One of the best selling points of vinyl siding is it's ease of maintenance and resistance to dirt and stains. Unfortunately stains do occasionally present themselves on vinyl siding, and removal of them needs to be approached with care in order not to damage the finish of the vinyl. The most common stains on vinyl siding are rust and iron stains, green copper stains and tree sap. The best approach to remove stains from vinyl siding is to perform routine maintenance frequently, and thereby disallow stains from building up to the point of becoming an issue. In any instance of cleaning vinyl siding, caution must be used and proper safety measures taken to prevent accident or injury, especially on a home that is several stories in height.
For normal dirt and minor stains on vinyl siding a mixture of common dish soap and laundry bleach works well in most cases. Mixed together in hot water and placed into a pump sprayer, the mixture can be applied to the vinyl siding, let alone to soak for a few minutes, and then washed off with a garden hose. This is also a wonderful manner in which to clean vinyl siding without the use of a ladder and the accompanying safety issues.
Roofing that has accompanying copper components such as flashing tend to oxidize from moisture and sunlight and can be quite a difficult stain to remove from vinyl siding. A mixture of oxalic acid and water can be applied directly to the stain with a sponge and a little elbow grease, and in most cases the vinyl siding will come clean. For severe copper stains, this process may need to be repeated several times to enable success.
Rust stains on copper siding can be removed using a paste made of pumice and mixed with warm water, applied to the stain on the vinyl siding and very gently agitated with a wet sponge and then rinsed thoroughly. A sponge soaked with lemon juice and table salt also works very well on removing stains from vinyl siding.
Removing tree sap from vinyl siding is a much easier task than it would appear. An ordinary paint brush dipped in lard, bacon grease or peanut butter applied to the stain and allowed to set for a few minutes will make the tree sap come right of with little effort.
In any instance of removing a stain from vinyl siding, it is important not to use harsh chemicals or abrasive tools or processes. In using these it is very possible to chemically burn or scratch the vinyl siding, which is worse than the original stain in appearance.