Seeking Ideas for Cleaning Green Mold off Aluminum Siding 3 Stories High

[slackmax]

Hello,

  I'm tired of the green mold (mildew?) that's been on one side of my townhome for about 2 years now.

I don't want to pressure wash it. Too expensive and too damaging possibly.

I tried my hose with a nozzle on the end, and it does nothing to the mold.

Ideas so far are:

A).  Spray it with one of those detergents they sell at Home Depot, that comes in a big bottle that you hook up a hose to. This might work for the lower half of the second story, but I don't think the spray would go any higher. Plus I don't want to rent a ladder or buy one.

I have huge Rhododendron bushes that come out about 8 feet from the house that make ladder placement a problem, anyway.

B).  Buy a long extension pole for $39 at Lowe's that has a male thread on the tip, screw a brush or mop sponge onto it, and whale away at the siding, sticking the sponge/brush into a bucket of my home made cleaning mixture (bleach, vinegar, Dawn, whatever).

The extension pole I'm thinking has a range of 8 feet to  23 feet. It flexes quite a bit at the tip when fully extended. I wonder if I can get enough force on the sponge/brush with it extended all the way, and it is leaning against the siding.

I've used a sponge mop before on the siding effectively, with just the normal mop handle length, but not with a long pole extension like this that flexes a lot.

I think I can get all the way to the highest mold with this pole.  I just wonder if it will rub off fairly easily.  The mold is only on the second and third stories. I do have an 8 foot ladder I can use if needed.   

For some reason the first story has been spared. Maybe the Rhodos are protecting it.

Comments welcome!  New ideas welcome ! Recommendations welcome. 

Thanks

[geekette]

Our house gets this too, so we've used a company to wash our house.  It's not pressure wash, but rather a gentle spray (they call it a fog, but it's a spray), and then they clean the windows and rinse off the bushes.  As far as my nose can tell, it's a bleach solution.

Can you lean out a window where it's green and see if bleach gets it off?  If so, a self mixing hose end sprayer with some bleach on some sort of extender if needed could do the trick. 

[nereo]

Your 1st floor has likely been spared because (i am guessing) it recieves enough direct sunlight to keep the green mold at bay.
To sum up:
....you don't want to rent a ladder or buy one. I'm assuming this extends to scaffolding too.
... you don't want to use a pressure washer (which would definitely work in your situation)
... you are (I assume) not going to pay someone else to do it for you
... your mold extends to the 3rd story (presumably of 3?)

that kinda limits your best options.  About the only thing left would be to go on the roof and spray down, but I wouldn't do that without a proper harness (and maybe not even then depending on your home and the roof pitch).

Gee, with those limitations there isn't much left.  Maybe buy some water ballons and fill them with a gentle anti-mold solution and launch them with one of those slingshot things? :-P

Seriously though - reconsider renting a powerwasher with a ~25' extension pole.  You can adjust the spray to limit the force of the water, and typically you can add antimold detergents (available at big box stores) to the line.  Plan ahead and the whole thing will take you a couple hours from pickup to dropoff of equipment.

[paddedhat]

Seriously though - reconsider renting a powerwasher with a ~25' extension pole.  You can adjust the spray to limit the force of the water, and typically you can add antimold detergents (available at big box stores) to the line.  Plan ahead and the whole thing will take you a couple hours from pickup to dropoff of equipment.

It's either this, or sub it out to a professional. Your assumption about pressure washing being too aggressive isn't correct. You can use a pressure washer incorrectly, and totally destroy just about anything, from wood siding to bricks. Or you can use the right chemicals,  pressure and equipment and safely clean just about anything with zero damage. I've attempted some high elevation scrubbing with extension poles. It is extremely hard on your body, and surprisingly ineffective. Trying to transmit any downforce on the bristles of a brush, to actually accomplish any real scrubbing really doesn't happen as the pole bows, and you end up tired and wet, with a nice patchy, spot cleaned mess 25' up the wall.

[slackmax]

Our house gets this too, so we've used a company to wash our house.  It's not pressure wash, but rather a gentle spray (they call it a fog, but it's a spray), and then they clean the windows and rinse off the bushes.  As far as my nose can tell, it's a bleach solution.

Can you lean out a window where it's green and see if bleach gets it off?  If so, a self mixing hose end sprayer with some bleach on some sort of extender if needed could do the trick.

