What is oxidation on my siding? Why does it matter?

What is it?

     Oxidation is a layer of broken-down paint that forms on your siding and trim from prolonged exposure to sunlight and the elements. The color of the oxidation layer can vary depending on the color of your house. If you live in a very shaded area where there is hardly any sunlight hitting your house, your oxidation levels should be limited.  Here is an easy way to see if your siding has oxidized: if you run your finger along your dry siding, you might see that there is a chalky substance on your fingertip. This chalky residue is a tell-tale sign of oxidation.   Oxidation can not only make the outside of your house look dull and less pleasing to the eye, but it can also lead to the long-term deterioration of the siding itself (vinyl). Regular oxidation maintenance (cleaning) will ensure that your home’s siding not only looks great, but will last for years to come.   If your siding is already chalky, a standard house-wash will not remove the oxidation.  We can remove organics (dirt, algae) with a standard house wash and cleaning agents, but inorganics (oxidized paint, fallout) require a labor and chemical-intensive approach.  That’s not to say that your home won’t look cleaner, but removing the entire oxidation layer takes a lot of time and effort.

What is “fall-out”?

Fall-out is something we see most commonly on homes within a few hundred feet of a busy road.  “Fall-out” is a combination of inorganic materials caused by car exhausts.  That smoke coming out of your car’s tailpipe & the black soot coming out of a diesel truck has to go somewhere! Fall-out removal is not included in a standard house wash; it is a slow process of removing a thin layer of failed paint from your siding.

Typically, fall-out is most evident on the upper portion of siding near the soffits, where upward air-flow is restricted.  Unfortunately, fall-out is very difficult to remove.   While it can be removed, the process of cleaning fallout (which affects older, oxidized siding much moreso than new siding) is very labor-intensive.  Older, aluminum siding seems to ‘hold onto’ the fallout more than vinyl, because aluminum siding is actually painted (whereas vinyl is a colored plastic).  As the aluminum siding’s paint layer oxidizes and creates the chalky layer discussed above, it mixes with the fallout chemicals over the years to create a very stubborn stain!  We use chemicals that are quite corrosive and difficult to work with.  Effectively, we will remove a thin layer of paint during the process. Depending on the age of the siding and condition of the paint, you may see bare metal in some areas.  Very often, re-painting is a much more practical solution!  

Here are a few pictures of fall-out removal project we recently completed. This small, 1400sf home took 2 men over 6 hours to complete!

Fallout & Oxidation

What can we do?

     Some oxidation is present on every home; minimal amounts of oxidation are of no concern. When we wash your home, we will take special care not to disturb the oxidation in an uneven fashion.  By using our specialized soft-wash technique and cleaning agents, it will be removed in a uniform manner.   In cases where oxidation has not been addressed for a long time, a simple soft wash with basic chemicals will not ‘restore’ the original color of the siding.  In these cases, you have two choices.  Option 1: Just wash it evenly and leave the oxidation undisturbed. This is the cheapest option and is acceptable to many of our customers.  Option 2: Oxidation removal and restoration.  The cost of siding restoration varies greatly as the scope of the project is very dependent on the home itself.    If you have a situation you’d like help with, call us at 330-595-4111 and we’ll be happy to provide a no-obligation estimate.