The Best Way To Clean Siding, According To Experts

A clean laundry room, a decluttered closet, a sparkling bathroom, a freshly scrubbed, lemon-scented kitchen. There’s an appealing sense of pride and accomplishment you get anytime you roll up your sleeves and get to work sprucing up your living spaces. Giving the exterior of your home a good bath is no exception. In fact, the size of the job means the feelings of satisfaction derived from your efforts are correspondingly bigger. 

But the gratification of seeing your house looking its best is hardly the only reason to make sure you’re washing your siding properly and appropriately. It’s a crucial part of standard siding maintenance that when done correctly can add years to the lifespan of your siding. “If you regularly clean your house, you’re going to notice any deficiencies a lot more readily than if you just leave it and just let it accumulate,” says David Tudor of Tudor Building Group in Nashville. And timely repairs can make all the difference. 

Discover when and how to best clean your home’s siding in this expert-driven guide, detailing everything from safety precautions to materials to methods to professional help. 

Before You Get Started 

Cleaning your home’s siding—regardless of type—is one of those jobs where it pays to stay ahead of the curve, especially if you want to avoid using harsh chemicals. “A once a year cleaning is a good rule of thumb,” says Max Hare, the owner of Tidal South Pressure Washing in Charleston, “especially in parts of the South, where heat and high levels of humidity can cause mold, moss, and mildew to grow quickly. If you let it go two years or more you’ll need stronger chemicals to remove it and those chemicals can then damage the siding if you don’t know what you’re doing.” Wood siding is especially susceptible to damage caused by moisture and organic growth such as mold, moss, and mildew, which can degrade the paint as well as the siding itself, so homeowners with wood siding should keep an especially close eye on it.

Safety Precautions

On the surface, cleaning your home’s exterior siding may not seem like a particularly dangerous job, but accidents can happen at home when we least expect them to, so it’s important to take proper safety precautions—every time. 

• Be prepared with the right gear and the appropriate clothing for the job. Long-sleeves, pants, gloves, closed-toed shoes, and if you’re using a chemical cleaning solution, a face mask or respirator will protect your skin (and airways).
• Wear protective goggles to prevent loose dirt and other debris from entering your eyes. 
• Cover all electrical outlets. 
• Make sure windows and doors are closed. 
• Prep the exterior of your home by removing children’s toys, outdoor furniture, grills, and other impediments around the perimeter, which might be damaged during cleaning or cause you to trip and fall.   
• Educate yourself on all equipment, and follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. 
• Brush up on basic ladder safety if your multi-story home requires the use of one. According to the CDC, more than 300,000 people a year are treated for ladder related injuries. 
• Know your limits, and recognize when it’s time to call in a professional.

Two Ways To Clean Your Siding

If you’re a new homeowner or have never cleaned your own siding before, it’s easy to assume that a pressure washer is the tool of choice, but the truth is pressure washers can do more harm than good if used incorrectly or with too much pressure, easily damaging softer materials like wood but also potentially harming stronger siding types like brick and fiber cement.

1. For best results, most professional cleaning services prefer a softwash, a method using a low-pressure power washer and a light exterior cleaning solution in place of high-pressure to attack hard-to-remove organic growth.
2. Hare notes that a simple soap-and-water solution, a garden hose, and a little elbow grease can be used instead of a cleaning solution with bleach, but expect the project to take longer, and plan on repeating the process more frequently to prevent the type of organic growth that requires a chemical solution. Explore both methods below along with materials and best applications.   

How To “Softwash”

A full-power pressure washer can damage even the hardiest siding types like fiber cement and brick. Instead, try soft-washing your siding. You’ll still use a pressure washer but at a much lower setting along with an exterior cleaning solution to break down organic growth and tough dirt. 

What You'll Need

• Pressure washer with a chemical injector and a ‘soap tip.’ “This will allow the homeowner to spray a 6% bleach/detergent cleaning solution at a lower pressure,” Hare says. “[The ‘soap tip’] will also allow the same amount of water to flow at the lower pressure rate for rinsing.”

• Exterior cleaning solution for siding that’s designed to fight mold and mildew. You’ll find a range of options at most hardware stores. 
• Tarp to cover sensitive landscaping material. 
• Gloves, a respirator, and protective eyewear.

Best Application

This gentle but effective, no-scrub method works well for all siding types. Without ladder experience or consulting a professional, this method works best on a single story house. 

Step-by-Steps:

Step 1: Before you start, move outdoor furniture and cover plants with a tarp.

Step 2: Work in small sections using a pressure washer equipped with a ‘soap tip’ to spray the cleaning solution on your siding—check that the cleaning solution you buy is suited to your siding type.

Step 3: Allow the solution to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, and rinse thoroughly using the same nozzle and pressure rate. “Do not allow the chemical to dry on painted surfaces,” Hare says, which can damage your paint and ultimately your siding.

How To Clean Using Warm, Soapy Water

If you want to avoid a chemical cleaning solution, the combination of a basic soap-and-water mixture, a soft-bristle brush, and a garden hose or low-pressure power washer will get the job done albeit it much slower and with a lot more sweat equity. 

What You'll Need

• Dawn or basic laundry detergent. 
• Warm water.
• A standard garden hose and garden pump up sprayer.

• Soft-bristle scrub brush. Depending on the size of your house, a telescoping version may help you access those hard-reach spots without a ladder.
• Protective eyewear. 

Best Application

This method works for all siding types. It works particularly well during pollen season or after a strong storm splashes mud and other debris onto the side of the house. It’s also ideal for small spaces like porches or quick touch ups. But if you plan on avoiding chemical cleaning solutions altogether, you’ll want to up your cleaning schedule to at least twice a year to prevent mold or mildew and other organic materials from taking hold; once they’ve appeared it’s much more difficult to remove without the aid of a bleach-based solution. 

Step-by-Steps:

Step 1: Working in small sections using the garden hose with pump-up attachment or the pressure washer and “soap tip,” apply the soap-and-water solution.

Step 2: Agitate each section with your soft-bristle brush, giving it a thorough scrub. For smaller spaces or simple touch ups, you can apply the solution directly to your siding with the brush or a soft cloth.

Step 3: Rinse and repeat. 

When To Consult A Professional

Know your limits. “Most of the time, homeowners are very comfortable cleaning their porches, garages, sidewalks, and patios themselves,” Hare says. “Some homeowners will be completely comfortable cleaning the entirety of their single story home. Things get trickier with a two-story or elevated home when ladders get involved.”

In addition to safety benefits, professional crews already have all of the appropriate equipment and materials, potentially saving you money in the long run. And if you’re working with a chemical siding cleaner, a pro will be able to ensure it’s used correctly—every time—preventing any unintentional damage to your home’s siding, landscaping, and other exterior features.