Take a hard look at these door handles.
That mottled, blotchy, stripped-down look is what sodium hypochlorite does when house-wash mix sits on decorative hardware. The paint on the door often comes through fine. The hardware does not.
These photos are oil-rubbed bronze handlesets, not polished brass — but the lesson is the same. SH is a great cleaner for a pressure washing or house wash job. It is also hard on a lot of metals. Brass, old brass, brass-plated hardware, oil-rubbed bronze, nickel plate, and chrome will stain, tarnish, pit, or lose their finish if the mix sits on them. Lacquered “brass look” handles can lose that clear coat and then the metal underneath goes blotchy fast. Expensive wood entry doors deserve the same care, because overspray and rundown collect right around the handles.
Here is how to keep yourself out of that picture.
Cover it first.
Before you apply mix, bag or tape the handles, kick plates, and any fancy hardware on the entry. Same idea as covering expensive wood around the door. If you cannot see the brass, the SH cannot stain it.
If mix does hit the hardware, rinse it like it matters.
Treat brass and bronze the way you would a sensitive plant. SH can touch it and you may still be okay — if you rinse it immediately. Apply mix to the door and hardware last, then make that the first thing you rinse. Those extra five minutes on a pressure washing job are a lot cheaper than a new set of handles.
A thin coat of WD-40 helps.
A lot of pros hit every door handle with WD-40 while they are walking the house and bagging the electrical. Brass, nickel plate, old brass, chrome, oil-rubbed bronze — that light film gives you a buffer against overspray. It is not a substitute for covering and rinsing, but it has saved a lot of people from a callback.
If the damage is already done, try a restore before you replace.
On oil-rubbed bronze, contractors have brought the color back with a little vegetable oil — or Brasso, depending on the finish. Sometimes you get lucky and it looks close to new again, like the after photos below. Sometimes the finish is etched and pitted and you are still going to replace the hardware. Either way, do not count on polish to save you every time.
Do not count on “nobody told me.”
The homeowner hired a professional. Protecting the door hardware is part of the job, whether anyone said “watch the brass” or not. Knowing your chemistry — and having a good technical supplier you can call when you are unsure — is what keeps a house wash from turning into a hardware bill.
The next house does not have to teach you the same lesson.
Photo credit: The before-and-after of the Schlage keypad and pull handle was posted by spwc on May 13, 2016 in “Problem with customer's front door” on Pressure Washing Resource. The black double-door photo was posted by 98crystal on June 25, 2019 in “SH eats copper?”
#PressureWashing #PressureWasher #Powerwash #Washer #SoftWashing
– Ron Musgraves
That mottled, blotchy, stripped-down look is what sodium hypochlorite does when house-wash mix sits on decorative hardware. The paint on the door often comes through fine. The hardware does not.
These photos are oil-rubbed bronze handlesets, not polished brass — but the lesson is the same. SH is a great cleaner for a pressure washing or house wash job. It is also hard on a lot of metals. Brass, old brass, brass-plated hardware, oil-rubbed bronze, nickel plate, and chrome will stain, tarnish, pit, or lose their finish if the mix sits on them. Lacquered “brass look” handles can lose that clear coat and then the metal underneath goes blotchy fast. Expensive wood entry doors deserve the same care, because overspray and rundown collect right around the handles.
Here is how to keep yourself out of that picture.
Cover it first.
Before you apply mix, bag or tape the handles, kick plates, and any fancy hardware on the entry. Same idea as covering expensive wood around the door. If you cannot see the brass, the SH cannot stain it.
If mix does hit the hardware, rinse it like it matters.
Treat brass and bronze the way you would a sensitive plant. SH can touch it and you may still be okay — if you rinse it immediately. Apply mix to the door and hardware last, then make that the first thing you rinse. Those extra five minutes on a pressure washing job are a lot cheaper than a new set of handles.
A thin coat of WD-40 helps.
A lot of pros hit every door handle with WD-40 while they are walking the house and bagging the electrical. Brass, nickel plate, old brass, chrome, oil-rubbed bronze — that light film gives you a buffer against overspray. It is not a substitute for covering and rinsing, but it has saved a lot of people from a callback.
If the damage is already done, try a restore before you replace.
On oil-rubbed bronze, contractors have brought the color back with a little vegetable oil — or Brasso, depending on the finish. Sometimes you get lucky and it looks close to new again, like the after photos below. Sometimes the finish is etched and pitted and you are still going to replace the hardware. Either way, do not count on polish to save you every time.
Do not count on “nobody told me.”
The homeowner hired a professional. Protecting the door hardware is part of the job, whether anyone said “watch the brass” or not. Knowing your chemistry — and having a good technical supplier you can call when you are unsure — is what keeps a house wash from turning into a hardware bill.
The next house does not have to teach you the same lesson.
Photo credit: The before-and-after of the Schlage keypad and pull handle was posted by spwc on May 13, 2016 in “Problem with customer's front door” on Pressure Washing Resource. The black double-door photo was posted by 98crystal on June 25, 2019 in “SH eats copper?”
#PressureWashing #PressureWasher #Powerwash #Washer #SoftWashing
– Ron Musgraves