Cleaning Vinyl Siding With Bleach Water

I live in a house with vinyl siding. The North side of the house is always in the shade. This shade keeps that side of the house moist and the vinyl siding grows green stuff. That green stuff is mold, mildew, or algae and if you leave it long enough between cleanings, it will even grow moss.

I used to try and brush it off, but that took forever. My mom suggested bleach water. I thought I would give it a shot. It worked so well, that from then on, I used bleach water to clean my vinyl siding.

In this Instructable, I will show you the technique I use to clean vinyl siding.

Step 1: Warning!

If you have a two story house, you will need to use a ladder. Use caution, make sure your ladder is secure, and do not over reach.

Step 2: Tools and Supplies

You will need a pump sprayer. I find that a two gallon sprayer is a good size.

A hose with a spray nozzle.

You may need a ladder.

All you need to make the cleaning solution is bleach and water.

I wore safety glasses to keep the solution from getting into my eyes.

Step 3: Make the Solution

I mix my solution one part bleach to five parts water. I put 1-1/4 gallon of water into the sprayer and add 1/4 gallon of bleach into the water. You can experiment with different proportions, but this works well for me. Once you have your bleach water solution, pump up the sprayer.

Step 4: Spray Water First

You will need to spray the siding with water first. This helps to keep the bleach water solution from streaking.

Step 5: Spray on the Bleach Water Solution

Set your pump sprayer's nozzle to a wide pattern and evenly spray the bleach water solution onto the wet vinyl siding. If this is the first time cleaning vinyl siding with bleach water, you might want to try a small section to test how long you will need to leave the solution on the siding before rinsing. I find that ten minutes is just right. I start from the top and work my way down to the bottom. I pick a section that I know I can spray in about five minutes. If you work on small sections, you can alternate between wetting, spraying, and rinsing and work your way across your house.

Step 6: Rinse

After giving the bleach water solution about ten minutes to kill the green stuff, use your water hose to rinse off the bleach water solution. The green stuff should easily rinse off. If it does not, you may need to apply the bleach water solution a second time.

Step 7: Enjoy the Clean Siding

It is amazing the difference clean siding makes.

Step 8: Video

As usual, I made a video.

Thank you for watching.