You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it: first impressions and appearances matter. The siding on your home is one of the first things people will see, and having the right siding can go a long way toward the atmosphere of a beautiful and inviting home. Siding should be more than just durable and functional. It also needs to look good. From the brand and color of siding you select to making sure you keep it clean and neat, a number of factors play into the appearance of your siding. Proper maintenance is important to keeping your vinyl siding looking good. We put together a few tips below for you to follow to ensure your siding maintains that sparkling, brand-new look that you love.
Use a Hose or Pressure Washer
In many cases, removing dirt or mildew from your vinyl siding is as simple as spraying it down with a high-pressure nozzle on your garden hose, or a power washer. This is especially true if you give your siding a cleaning on a regular basis so dirt, mold, and mildew don’t build up too heavily.
Go over the siding with the water stream twice. First, start from the bottom and work your way up. Then do it again, from the top to the bottom this time. This will help ensure that the siding is sufficiently clean and no spots were missed, and finishing with the top-to-bottom direction means that no dirt runs off onto the siding you just cleaned.
The force from a hose nozzle is generally not going to be high enough to damage your vinyl siding, but be careful if you’re using a pressure washer. Inexperienced users can accidentally crack or damage their siding if the pressure washer isn’t used properly. Use a wide spray pattern to ensure that the water is evenly distributed, and don’t spray one spot for too long.
Scrub Your Siding with a Cleaning Solution
If your siding still looks dirty after being washed with plain water, you might need to use a cleaning solution. You can purchase a vinyl siding cleaning solution, or easily make one yourself (there are a number of “recipes” available online). The cleaning solution can be loaded into a pressure washer or applied manually with a soft-bristle brush. Some products can even be attached right to your hose. Let the solution sit and soak for 10 to 15 minutes, and then rinse with water. Using a cleaning solution will help rid your siding of extra pesky dirt and mold that didn’t come off with just plain water.
Contact the Experts
Vinyl siding can be costly to replace, so we’re happy to provide these tips to help Raleigh area homeowners revitalize their siding without the expense that would come with a complete siding replacement. Of course, sometimes siding is simply too old or too damaged for regular cleaning or a quick touch-up to fix. In those cases, we do our best to provide the most affordable siding replacement possible.
If you think it might be time for new siding, don’t hesitate to contact Kingsford Vinyl Siding for a consultation. We’ll come out and take a look at your home and give you an honest, up-front assessment. We won’t try to sell you new siding if you don’t really need it! If our friendly experts examine your siding and think a quick cleanup would suffice, we’ll let you know. And if you aren’t up for the task of cleaning your vinyl siding in Raleigh or the surrounding Triangle area yourself, we can help with that, too!