Cleaning Dryvit

[Scott]

I have an opportunity to clean Dryvit. I may have the name wrong. This is the exterior, stuccoeque, covering on some homes and /or businesses.
What is the best approach?
What chemical.
Low pressure?

Thank you in advance.

Scott

 

[ron p]

go to

www.dryvit.com first.
Then www.prosoco.com for a chem.
What to use as a cleaner will depend on what soil your trying to remove.
What kind of dirt is it?
Remember your chem needs to do 95% of the work. NEVER use pressure to clean dryvit.
Think of it as if you were washing a raw egg.
40 deg tip and 2 ft away.

 

[Mike Smith]

If you are cleaning dryvit and the surface has dirt and mildew a mix of bleach and alkaline soap will do just fine. If you are cleaning carbon deposits or other pollution type stains you will need to go to www.prosoco.com. I clean my local electric coop building every spring and it is cream colored dryvit. I use a 40 degree nozzle and downstream a mix of 2 gallons bleach 1 gallon alkaline soap the rest water in a 5 gallon pail from bottom to top and allow to dwell a few minutes then rinse from top to bottom with my 40 degree tip cold water and stay as Ron said at least 18-24 inches away from the surface. The above mix works well for me in this application and the customer has been very happy with my service. I won this account with a higher price than the previous contractor but my work was much better according to management. The first guy put holes in the dryvit and put lines in the landscape with hot water in his hoses. Always, as with most surfaces ,you should test in an inconspicuous area prior to just jumping in and soaping the whole wall. Good luck

 

[Scott]

Thanks guys,

I have gone to the Dryvit site and am now worried about the integrity of the envelope as they call it. There is a large warning about water and the damage it will do if it gets behind the Dryvit.

I may need a man lift. The building is three stories. I wonder if I would be crazy to try it with a 24' wand?



Thanks for your replies,
Scott

 

[Mike Smith]

My electrical coop is 3 stories and I clean it with a 24 ft wand. Im a big guy and can move pretty quickly with the wand and have lots of practice. Takes alot of upper body strength to control a 24 footer at 4gpm 3000 psi. Just how i do it, a man lift would be the way to go if it a very large building. I clean a 75 foot long wall and a 200 ft wall 3 stories with my 24 footer and the rest is 2 stories. For me set up and moving a lift plus rental fees wouldn't be conducive to the job i do for my coop. Depends on the situation too many variables, landscape, sprinkler systems, cars, pedestrian traffic all must be taken into account when bidding a job like this. I do the coop on the weekend when they are closed to eliminate the need for barracading and rerouting pedestrian and car traffic.

 

[Mike Hughes]

I think you need a lift for that building. Dryvit is sensitive.......too sensitive to use a extension wand because of the inevitablel inconsistency.

I often use a 45' Genie lift, a Z-45. They are great.......no setup time because you can drive them around, even while you're 40' in the air. A real time saver.

Its best if you keep it on pavement though, because those things weigh over 15 tons. Can cause damage to certain things underground and landscaping.

I pay $521 for a single day rental and $800 for a week......includes transportation (they drop it off at the site).

 

[MARK W.]

Hey Mike, Is there any insurance you have to get from the lift comp. incase of damage to the lift?

 

[Mike Hughes]

That would depend on who/where you rent it from. They could answer that for you.

 

[outdoorprowash]

We clean dryvit all the time in Nashville, Franklin Tennessee. You have to be careful not to damage the dryvit. We use softwash techniques that are like giving the house a good shower.