Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best cleaner for cedar siding

My son is buying his first house, neat place too, but it is need of some serious maintenance outside. Wavy cedar siding that hasn't been cared for . I've looked up some cleaning products with a lot of mixed reviews. I want to add it though my pressure washer let it sit and then power spray off . Wondering if there's one any body can recommend ? It's a big house and I want to do it right the first time then apply some sealer. I can already see this taking up some(a lot) of my hunting season , and his too ! Of course I am looking forward to helping him with a lot of projects.
Thanks

BP

Power wash, then seal it!

We soak ours[water] then use soapy water with a push type broom/brush then power wash.
Works pretty well

I use bleach on cedar fences with good success. It might be worth a try.

Might I suggest having the wife do it, allows one to direct from a chair in the shade...also keeps one fresh for when hunting is required.

See...more than one way to skin a cat.

Deck cleaner of some sort designed for cedar.

cover it up with better siding. stuff is garbage.

Try a cleaner with oxalic acid like Sherwin Williams Revive.
Or you can make your own.
GreggH

Buy a couple of twin pacs of a toilet cleaner called “The Works.” Pre wet the siding. Use a low pressure sprayer to apply a slightly diluted brew of it. Allow it to work for about an hour a then hit it w washer. You’ll be amazed at the funk that will boil out of that grain. Repeat as necessary. I use it on teakwood on a cruiser that we co-own and it works magic. Muratic acid diluted will do same.

Deck cleaner, then brighter (Oxcilic acid), then stain.

I wouldn't use a power washer unless you're very careful to keep from tearing fibers up off the siding.

Good thinking there...I don;t think I could get mine up the ladder far enough.

I found some cleaner/brightener for cedar and redwood, I'm going to give that a try. srwshooter, I agree it is a pain in the ass to maintain , and I wouldn't use it but it's already on the house and it's my sons first house. He's tickled to death as it has everything he wanted . He's about to learn the joys of home ownership.
Thanks everybody !

A few Meskins

Hanco , we sure would , but we are out in the sticks, none around except in the city

I have done my fair share of cleaning up all kinds of wood. What I find works for me is to mix bleach and water in equal parts. If you can find the 10% bleach used in pools, that has worked best. You can spray it on with a garden sprayer and give it a quick brushing with some kind of a brush 12” or so wide with a broom handle to make it easier. You don’t have to scrub very hard, just lightly go over it and let the bleach do the work. Pressure wash after, using a wide spray nozzle as cedar is soft and very easily gouged. Do as large as a section as you can without having the bleach and water mixture dry. It isn’t going to be as hard as you think and will make the wood look like new.

Thanks !

I do a lot of cedar siding cleanings as part of my business. Power wash it without any additional additives.

You’ll want to go slow and strip off as much of the old veneer that has built up over the years by maintaining a consistent distance of the wand from the siding, so your removing the old finish, taking it back down to the natural look of the cedar, without tearing the heck out of the siding...

Determine what degree of spray tip works best and a distance from the siding with the wand that isn’t chewing up the wood.

Dark, black mold spots can be removed by working the wand close enough to the siding and working the area over several times.

Cedar has natural tannins that is self protecting. Depending on the level of damage and neglect, it can often be brought back to life with some hard work.

A large house, two stories and approximately 2400’ ft would take 2 guys 2 days of power washing to strip cedar house.

I charge $1600-$2k depending on the amount of mold, algae and dirt that needs to be stripped off...You can’t just wash the house with the power washer - you have to strip it...😎

I have cleaned my house and two fences using just plain water, the first fence I just used a garden hose sprayer and this required some scrubbing. The second fence I just used plain water in my pressure washer, most pressure washers have nozzles for low pressure applications, this is the one you want to use. For stubborn stains I have used Simple Green which gets the job done without being too harsh on older wood surfaces.

I use Concrobium House and Deck wash. I apply with an injection nozzle (soap nozzle) using a hot water pressure washer. I scrub with a brush on an adjustable painters pole. I then rinse with the hot water pressure washer and an over sized nozzle.

You've got to be really careful with a pressure washer on cedar or you'll erode the wide soft summer rings, raising the grain.

If there's lots of algae, I'll also use bleach solution in a pump sprayer.