Geekette,

Yes, there are 2 windows I can lean out of. The problem will be getting the solution onto the siding to the  right since I will not be able to lean very far out.   
The siding under the windows doesn't have any mold on it. Somewhere there might be an extender to use with a hose end sprayer but I haven't seen one yet.
Just extension poles that don't have any way of holding on a spray bottle and hose.

I'm still leaning toward the long handled pole with brush/mop attached, dipped into cleaning solution periodically. Man what a huge PITA this is, huh?

I don't want to even think about what a business would charge these days to do this job. Fuggedaboudit!   

 Thanks for responding!!

Slackmax   


 

[nereo]

I'm still leaning toward the long handled pole with brush/mop attached, dipped into cleaning solution periodically. Man what a huge PITA this is, huh?

You won't get far with this approach, as paddedhat already said.  I worked at a pool & country club and we had a similar situation to what you described.  We had telescoping 30' aluminum poles and we tried to remove the mold by scrubbing, but that was absolutely ineffective - the longer hte pole hte less force is transfered to the brush at the end, and the whole thing flexes. 

power washers come with extension wands that can go up to 24'.  If you adjust it properly you won't damage your siding at all.  It's the only way you're going to completely clean that wall without either using a ladder or putting up scaffolding or accessing it from the roof (don't do that unless you absolutely know how to work with a harness!!)

take our advice or leave it -up to you.

[paddedhat]

I don't want to even think about what a business would charge these days to do this job. Fuggedaboudit!   

 Thanks for responding!!

Slackmax

This is one thing I never assume. I have laughed at contractors when they gave me a price, and OTOH, was occasionally stunned by how cheap the next guy will do the work. I got a quote from my painting subcontractor to pressure wash a modest, vinyl sided house and garage. I thought the guy would be reasonable, since he was in the middle of painting another property of mine. Nope, he tells me $700. I call another painter, who shows up, washes the place to perfection and charges me $150. Recently I ran into the same thing with driveway coating. I would need about $100 in material to do mine, and have to write off a pair of old clothes and sneakers when I was done. The neighbor has a pro do the job, and the work is extremely nice, with super neat cut-in edging at the garage, and a dead straight line where the new coating meets the street. His driveway is a third bigger than mine. The contractor charged $150.  He couldn't buy enough five gallon buckets of sealer to do the driveway himself for $150. So, it's usually worth getting a price or two, before you go busting your ass and risking life and limb, only to find out that it could of been done for 1/4 of what you thought it should cost.

[geekette]

Our house gets this too, so we've used a company to wash our house.  It's not pressure wash, but rather a gentle spray (they call it a fog, but it's a spray), and then they clean the windows and rinse off the bushes.  As far as my nose can tell, it's a bleach solution.

Can you lean out a window where it's green and see if bleach gets it off?  If so, a self mixing hose end sprayer with some bleach on some sort of extender if needed could do the trick.

Geekette,

Yes, there are 2 windows I can lean out of. The problem will be getting the solution onto the siding to the  right since I will not be able to lean very far out.   
The siding under the windows doesn't have any mold on it. Somewhere there might be an extender to use with a hose end sprayer but I haven't seen one yet.
Just extension poles that don't have any way of holding on a spray bottle and hose.

I'm still leaning toward the long handled pole with brush/mop attached, dipped into cleaning solution periodically. Man what a huge PITA this is, huh?

I don't want to even think about what a business would charge these days to do this job. Fuggedaboudit!   

 Thanks for responding!!

Slackmax

Just use an old spray bottle and spray on a mild bleach solution.  Our house has never been scrubbed, just sprayed (and rinsed).  The last two times we had our house, deck (sprayed with the same solution), and windows cleaned it was $275.  Definitely worth it to me.

BTW, we have a gable end that's over the two stories and a stand up crawl space, so it's dang high.

[slackmax]

Geekette,

I have a spare bottle and some bleach. The problem is GETTING TO the siding where the mold is. The rhododendrons that come out 8 feet and go 8 feet up are in the way of everything.

I could possibly squeeze into  the hedge, hoping deer ticks don't stick to me,  and put up my 8 foot ladder and at least get to the lower part of the second floor.

A Rube Goldberg method that might work would be to somehow get a hose and bottle sprayer connected to the tip of the extension pole, turning on the water at a slow rate, then gradually advancing  the pole from left to right along the side of the house, and letting the cleaning solution run down the siding.

