# Pressure washing black soffits



## Gracobucks (May 29, 2011)

I have a customer that has black metal soffits, I have washed them twice but when they dry they still have a film of dirt on them. I tried once with a all purpose pressure washer cleaner from home depot and once with just water. 

Is there a trick to get these clean? Special cleaner?


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Gracobucks said:


> I have a customer that has black metal soffits, I have washed them twice but when they dry they still have a film of dirt on them. I tried once with a all purpose pressure washer cleaner from home depot and once with just water.
> 
> Is there a trick to get these clean? Special cleaner?


Is it dirt or mildew? 

I've never seen black soffits, so having trouble picturing it, however, white gutters can stain permanently sometimes. 

Mildew needs to be treated differently than dirt.


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## Gracobucks (May 29, 2011)

It's just dirt. Seems like the water is pulling the bust out from inside the soffit and drying with a haze.


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## Gracobucks (May 29, 2011)

Looks like the soffit in this picture.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Gracobucks said:


> Looks like the soffit in this picture.


That's all you can do, the customer will hopefully understand. Unless you want to hand clean with a sponge or something. 
Probably best to minimize water into the soffit vents.


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## Gracobucks (May 29, 2011)

Holland said:


> Gracobucks said:
> 
> 
> > Looks like the soffit in this picture.
> ...


Thank you for the info. That's what i figured. I told the customer it will take a few washes to get clean.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

Make your last spray pass with the pressure washer at an extreme angle, (150°-175°)
and keep that angle consistent throughout the entire soffit, and stay 2-3 times as far away from the surface as you normally would when washing. Just before the water dries, go over it with an 18" swiffer sweeper and clean microfiber cloth to wipe any residual drips from weep holes. It adds maybe 3-5 minutes of total time per side at most. Much faster than repeated washings.


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## Gracobucks (May 29, 2011)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> Make your last spray pass with the pressure washer at an extreme angle, (150°-175°)
> and keep that angle consistent throughout the entire soffit, and stay 2-3 times as far away from the surface as you normally would when washing. Just before the water dries, go over it with an 18" swiffer sweeper and clean microfiber cloth to wipe any residual drips from weep holes. It adds maybe 3-5 minutes of total time per side at most. Much faster than repeated washings.


Thank you, I never thought of using a Swaffer sweeper. I'll give that try


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## APPNW (Jul 9, 2019)

Had a job similar to this problem. No matter how much water i tossed up at the soffits, it simply loosened more dirt to rain back down. We had to get 2 buckets and some sponges. Wipe with cleaner sponge, wipe with water sponge. Rinse, repeat every 3 or 4 feet.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

Just like a black car...shows all the dirt. That same film is present on every other job, you just don't notice it on a lighter color. The black background makes it stick out. Stelzer has the right idea, a microfiber mop may work just as well. That Swifter stuff gets expensive.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Lightningboy65 said:


> That Swifter stuff gets expensive.



You think that's expensive, try the Enjo cleaning system stuff. It's the new Tupperware party type thing. Few years ago my wife paid $40 for a dish scrub sponge. She showed me the catalogue and I think a dust mop was $240! Quite the fad up here at this point though.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

Wildbill7145 said:


> You think that's expensive, try the Enjo cleaning system stuff. It's the new Tupperware party type thing. Few years ago my wife paid $40 for a dish scrub sponge. She showed me the catalogue and I think a dust mop was $240! Quite the fad up here at this point though.


Must be part of the "green clean" fad that has swept across the land as of late.

I think they call it green because it lines the companies pockets that produce such products with plenty of the green!:surprise:


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Lightningboy65 said:


> Must be part of the "green clean" fad that has swept across the land as of late.
> 
> I think they call it green because it lines the companies pockets that produce such products with plenty of the green!:surprise:



Yup. She wasn't happy when she found the dogs had grabbed the thing and were tearing it apart on the back deck. Dish scrubbers must be pretty yummy. For dogs.


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