Will pressure washing Aluminum siding cause damage ?
Question:How much pressure should be used ?
Answers:
no just keep your distance from the the house so the pressure dont dent the siding
It will probably "blow" the paint or coating off the siding. Some aluminum siding has chemicals infused into the material so that it is the same color all the way through the siding so if you scratch or dent it, the scratch doesn't show. However, if it's older siding that is just coated, it will most likely blow it right off.
I would not be too concerned with the amount of pressure. Just be selective with the tip that you use for the gun. I was a paint contractor and I had to powerwash homes. I would wouldn't use the tip that gives a stream, I would use the tip that gives off a spray formation and the tip should be about 5 feet away from the aluminum siding. You can adjust your distance based on the effectiveness required.
I've washed many a mobil home. Most of the older ones are aluminum sided. Your local hardware store carries T.S.P. (trisodium phosphate) buy the powder kind (cheap) all you need now is a bucket and a brush on a long handle follow the directions on the T.S.P. lightly scrub the T.S.P.on and power wash with a low pressure (under 2500 psi)or a distance(approx 5ft) that does not blast the siding you'll know. Won't hurt it a bit and all the stains come out. Good luck. p.s. wear sunglass the glare in sunlight as you wash is hard on you. Especially if it is white siding. Oh go from bottom to top this prevents streaking.
All of the professional power washers down here do this: Get yourself a 2 gallon pump-up garden sprayer. Go to the local dollar store and get 2 - 3 gallons of their cheap $0.99 a gallon bleach and a large sized bottle of liquid **** and Span. Put about a gallon and a half of water in the 2 gallon sprayer, then a fair amount of bleach and a good dose of the **** and Span. "Slosh" the mixture around so that it's well mixed, but not to the point of creating excessive suds etc. Pump up the sprayer and spray the mixture on one side of the house, do only as much as you'll be able to get to in 10 minutes or so, don't allow it to dry on the surface. Follow this application up with a fan-shaped stream from your pressure washer to rinse the area completely. This mixtured kills mold, mildew, spiders and other "critters", and eats the dirt right off. Be careful about getting this any plants, and rinse them thoroughly if you do. What you are doing is allowing the chemicals to do the work rather than blasting away with a pressure washer, which could cause damage to aluminum siding.
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