How to Maintain Vinyl Siding

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Vinyl siding is supposed to be maintenance-free, but anything exposed to the environment gets dirty and needs to be cleaned. You can save yourself a lot of work by regularly rinsing off your siding and taking care of stains before large areas are affected. The following steps will help you with maintenance of your vinyl siding.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Garden hose with spray handle
Cleaning brush or pad
Extension handle
Pail
Cleaning agents
Vinyl siding removal tool
Household tool kit

Step1

Rinse siding with water whenever you're using the garden hose. Use a low-pressure setting on your spray handle.

Step2

Clean siding that doesn't rinse clean with a soft brush or cloth pad. If necessary, dip the brush or pad in a mixture of water and cleanser. You may need a long extension handle to reach the second story.

Step3

Choose a biodegradable cleaning agent when cleaning large areas to keep from harming plants and grass when you rinse the siding. Stubborn stains such as mildew can be cleaned with bleach and water. (Chlorine bleach is safe for the environment if diluted with lots of water.)

Step4

Start at the bottom and work your way up, rinsing as you go.

Step5

Shield the siding on the south side of the house with trees, bushes or awnings so the siding doesn't get hot enough to warp.

Step6

Move your grill, patio heater and chimenea away from the siding. Siding will combust if exposed to an open flame for a sufficient length of time.

Step7

Replace damaged siding. If you want to tackle the job yourself, an inexpensive tool is available to remove the damaged section.

Tips & Warnings

The salesperson who sells you a section of siding to replace a damaged one can tell you how to remove and replace siding.
Be careful if you decide to use a power washer. Don't aim the washer upward because the water will get under the siding. Use a ladder.
Never mix bleach with other cleaning agents, especially those containing ammonia.