Keeping your house exterior clean not only makes it look better, but it will help keep you aware of any problems that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Instructions
1. Wash your house once or twice a year, depending on your area's air quality and the amount of dirt deposited by the rain.
2. Rent a power washer, which uses your garden hose to shoot a high-pressure jet of water. Work from top to bottom to keep the dirty water below the areas you have just cleaned.
3. Make up a solution of 1 tsp. trisodium phosphate dissolved in a gallon of water. Use this to clean siding, masonry, rock, wood, and painted surfaces.
4. Treat mildew with regular laundry bleach applied with a sponge. Dark or heavy stains might benefit from a good scrubbing with a wire brush and a solution of 1/4 cup muriatic acid in 2 1/2 cups of water.
5. Get rid of rust on hardware and window screens with a kerosene-soaked rag.
6. Bring out the beauty of naturally weathered wood with oxalic acid applied with a scrub brush (read the manufacturer's recommendations for dilution).
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