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How to Get Rust Stains Off of Vinyl Siding
By Cristina Mulberry
In 2006 we built a new house. It was brick with vinyl siding on the back. The process of building was of course a lot of work with all of the details of construction. We also established our own lawn; seeding and even landscaping. It was a bit of a struggle as it was quite dry that year and we had to water extensively to get the grass started. We hadn’t installed a sprinkler system as we typically believe in letting the lawn fend for itself in dry weather but to assure we got a good lawn established to begin with, the watering was necessary. Our home is in a rural area and the water was pumped from our well. As people who had always lived in suburbia, we had no idea of the amount of iron that could be present in our well water. After a couple of weeks of watering we realized our mistake. We had erred by allowing the garden hose sprinklers to wet the sides of the house while watering the lawn. There were red “rust” stains all over the vinyl siding as well as on some of the concrete. It was pretty unsightly and we had to deal with it. I called the manufacturer of the siding but there was little other than water and a mild detergent that they would recommend for cleaning. I had several conversations with home improvement stores, handymen, and so forth; all with no suggestions that actually produced results. The stains were there and scrubbing wasn’t having the desired effect. I began researching online and tried a variety of other cleaners. Using some tarnish removers helped but the amount of solution necessary and the degree of scrubbing required were phenomenal. It would have taken months, and a few hundred dollars of “Brasso”, to get the job done. Even then, the siding wouldn’t look like new. Finally, one afternoon I decided I had nothing to lose. I began experimenting with various cleaners in small spots; rinsing immediately in an attempt to avoid any unwanted fading. One of my last desperate bids was to try a toilet bowl cleaner. Obviously, these work on rust stains. I was deeply concerned about fading and physical damage to the siding as I had witnessed the destructive power of toilet bowl cleaner when dropped on other surfaces before. I once dribbled a miniscule amount of it on some carpeting and it ate a hole though to China within seconds. Despite this, I was a desperate new home owner and felt that heroic attempts were in order. I squirted some toilet bowl cleaner on a small area and it almost immediately removed the stain; without scrubbing. I scrubbed with a brush attached to a hose; one that is typically intended for washing cars, and got great results. This spread the cleaner with the water off, and then turning the water on, it rinsed it off quickly to prevent damage. With one of us applying cleaner and scrubbing, and the other one operating the water, we had cleaned the entire back side of our house and the concrete patio within just a couple of hours.
I can’t officially recommend using toilet bowl cleaner on your vinyl siding as I am sure there are risks involved. However, in my instance, it worked to quickly and affordably clean the siding that I had begun to think was beyond repair. If you choose to attempt this as a last ditch effort, I would suggest wearing protective rubber gloves and goggles, as well as clothing that isn’t too near and dear to your heart to protect your skin.
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This intel was contributed by mulberry
mulberry
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May, 2012
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