# How to clean painted cedar siding?



## milos (Jan 15, 2007)

Can somebody give me advice what should I use for cleaning before painting house?Thanks


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## PressurePros (Jul 3, 2006)

4+ gpm pressure washer, X-Jet, mix of trisodium phosphate, sodium metasilicate, sodium hypochlorite and Dawn. (25oz TSP, 25 oz TSP substitute, 3 gallons household bleach, 1/4 bottle of dawn, 1.5 gallons water in a five gallon pail. X-Jet on from ground. Remove clear poly hose for injection, rinse with X-Jet. Make sure you prewet windows and landscaping and rinse well when done. You will probably need 20 gallons total depending on house size.

If you were doing a cosmetic housewash the formula and application method would be different.


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## AAPaint (Apr 18, 2005)

Hey pressure...notice you like dawn in your mix. I use tide cold water in my mix and it works great. Maybe I'll try dawn...but man, talk about suds, eh?


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## PlainPainter (Dec 29, 2004)

Hey Ken, I am going to tell people on the grimescene that you recommended dawn and x-jet'ing - they're going to love it!

-plainpainter


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## painterofeveryt (Apr 8, 2005)

I heard that bleach works best when applied and used at a 3% solution,any feedback ? (referring to killing mildew and algae on homes...


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## PressurePros (Jul 3, 2006)

I usually use a higher quality car wash in my mix when doing a cosmetic wash but for a paint prep it may leave behind a wax which would obviously be a bad thing. Just a little Dawn for sudsing in this instance is not a bad thing.


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