People advocating the pressure washer, no need to freak, I probably won't try the Rube Goldberg method. 

As far as getting a quote, well, I might eventually break down and try it. Yes, there's probably a huge range of price variation out there. Although when I was getting a quotes for my water heater replacement, they were ALL sky high. Did it myself. But siding is a whole different thing, so maybe.   
 

 




 

[slackmax]

Where there's a will, there's a way.

I noticed that my garden hose with a nozzle will blast water all the way to the top of the mold, on the third story. I was checking to make sure I could rinse off any cleaner I put up there.

Why can't I just hook up a bottle of cleaning solution near the end of the garden hose before the nozzle, and let it rip, taking some cleaner as it goes? Does that make too much sense? Too easy?  It'd be the same principle as using the sprayer they supply at Home Depot, but using a nozzle that'll reach the third floor,  instead of the Home Depot sprayer that only gets to the bottom of the second floor.

I just need to find a suction bottle that has an inlet  and an outlet  for a garden hose. 

Too easy? Too clever? Too cheap?     

[slackmax]

snip...

Gee, with those limitations there isn't much left.  Maybe buy some water ballons and fill them with a gentle anti-mold solution and launch them with one of those slingshot things? :-P

Seriously though - reconsider renting a powerwasher with a ~25' extension pole.  You can adjust the spray to limit the force of the water, and typically you can add antimold detergents (available at big box stores) to the line.  Plan ahead and the whole thing will take you a couple hours from pickup to dropoff of equipment.

Water balloons! Now Thatswutahmtalkinbout! Some imagination! Resourcefulness!

OK, I'm now thinking about checking out power washer rentals. Sigh.... Didn't know they could be used with long extension wands. Are they easy enough to handle?   

 

[slackmax]

Seriously though - reconsider renting a powerwasher with a ~25' extension pole.  You can adjust the spray to limit the force of the water, and typically you can add antimold detergents (available at big box stores) to the line.  Plan ahead and the whole thing will take you a couple hours from pickup to dropoff of equipment.

It's either this, or sub it out to a professional. Your assumption about pressure washing being too aggressive isn't correct. You can use a pressure washer incorrectly, and totally destroy just about anything, from wood siding to bricks. Or you can use the right chemicals,  pressure and equipment and safely clean just about anything with zero damage. I've attempted some high elevation scrubbing with extension poles. It is extremely hard on your body, and surprisingly ineffective. Trying to transmit any downforce on the bristles of a brush, to actually accomplish any real scrubbing really doesn't happen as the pole bows, and you end up tired and wet, with a nice patchy, spot cleaned mess 25' up the wall.

Paddedhat,

 Thanks. That's what I was afraid of. No torque available at the brush. Please see my post about hooking up a suction bottle with an in and an out for a garden hose, using my own nozzle for a sprayer, not the weak store-supplied nozzle.

SlackMax 

[nereo]

OK, I'm now thinking about checking out power washer rentals. Sigh.... Didn't know they could be used with long extension wands. Are they easy enough to handle?   
 

Yes, they are among the easiest of motorized devices to handle, particularly modern ones with electric start motors.  Hook up a garden hose, start the engine and pull the trigger.  You'll adjust the spray before you start to be as wide/powerful as you wish by turning the knob.  Pull the trigger and you get your water spray (with added detergient if you want).  That's about it.
They are simple and safe enough that I wouldn't hesitate letting a 13 year old operate one with some basic instructions and minimal supervision. 

One tip: wear hearing protection.  If you don't own ear muffs a pair of ear plugs can be purchased for about $1, and they protect your hearing just as well.  Well worth it.

[TheWifeHalf]

My husband just removed the mold from our house (the first time in 37 years) and he used the product from Home Depot and the hose attached nozzle. Water alone wouldn't touch it but the solution was great. It said it wouldn't damage the plants if rinsed off after, and it didn't. It smelled like a bleach product.

Our house is such that he pulled his pickup next to the side of the house he was working on, set up his step ladder in the bed, and was able to reach our second story. He covered the truck with a tarp so the solution wouldn't get on it.
He does have a power washer and used it to rinse the solution off the house. We have vinyl siding.

It probably looked funny to drivers going by but a moldy house looked worse. The house looks great now.