Home Repair and Paint Guide

... When mixed with water, it breaks apart dirt and other stains on the side of your house. The solution doesn’t harm plants or trees as chlorine bleach would do. Apply the oxygen bleach solution with a regular hand-pump sprayer. Try to work in the shade to minimize evaporation. Let the solution sit on the siding and trim for about five minutes, then wash it off with a solution of regular liquid dish soap and water. You can use a soft bristle brush to remove stubborn stains. The type used to clean cars would work fine for this task. After rubbing the surface with the brush, immediately rinse the area with a garden hose. Work an area that’s about 100 square feet at a time. Apply the the oxygen bleach solution to the next section to be cleaned and allow it to soak while working on the current area with the brush. This allows one part of the house to soak while the previously sprayed section is being cleaned. Pressure washing isn’t a good idea in most cases. The streams of water from the tool are injected deeply into cracks and seams where water shouldn’t go. It can also remove paint from the siding. It’s not water pressure that cleans the surface, it’s the action of the cleaning agent. There is one advantage though - pressure washers can push the water to higher areas than a typical garden hose. This helps on two story houses and also with trim. Just be sure to set the pressure to a low level and use a wide stream instead of a narrowly focused one. Oxygen bleach is a very powerful cleaner. It can remove stains on clothes, decks, carpets, siding, and just about anything else that is water washable ...