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I had my back vinyl fence moved back a couple feet and some of the boards that were originally facing the back are now facing forward, so now there is this appearance that some boards are darker (dirtier) and some are lighter (cleaner). If you look closely at the picture, you will notice the clean boards and the dirty ones. What is the best way to clean this? The dirty boards originally had some green mold, but I got this off with water and scrubbing with a broom and now what is left dirt (at least that is what I think it is).

Here is a picture:

enter image description here

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I don't think that's dirt. I think that's bleaching by the sun. – The Evil Greebo Sep 5 '12 at 18:50
Hmm... Could you turn the discolored boards back around? Seems like the other side of the fence might have a similar problem. – Tester101♦ Sep 5 '12 at 18:55
@TheEvilGreebo - OK, interesting, why would the front part that got more sun look less bleached and the back part that did not get much sun, be darker. If it is that, can I do something about it. – Xaisoft Sep 5 '12 at 18:55
@Tester101 - That would require the installers to come out and reverse it, but this company has been a pain, so I was wondering if their was a solution I handle myself. – Xaisoft Sep 5 '12 at 18:56
How do you know with certainty which boards were facing which direction? Still, assuming it really is dirt... – The Evil Greebo Sep 5 '12 at 19:20

2 Answers

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Assuming this actually is dirt and not bleaching by the sun and some confusion on which boards faced which way...

Go to Home Depot and rent a pressure washer.

Test the pressure washer on a scrap piece of fencing before you use it on the real deal - if you get too close you could blast a hole in the vinyl - but it will remove the dirt. Quite amazingly so. I've seen dirty old grey decking look like brand spanking new after a good pressure wash.

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If I don't have some scraps, is there a certain pressure I can use or distance I can stay away and still see if it will make difference. – Xaisoft Sep 5 '12 at 19:36
Pick a non-obvious spot to test on in that case – Steven Sep 5 '12 at 20:18
It did turn out to be bleaching. Thanks for the help. – Xaisoft Sep 18 '12 at 5:14
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I would try some vinyl siding cleaner or Oxygen bleach like Stain Solver. It doesn't look that bad in the picture though.

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