Cleaning a stucco sided house

[Sampsons P/W]

Has anyone had the oppertunity to clean a stucco sided house, if so what pressure setting, nozzle size, cleaning solution, dwell time, hot or cold water was used to takle that job

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[DeWayne]

Is it real stucco or the artificial kind?
Real stucco should clean up easily. I owned
a white stucco house in Florida and never had
any problems getting it clean with cold water
and no chems. (I didn't know better at the time).
Don't clean real stucco if freezing temps are
expected because the water gets into the stucco
and will cause cracks when it freezes.

If it's the fake stucco, be careful because there
have been big problems with water getting behind
it and causing wood rot. I can't really tell you
how to clean one of these, but I'd be extra careful.
The fake stucco is almost like styrofoam glued onto
the outer shell of the house. I would use low pressure.

Good luck!



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[Mike Hughes]

Like the above post said, the "fake" stucco is much more delicate. It helps to know what you're up against.

Click on the search link at the top of the page (magnifying glass) and do a search on the word Dryvit. That is what the fake stucco is called. I washed a dryvit sided home last year, it was a pain. I used a much bigger tip.....usually I use a 6.5 nozzle to get 3000psi......for that home, I bought a 40 degree nozzle, size 10. Or, if you have a dual lance wand, crank the pressure down.

I used a heavy mixture of bleach and TSP and water, with some Pure Rinse Liquid Cascade thrown in to help keep the windows clean. There are cleaning recommendations on the manufacturers website www.dryvit.com

Good luck.




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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA

 

[DeWayne]

Thanks Mike....!

I was wondering what Dryvit was and now I know!
There's been several big lawsuits here in NC
and probably other states too over the Dryvit
material. Water gets behind it and doesn't drain
or evaporate properly, so the outer shell and
framing structure slowly start to rot from the
inside. Dryvit has been ripped off many brand new
houses around here and replaced with brick or some
other type of siding material. Dryvit looks great
but it's what you don't see that can get you and
many homeowners got shafted because of it.

Of course the manufacturer blames the installer
and the installer blames the product and the
consumer is stuck in the middle.

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