Is your home's siding looking like it needs a facelift? If it is, the chances are pretty good that a thorough cleaning may bring it back to life. Even when siding looks like it desperately needs a new coat of paint, it may really only need a good washing. You won't be able to tell for sure until you wash it--which is important to do even if you intend to paint. So the best first step in getting your siding back in shape is to clean it. The challenge will be to do this as effectively and easily as possible, without damaging the siding or falling off a ladder.

The best way to clean siding will depend on the particular type of siding and the situation--your time, tools, energy, and whether your house is one story high or taller.

The most time-consuming—but thorough—way to wash all types of siding, from wood to vinyl, is with a bucket of sudsy water, a hose, and a stiff-bristle nylon scrub brush screwed onto the end of a telescoping pole. For lower parts of the siding, you can just handhold the scrub brush.

To hand-scrub siding, mix TSP or a non-phosphate with water according to label directions (often about 1/2 pound TSP to 2 gallons of water). Choose a bucket that the brush will easily fit into. Then, wearing rubber gloves and any other protective gear recommended on the detergent label, scrub the siding from the top down, working in areas about 20 feet wide and the full height of the wall. If possible, work in the shade. Rinse with clear water as you finish each 20-foot section. Scrub in line with the siding panels (horizontally for typical lap siding). If the siding has signs of mildew, see How to Remove Mildew from Siding.

Hand-scrubbing a house is a big job! And the bigger your house, the more you are going to feel like you are in training to become the next Karate Kid. If your home is more than a single level, be sure you follow all ladder safety precautions. For more about this, see Ladder Safety.

To make the work much, much easier, consider using a pressure washer but only if you have the right type of siding for it--and use a tip that fans the spray at 25 degrees or wider. If your home has vinyl, steel, or aluminum siding, a pressure washer is a good alternative to hand-scrubbing. It is definitely easier to use but may not do quite as thorough a job of cleaning as a good hand-scrubbing. If your siding is made of wood, brick, stucco, has peeling paint, or has been painted with paint that may contail lead, don't use a pressure washer--it can cause the paint to peel, erode the surface, and drive water into the wall's interior. For more about this, see How to Pressure Wash Siding.

If you don't own a pressure washer, you can rent one from a tool rental supply or a major home improvement center. 

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