To continue with our exterior maintenance product discussion, today we will touch on house washes.
We have quite a few products that can be used for this job as well as those we recommend for this use.
Our most economical product is our "Citrus X-terior" house wash. This product was specifically designed for those who where use to doing house washing with a bleach only solution. With "Citrus X-terior" you can add bleach to it, to get the mold killing and color removing properties that bleach provides, while having the added benefits of a product that contains the actual cleaning ability of surfactants and the added benefit of a clean citrus scent to help cover or reduce the smell of bleach, if you are using it with the product. "Citrus X-terior" is a great all on its own for cleaning vinyl siding, hardiplank, wood or brick facades.
For surfaces that need a stronger approach or that have known greasy dirt concerns you can use our “Mighty Max”, the 6% butyl, non caustic product we discussed earlier. We found it made no sense to add other names to or re-label the same product for every type of job it can do. There fore many of our products can multi task even if the job description is not in the product name like “house wash”. “Mighty Max” is great to use in a pump up sprayer to pre treat problem areas as well as being used as a general house wash. “Mighty Max Plus” since it has a higher amount of butyl 10% plus an added amount of sodium hydroxide it is great on removing those stubborn black streaks from gutters without brushing. But care must be made to not let the product sit to long or allowed to dry on painted surfaces or glass that it can etch, since it does contain sodium hydroxide.
Just about any of our other general all purpose cleaners like “Mighty-Green”, “Natures Green”, and “Rite Stuff” can also be used as a house wash and are recommended when customers or regulatory agencies require that a “Greener” product or method be used to clean.
There is a final product some of our customers do use for house washing but that we do not have label directions nor can recommend proper dilution rates for and that is with using “Brown Derby”. Even when greatly diluted the amount of sodium hydroxide can be a deterrent for using on painted wood surfaces and around glass. If you use it we can not offer advice or make any recommendation in regards to house washing. For this reason “Brown Derby” is not listed in our catalog section of house washing products.
With that said, sodium hydroxide is still a widely used method for roof cleaning and “Brown Derby” has and can be used for that. Care still must be made in keeping the rest of the house rinsed well with water including any glass during the roof cleaning process not to cause damage to other surfaces. But the Asphalt Shingle Manufactures of America recommends in their own technical bulletin that only professional bleach solutions should be used on their shingle products in which our “Citrus X-terior” can be used as recommended with bleach to clean roof shingles of black mold streaks.
Lastly the product “Bio Barrier” that we have discussed at length in the past, was designed to be used after house and roof washing to retard the re-growth of mold. This product will add months if not years of continued good looks after a cleaning has been done. But it does require repeated treatments to extend the life of its benefits.
We hope these monthly posts are helpful and we look forward to next month and our next product group.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Exterior Maintenance Products for Concrete, Wood & Fabrics.
Each month we are featuring a group of our products to help our customers and potential customers learn what products we carry that they might not be aware of. Plus this gives information regarding the differences between some items as well. This month we will discuss products used for exterior maintenance jobs.
For concrete flat work we have a basic “Concrete Cleaner” as well as degreasers like “Mighty-O” “Mighty-Max” and “Mighty Max Plus” these all contain butyl, a great grease cutter. The differences between these three mainly are the amount of butyl they contain, 3%, 6% or 10% respectively. We have a product called “Pro BRC” or Building Restoration Cleaner for brick and masonry to remove years of neglect, mold, mildew and dirt. It will restore mortar lines back to original or near original color with out using damaging high pressure that can loosen mortar joints. To remove rust stains from concrete, sometimes caused by certain mineral waters or irrigation thru metal water lines, we have “Concrete Rust Remover”. This is a powder that is mixed 4 lbs per 5 gallons of water for best results. We also carry some more environmentally friendly products when other products can not be used due to Home Owners Associations or other factors, like our “Natures Green APC” all purpose cleaner or “Mighty Green” which is in the same family as the well known Simple Green®. We also have a bio degradable Economy degreaser called “Rite Stuff” that contains an organic solvent if butyls are not allowed to be used.
For wood cleaning for decks and other wood structures we have the following:
“Deck Wash” for regular cleaning of most wood surfaces it can clean anything from cedar to pressure treated wood. Now if a softer approach is needed to clean, and in no way can contain any acid or harsh ingredients, then our “So Safe” can be used. This percolating product comes in a powder that is mixed just prior to use and only in the amount that is expected to be used, since it will loose its cleaning ability if left to sit. This is perfect when you just need to lift off a layer of dirt with out touching the stain, finish or the woods own character like with teak or a newly stained deck. Now if you are in need to remove an existing finish or stain then you will need one of our strippers. We have two; the first is just called “Deck Stripper” and can handle most normal single layer or worn stain jobs. But if multiple or thick layers of stain, sealer or varnish need to be removed then we have the product “Super Stripper” that will do the job. With either of these you will need to follow them up with a neutralizer to stop the chemical action and for that we have our “Wood Brightener”. This comes in a powder and is mixed 4 lbs to 5 gallons of water and can also be used alone to brighten a previously untreated wood surface. The last product we have in our exterior wood section is our Bio Barrier mold inhibitor product. This should be applied to a surface after it has been cleaned and is completely dry. This will prevent the re-growth of mold on wood in areas having known pre-existing problems. Bio Barrier does not kill mold, that is why the surface must first be clean and old mold removed, but once applied to a surface it should stay mold free for at least 6 months if not for a year or more. Length of time will depends on factors like amount of time area is in the shade, how much water or moisture it comes in contact with, how much air circulation is available to the area and if the surface is horizontal or vertical.
