[laportjm]

Have you had your vinyl sided house power washed recently, if so can you share their contact information and were you happy with the results. I had Roberts Home Services in mind (Thordis Williams). Has anyone used this service before and I'm open for other options as well. Thank you.

[Stu from NYC]

Thinking of buying an attachment for our hose and doing it ourselves.

[Peterriess]

I have used Roberts several times, and will use them again. They are really nice folks and do a great job. After the first visit they give you a coupon for a discount on your next cleaning. Highly recommend them.

[laportjm]

Thank you.

[vintageogauge]

We use Egner's every six months on vinyl, once a year on stucco.

[villagetinker]

Be careful of the very high pressure units, these may actually damage your siding. We used a commercial company to power wash our house (stucco), but had some damage to electronic devices that were rated for rain but NOT 2000 psi (or higher) pressure washing. I now do my own.

[Bogie Shooter]

Egner's.
Home

[Ladygolfer93]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Thinking of buying an attachment for our hose and doing it ourselves.

When I built my home a close friend who had worked for the company that makes most of the vinyl siding used in building advised me not to hire commercial power washer companies for a variety of reasons I won't list as most people have made up their minds if the reasons are, or are not, valid. But for those who are open to washing down their own homes, I have used Mold Armour E-Z wash for years now. Can't think of anything quicker or easier ! Thank Ace for recommending this brand but others may be just a effective. Attach hose, even the largest home could not take more than half an hour to walk around, reaches the highest point of larger homes easily. Of course, if you wait years between washings, it is going to take longer and could even mean doing it twice on a very neglected home. Otherwise, I use twice a year and it is so quick and easy ..... even a 5th grader could do it....LOL ! Of course do NOT use on a windy day, that should be obvious, if it blows back onto your clothing it would probably make "spots" would be my guess. I've always used it on a calm day ! BTW, once you buy the bottle that connects to hose, you can then buy by the gallon and save quite a lot ! Walmart has it very reasonable by the gallon, around $10 !

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Ladygolfer93

When I built my home a close friend who had worked for the company that makes most of the vinyl siding used in building advised me not to hire commercial power washer companies for a variety of reasons I won't list as most people have made up their minds if the reasons are, or are not, valid. But for those who are open to washing down their own homes, I have used Mold Armour E-Z wash for years now. Can't think of anything quicker or easier ! Thank Ace for recommending this brand but others may be just a effective. Attach hose, even the largest home could not take more than half an hour to walk around, reaches the highest point of larger homes easily. Of course, if you wait years between washings, it is going to take longer and could even mean doing it twice on a very neglected home. Otherwise, I use twice a year and it is so quick and easy ..... even a 5th grader could do it....LOL ! Of course do NOT use on a windy day, that should be obvious, if it blows back onto your clothing it would probably make "spots" would be my guess. I've always used it on a calm day ! BTW, once you buy the bottle that connects to hose, you can then buy by the gallon and save quite a lot ! Walmart has it very reasonable by the gallon, around $10 !

Thank you that is what we will do.

[Ladygolfer93]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Be careful of the very high pressure units, these may actually damage your siding. We used a commercial company to power wash our house (stucco), but had some damage to electronic devices that were rated for rain but NOT 2000 psi (or higher) pressure washing. I now do my own.

Very true ! That and a number of other negatives, but many would argue that they always hire it done and had no damage. I just find it so easy and simple to use the self mixed ones where there is nothing to do but connect the bottle to the hose and turn it on, since it does such a nice job, seemed foolish to hire it done unless illness or other prevents a person from walking around the house with a hose.

[Ladygolfer93]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Thank you that is what we will do.

Also, I have never had it do any damage my flowers, grass, or shrubs ... just an FYI !

[vintageogauge]

I tried that DIY stuff and it didn't take the black marks off the gutters (which we have on our homes) it also left a mess on the windows that I had to clean. Some brands may not do that but the one I used (from Lowes) didn't do a very good job. When Egner's is done the windows need no further cleaning and the gutters look like new.

[chet2020]

Originally Posted by Ladygolfer93

When I built my home a close friend who had worked for the company that makes most of the vinyl siding used in building advised me not to hire commercial power washer companies for a variety of reasons I won't list as most people have made up their minds if the reasons are, or are not, valid. But for those who are open to washing down their own homes, I have used Mold Armour E-Z wash for years now. Can't think of anything quicker or easier ! Thank Ace for recommending this brand but others may be just a effective. Attach hose, even the largest home could not take more than half an hour to walk around, reaches the highest point of larger homes easily. Of course, if you wait years between washings, it is going to take longer and could even mean doing it twice on a very neglected home. Otherwise, I use twice a year and it is so quick and easy ..... even a 5th grader could do it....LOL ! Of course do NOT use on a windy day, that should be obvious, if it blows back onto your clothing it would probably make "spots" would be my guess. I've always used it on a calm day ! BTW, once you buy the bottle that connects to hose, you can then buy by the gallon and save quite a lot ! Walmart has it very reasonable by the gallon, around $10 !

