Mold/Mildew/Algae

[woodlandspilo]

Folks,
I am North of Houston and have been coming across a grey/green very fine mildew(??) on soffets, fascia and rain gutters that is impossible to get off with cold water and Simple Green (high concentration cleans everything else!). Can anyone recommend an enviornmentally friendly chemical that might loosen this stuff up? Thanks!

 

[Micah]

Simple Green is probably not the best chemical for that paticular job. I would suggest using bleach, with a citrus cleaner. The bleach will kill the mold and algea, and the citrus cleaner will serve both as a degreaser for other stains and a surface agent to allow for a longer dwell time. The citrus acid will also cut a lot of the smell associated with the bleach. Be very careful mixing other chemicals with bleach though.

 

[woodlandspilo]

Thanks Micah - I'll give it a try. Have you tried Oxy Boost or any other oxygen bleach? I use a 4000 psi/4gpm cold outfit and wonder that if your suggestion and this unit won't remove it if I need to try heat?

 

[Micah]

Personally if I were doing a house, I wouldn't even turn my burner on. I don't think the heat is really that big of a benefit on housework until you get to the sidewalks or driveways. The bleach should definatly cut the mold and algea with no problem. If it doesn't, increase the bleach in the ratio. I've never tried any of that oxy bleach powder stuff for pressure washing, works great for cloths though. Bleach at a dollar a gallon is much cheaper and has always worked fine for me. Your 4000/4GPM machine should be plenty for vinyl siding and the like. You should even find which size tip you need to reduce your pressure while keeping the same GPM, if you do a search you'll find all the information on that.