How do I clean vinyl siding without a pressure washer?

Question

My vinyl siding is turning green from mildew and I have to clean it up this weekend.

I let a friend borrow my pressure washer at the beginning of the summer, and he's out of the country for awhile. I'm working that angle to try and get it back.

I called for a rental and found that it's pretty expensive to rent one, even for a few hours.

Are there any products out there that can you can spray on and rinse with a hose? These stains are 20+ feet up, so I'll bite the bullet on the tool rental before I get up there to scrub.

My dad recommended giving Jomax a try. Any experience with this?

Answer 1

Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. I wish I took before/after pics.

Bought:

Jomax

Clorox Outdoor

Put in a garden sprayer designed for bleach according to instructions on Jomax:

• 3/4 cups Jomax
• 2 1/4 cups bleach
• 13 cups water

For 75% of the siding, I applied the mixture, then rinsed after 5 minutes. A number of sections needed a second application, and the worst section took three.

I rinsed using one of the "fireman" nozzles on my hose, just so I could get it up to the eaves:

I did try just spraying the mildew with the nozzle...worthless. "Firemen" should sue for defamation.

Anyway, I'm thrilled. Probably took 25% longer than last year, but I wasn't dripping wet either :) I'll get a power sprayer for next year, but I'll definitely stick with this; it looks much better than what I get from pressure washing alone.