I second the Mold Armour E-Z wash, great product.

[ogme480]

Egner's 352-728-8537 out of Fruitland Park. Environmentally friendly soak applied and low pressure rinse. Took all the mold and discoloration away.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Be careful of the very high pressure units, these may actually damage your siding. We used a commercial company to power wash our house (stucco), but had some damage to electronic devices that were rated for rain but NOT 2000 psi (or higher) pressure washing. I now do my own.

True. The professional journal “Fine Homebuilding” recommends that if a pressure washer is used on vinyl siding, it be used on a lower setting, not close to the siding, and not from below any more than necessary. (Vinyl siding has the color all the way through. Aluminum siding, by contrasting has the color sprayed on and then baked. Using a pressure washer at high pressure with aluminum siding can in some sidings strip off the paint.)

Horizontal vinyl siding is flexible. The bottom part has a curved lip that fits over a similar lip near the top of the piece below. The top of a piece of vinyl siding has a nailing strip with slots pre-cut for attaching it with roofing nails. (See illustrations below.) Because vinyl siding expands and shrinks daily with heat and cold and sun and shadow, these lips are not usually entirely tight against each other. If a pressure washer with a strong stream hits vinyl siding, it can actually pull the upper lip off the lower lip. This is easy to repair unless the UV radiation has made the vinyl brittle, in which case it may break. Also, high pressure can drive water under siding and onto the Oriented Strand Board behind it. Once there, it may not easily get out again. So it stays behind that impermeable vinyl and rots things and molds things. (This is also the case with wood siding.) Rain usually comes down and flows down walls. Pressure washers can be hurricane-strength and can shoot up from below.

I believe building codes in Florida now call for a vapor barrier to be stapled over the oriented strand board or plywood or foam sheets on the outside of the house. However, some vapor barriers are excellent at letting water run out, and some aren’t. The cheap stuff (as in Lowe’s and Home Depot house brands) are used a LOT but get very low ratings. (But the good stuff may cost three times as much—an extra $300, say.) Even better is using a high quality vapor barrier, then nailing vertical wooden strips over the vapor barrier 16” or so apart, then attaching the siding to the wood strips. (See illustration below.) This provides a 3/4” drainage channel down which water can run if necessary. Proper venting at the bottom and top let’s air flow through this channel and dry it out. This prevents a lot of mold formation on siding, inside or out. But it costs extra money and takes extra time, so probably your house in The Villages does not have this. (Probably an extra $2,000.) With this system, water driven behind siding by pressure washing wouldn’t really be a problem.

Ideally, stucco shouldn’t get painted. The tint is mixed into the top coat. It is designed to soak up water a bit, then release it as it dries. It can do this for fifty years without painting. But my understanding is that a lot of people at The Villages have their stucco painted. Pressure washing can in some circumstances loosen or strip off that paint. If the stucco has not been painted, pressure washing can drive water deep into the stucco and contribute to its failure. This is especially a problem if there are cracks (which are otherwise often more a cosmetic issue than a structural issue, and don’t always need to be repaired, except at the corners below windows, and those cracks are usually due to improper flashing around windows, which I suspect is generally the case in Florida building, at least until recently.)

The weakest point for pressure washers is probably around windows. Pressure washers can sometimes loosen or even remove caulk, allowing water to get behind during some rain storms. It can spray around the edges hidden by trim. This is where rotting is most likely to happen. That’s why the current building codes have very specific, time-consuming, and expensive rules about flashing around windows. However, in my experience, lots of contractors don’t keep up with the latest best practices. Indeed, I rarely see it done right. I’ve made “experienced contractors” rip out replacement windows they think they can seal with a bead of caulk and no flashing. I’ve seen them put up expensive siding without bothering to read the large-print instructions on the box. I’ve seen them use caulk that will dry out in two or three years because it’s cheaper than the caulk that will last twenty years, all to save themselves $100. Another weak point is where horizontal lengths of siding overlap (see illustration below). That’s what makes those lines that are hard to notice from one direction but very obvious from the other direction. A pressure washer easily forces a LOT of water into those joints and behind the siding.

Pressure washers are so much easier for workers who are half-trained and minimum wage to use than the alternative. The alternative would be, say, spraying water with a little dish detergent onto the siding, rubbing it horizontally with a fleece window washer at the end of a pole, then a spray of low-pressure clean water to rinse it. It takes longer and is more work, but it’s safer for your siding. It’s sort of like the difference between washing your car with a rag and soapy water and a hose and washing your car in one of those cheap high-pressure do it yourself car washes. Both clean your car, but which would you use on your Ferrari?