Pressure Washing Wood Siding

How to safely clean wood siding on a house.

Pressure washing wood siding. 1st cedar is a relatively soft wood. While it s possible to wash wood siding correctly there s also a good chance that water will find its way up and under the exterior surface if you use high pressure. From there water can damage insulation electrical wiring and can spur mold growth. I can assume there is instant dissent with the title of this story.

Consumer reports experts share pressure washer cleaning advice for your deck roof siding car and more. Depending on your washer s psi rating this might mean anywhere from 18 inches to 6 feet away minimum. Pressure washing can also remove many stains but care must be taken. For more on house painting visit.

The grit can cause damage as the wood moves with the wind and the changes in temperature. Whether it is white or red cedar or clapboard or even alaskan yellow cedar it is still wood has longitudinal pores running its length from butt to feathered edge on a shingle as well as on cedar clapboard. Wood siding can benefit from a pressure wash as the grit that accumulates can be totally removed. The power of pressure washers can be too much of a good thing.

Wood siding cleaner plastic sheeting. It wasn t so long ago that trisodium phosphate tsp was a go to choice for tough cleaning jobs especially on exteriors. Under certain conditions pressure washers can cut into concrete and brick so imagine the potential effect on cedar vinyl or even fiber cement siding this inadvertent etching is easy to avoid though if you simply stand well back when aiming your sprayer at the siding. Diluted in water and applied often with a stiff scrub brush it can.

If you have a wood frame house with any kind of wood siding clapboards shiplap board and batten shingles etc there is an excellent chance that washing your house with a high pressure washer will shoot water up under the siding potentially soaking wall cavities insulation wiring flooring plaster etc. But there is good reason not to powerwash a wood sided exterior. Bob vila interviews a contractor in the process of using a pressure washer to remove paint from exterior wood siding. The jet of a pressure washer can actually damage the wood.