siding like a professional.

Less pressure is sometimes better

Vinyl sidings are one of the most popular sidings for residential buildings, because of the affordability and durability of the material. Vinyl provides a durable layer for your house, but when compared to the tremendous pressure produced by a pressure washer, your vinyl siding buckles under the pressure (literally). pressure washers can be rented or purchased with a variety of tips (normally 5 color-coded tips).

Inexperienced users want to stay away from the less angled tips, or higher pressure tips. A spray distance of 3 to 5 feet should be adequate for vinyl siding. Vinyl is a soft material and can be easily damaged or at the minimum you’ll leave streaks or marks, leaving the impression that a toddler scribbled on the side of your house.

Safety steps

Pressure washer users should read the manual for their washer and follow basic pressure washer guidelines like wearing goggles. When it comes to cleaning vinyl you will want to ensure you clean from the bottom to the top and rinse from top to bottom. This prevents streaking and ensures all detergent is removed. Always keep your sprayer at eye level.

Never point your sprayer upwards. Pointing your spray up can allow water to get behind the vinyl damaging the wood underneath. If your vinyl siding is covered in mildew, a mildew power washing detergent will be required, or you can manually scrub the siding with bleach. Following these basic tips will help inexperienced power washers clean their siding. If you find that the job is too big for you it is always best to hire a professional. Thousands of house owners are injured each year while attempting to clean their siding.