Pressure Washing Guide

simcityhydro · Joined: 31 Jan 2009 Posts: 3

Hey guys,

How many of you use the hot water on vinyl siding houses? I have hot water but didnt know if it would help or hurt. I have read some stuff about it maybe distorting the vinyl siding, is this true?

How can hot water help on vinyl, or can't it?

Midwestpro · Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:50 pm Post subject:

I have talked with contractors that have seen first hand vinyl siding warp from hot water. It can be risky if you don't know what you are doing.

As far as contractor benefits, it can cut down on chemical usage and possibly time. It can definitely help the chemicals work better if it is cold outside.

Benefit to the customer in my opinion is none. A clean house is a clean house. I have used cold water and the right chemicals for years and our houses come out looking amazing to the point that they couldn't be any cleaner. How we got there is no concern of the customers, they just want the end result; a clean house.

I am against the use of using hot water as a marketing gimmick. There is a local guy here that advertises "hot water washing" but like I mentioned what does this mean to the customer? Nothing! The customer may think they are getting something special but they aren't. A clean house is a clean house and why risk warping their vinyl if you do not have to.

The sad fact is the a lot of guys will rely on the hot water and too much pressure to do the cleaning. They cut back on chemicals, use cheap chemicals, or none at all. This means they are not actually killing mold, mildew, and algae but rather just peeling it off the house temporarily. What happens then is the mold grows back quickly. The proper way to clean a house, whether using hot or cold water, is to use the right chemicals to not only remove but to kill the pollutants so they do not return anytime soon. That is how you provide a premium service in my opinion.

I am not saying that hot water in general is bad, but it can mean it is being depended upon too much and it has been proven to warp vinyl when not handled properly.