There are a number of ways I have come across of cleaning vinyl siding or UPVC Fascia's, so I have listed cleaning methods for these methods.
Cleaning vinyl siding by hand
This method will depend on how grubby the siding is, if it is very grubby then you will need a scrubbing brush, if not then using cloths will be fine. I would suggest using microfibre cloths as these are abrasive enough to remove the grime.
If using microfibre cloths it is best to wear waterproof gloves as I found that these type of cloths would irritate my hands and dry them out.
If you need to use ladders to reach all of the vinyl siding then check out our How to use ladders page. The other thing that you will need is a means to hang your bucket from the ladders so that you have both of your hands free. The best ways I found was to use a "s" hook or to use a ladder stand off that has a bucket hook.
Slightly dirty - Maintenance clean
Now if the siding is only slightly dirty, you can just use plain water, a damp cloth and a dry cloth.
Just wash down with the damp cloth and then buff up the siding with the dry cloth.
If you want to bring the siding back to "as new" then finish off with a cream cleanser for UPVC.This gets the grime out of the pores of the siding.
Really dirty - Restoration clean
Choose the type of detergent to use, I used to put some flash liquid in my water. Other professional cleaners I know, used TFR (traffic film remover, used by car valeters)
If using a detergent then it would be wise to wear some goggles to protect your eyes.
First of all you will need to remove the bulk of the grime with the scrubbing brush. So I would suggest doing all of the siding with the scrubbing brush.
Then starting at the top use the damp cloth and dry cloth to complete the rest of the clean.
Again use cream cleanser to finish off.
Cleaning vinyl siding using water fed poles
This is the way that we clean UPVC Fascia's now.
We use a professional system which uses purified water and this means that we don't need to use any detergents to produce excellent results.
If you intend to clean your Vinyl Siding on a regular basis, it could be worth investing in a decent water fed pole.There are water fed poles that you can buy and just connect to your water supply.
If you clean the vinyl siding on a regular basis with the water fed pole, then this will save you from having to use any cream cleansers, and thus, no need to work off ladders.
Cleaning vinyl siding using pressure washers
For a full description of the method of using a pressure washer, check out our cleaning brick walls page.
If the Vinyl Siding is very grubby then you might well need to spray a detergent on to the siding to loosen up the grime.But check how it will effect any plants that you have close to the building, if it is normal washing up liquid, plants tend to like this.
Give the detergent 5 minutes to work before using the pressure washer to remove the grime.
Wearing goggles is recommended when using a pressure washer, especially if it is a bit windy.
