Cleaning Painted Wood Siding

Make sure to keep your garden hose aimed downwards.

Cleaning painted wood siding.

How to safely clean wood siding on a house. Some exterior paints such as those used on aluminum siding intentionally chalk for self cleaning. Many people say oxygen bleach is better than chlorine bleach for fighting mold and mildew. Your standard household whitener it appears to make mildew vanish but on porous surfaces such as wood or vinyl siding chlorine evaporates too quickly to get to the fungi s roots guaranteeing regrowth.

Painted wood comes in many forms whether it s a cabinet baseboard or other household object. If the paint color comes off on your hand the paint is chalking. There are ways to safely clean your house before painting using a pressure washer including using lower psi pressure washers widening the spray and standing at least two feet back. While these items don t require a lot of maintenance it s important to give these surfaces a proper cleaning once every few months.

Give it an occasional cleaning to brighten up its appearance get rid of mildew and prevent discoloration. When you paint cedar siding you are protecting the wood. Instead of cleaning with store bought cleaner or vinegar try using bleach to remove mold from wood siding. Usually water is sufficient for cleaning wood siding.

Work your way from the bottom of the wall to the top. Every six months to a year you will need to clean painted cedar siding. Scrub off the chalk with a strong solution of water and spic and span or tsp detergent or a nonphosphate tsp alternative. Master the proper technique and you can use a pressure washer to clean the wood siding on your home safely without incurring damage to the material.

Wipe the surface with the palm of your hand. When mildew gains a foothold homeowners often turn to diluted chlorine bleach sodium hypochlorite a k a. Potential of siding damage water injected under siding or dirt remaining on house. Spray your home s wood siding with a garden hose.

Sealing or painting cedar allows the wood to become long lasting by keeping the elements and insects at bay. This will prevent water from going up and getting stuck in siding panels which could damage it.