How to clean siding and learn to love your home

My home is my retreat, but at a certain point (maybe two weeks after buying the house and moving in), I felt overwhelmed with projects that needed finishing. In less than two years, I had started and stopped a number of  projects. BUYING the items needed to complete the project was easy, but USING the items was another issue. Unfortunately, the overwhelming fear of failure loomed large in my mind. Home ownership is no small deal and the amount of upkeep prior to buying was underestimated on my part.

That brings me to my siding. I don’t have much siding, but it had gotten gritty and dirty. Horribly dirty.

For some unknown reason, I had decided that cleaning the siding was beyond me, even though, it really wasn't. By just using Google, I found PLENTY of websites that explained the basic techniques of cleaning siding.

But...

Most of the web sites I found used a power washer to clean the siding. However some articles cautioned against using one if you didn’t really know how to use it. I decided that it was in my best interest not to use a power washer.

The other tool that I didn't use was a garden sprayer. It's use was suggested in order to soap the siding. I thought that it would be too slow and just one more item that I would have to lug out and clean afterward. I used the following tools:

• Bucket
• Soft bristle brush
• Brush extension pole
• Hot water
• Dish washing liquid
• Soft Towel
• Water hose with a multi-sprayer nozzle

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East and her siding is the sun.

What I did...

Working from the bottom up, I used the misting setting on the nozzle to wet the area I was going to clean. Then I used the soft bristle brush and hot soapy water to brush off the grit and grim. I only used enough force to get the dirt off. Next, I used the spray setting on the nozzle and sprayed downward (important!) to get the soap off. I used this method for all of the siding, except for the times I had to work around light fixtures or a crack. When I worked around those items, I used a towel to wash and wipe the soap off (Yes, I cleaned the rag with fresh water in between washing and wiping).

In an hour and a half (on a 90+ degree day) I had clean, if not pristine siding.

Next Up: Windows!