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I am wondering what kind of cleaner others use on their vinyl siding....I have never used the commercially made siding cleaners. but prefer my own home made mix. I buy a large bottle of cheapo liquid laundry detergent, mix it with water in a 4 to 1 ratio, and toss in about 2 cups of liquid bleach per gallon. I use a power washer at about 1200 psi to remove the looser dirt, then scrub with a car wash type bristle brush on a handle, then rinse clean. We have light colored siding and in the areas that have tough stains I use a cloth dipped in the mix and a generous amount of either Bon Ami or Barkeepers Friend powdered cleanser. The solution also works great as a deck cleaner.

Since my birthday is coming up, I told my wife I wanted one of those "special siding cleaner hoses" as a gift. You know what I am talking about...where those ads for vinyl siding say: "just rinse clean with a garden hose"......boy, I would love to have one of those things. :biggrin:

Another option I've heard of people using is TSP (trisodium phosphate) ... pretty cheap (about $4 for enough to clean an entire house).

I had someone quote our house to use that and something else before. The quote was well out of our price range so each season change we get out and scrub it down ourselves. Good workout but in the summers its not nearly as fun.

We really need to clean the back of our house again. The vinyl is starting to turn a bit green and I'm not a big fan of a mossy house. :thumbdown: First we need rain. Even a little bit of rain would be nice.

I power washed our vinyl siding a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I think it made it worse because now I have moss growing on it, where before it was just dirty. I really don't want to replace the siding. Is there something good that not only cleans but kills off that stuff?

VRman said:

I power washed our vinyl siding a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I think it made it worse because now I have moss growing on it, where before it was just dirty. I really don't want to replace the siding. Is there something good that not only cleans but kills off that stuff?

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Use my solution and add extra bleach, or TSP, as Muhammad suggested....he is 100 % right about using that as a cleaner...odds are, your "moss" is on the north side of your house, or heavily shaded, and never gets sunlight to dry it out. I have an area on the north side of our house that is always hard to keep clean because of the lack of sunlight.

the bleach will help kill the bacteria or moss on your house what will do the best and last the longest is to use hot water with the bleach but there is nothing out there that will keep it off more than 4 to5 years. just don't use bleach on your decks it turns your wood white looking and when you reseal it it don't have a good color to it

Yep! North and East sides are the worst. I think I will stay away from the bleach. I have a short roof below one area on the north side, and bushes/plants on the ground below. Don't want to screw up the color on the shingles or kill the plants. I wonder if TSP would be any better.

the best cleaner in area where you have shrubs and a roof below are anything that the color might be afected i use simple green a little expencive but worked good for me.

Simple green? I never thought of that. What ratio do you use? Or do you use it straight?