Next is a product for outdoor cloth or plastic fiber fabrics found on lawn furniture pads, umbrellas, awnings and fabric gazebos called “Carpet & Fabric Cleaner” this is a great multi use product. It is formulated with optical brighteners to give colored fibers deeper tone and better contrast. It will help restore color to fabrics that are faded by dirt and grime. It contains no harsh chemicals that will damage fibers and will help to extend the life of the outdoor fabrics use. Companies such as Sunbrella® suggest to only use mild detergents for heavy soiling or to remove molds and mildew by adding a small amount of bleach to the cleaning solution, hot water should NEVER be used on Sunbrella® fabric and may require some brushing to remove stubborn stains from between fibers. “Carpet & Fabric Cleaner” can be used in this recommended manner.
Tomorrow we will cover our products for house washing.
For concrete flat work we have a basic “Concrete Cleaner” as well as degreasers like “Mighty-O” “Mighty-Max” and “Mighty Max Plus” these all contain butyl, a great grease cutter. The differences between these three mainly are the amount of butyl they contain, 3%, 6% or 10% respectively. We have a product called “Pro BRC” or Building Restoration Cleaner for brick and masonry to remove years of neglect, mold, mildew and dirt. It will restore mortar lines back to original or near original color with out using damaging high pressure that can loosen mortar joints. To remove rust stains from concrete, sometimes caused by certain mineral waters or irrigation thru metal water lines, we have “Concrete Rust Remover”. This is a powder that is mixed 4 lbs per 5 gallons of water for best results. We also carry some more environmentally friendly products when other products can not be used due to Home Owners Associations or other factors, like our “Natures Green APC” all purpose cleaner or “Mighty Green” which is in the same family as the well known Simple Green®. We also have a bio degradable Economy degreaser called “Rite Stuff” that contains an organic solvent if butyls are not allowed to be used.
For wood cleaning for decks and other wood structures we have the following:
“Deck Wash” for regular cleaning of most wood surfaces it can clean anything from cedar to pressure treated wood. Now if a softer approach is needed to clean, and in no way can contain any acid or harsh ingredients, then our “So Safe” can be used. This percolating product comes in a powder that is mixed just prior to use and only in the amount that is expected to be used, since it will loose its cleaning ability if left to sit. This is perfect when you just need to lift off a layer of dirt with out touching the stain, finish or the woods own character like with teak or a newly stained deck. Now if you are in need to remove an existing finish or stain then you will need one of our strippers. We have two; the first is just called “Deck Stripper” and can handle most normal single layer or worn stain jobs. But if multiple or thick layers of stain, sealer or varnish need to be removed then we have the product “Super Stripper” that will do the job. With either of these you will need to follow them up with a neutralizer to stop the chemical action and for that we have our “Wood Brightener”. This comes in a powder and is mixed 4 lbs to 5 gallons of water and can also be used alone to brighten a previously untreated wood surface. The last product we have in our exterior wood section is our Bio Barrier mold inhibitor product. This should be applied to a surface after it has been cleaned and is completely dry. This will prevent the re-growth of mold on wood in areas having known pre-existing problems. Bio Barrier does not kill mold, that is why the surface must first be clean and old mold removed, but once applied to a surface it should stay mold free for at least 6 months if not for a year or more. Length of time will depends on factors like amount of time area is in the shade, how much water or moisture it comes in contact with, how much air circulation is available to the area and if the surface is horizontal or vertical.
Next is a product for outdoor cloth or plastic fiber fabrics found on lawn furniture pads, umbrellas, awnings and fabric gazebos called “Carpet & Fabric Cleaner” this is a great multi use product. It is formulated with optical brighteners to give colored fibers deeper tone and better contrast. It will help restore color to fabrics that are faded by dirt and grime. It contains no harsh chemicals that will damage fibers and will help to extend the life of the outdoor fabrics use. Companies such as Sunbrella® suggest to only use mild detergents for heavy soiling or to remove molds and mildew by adding a small amount of bleach to the cleaning solution, hot water should NEVER be used on Sunbrella® fabric and may require some brushing to remove stubborn stains from between fibers. “Carpet & Fabric Cleaner” can be used in this recommended manner.
Tomorrow we will cover our products for house washing.
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