House Washing in Marine City

Many Marine City houses are older than their siding. The master plan notes that on many of the city's older homes the original clapboard and stickwork have been replaced with vinyl or aluminum siding. Vinyl laps are open at the bottom edge. A wand aimed upward drives water behind them into the sheathing and wall of a house that may be over a century old, and that water has no quick way back out. So vinyl here is washed with the solution doing the work and the rinse running downward with the laps, at low pressure. The old trim around the windows and porch, which is often still painted wood, gets the mildest mix on the house.

Aluminum siding needs a different touch. Its factory paint oxidizes with age into a fine chalk that rubs off on a hand and streaks below the windows. A wash with a mild detergent and a soft rinse removes the loose chalk and the grime held in it. It cannot restore a finish that has worn thin, and on the oldest aluminum in the grid between the two rivers, heavy chalk sometimes means the siding is ready for paint. Expect to hear that at the walkaround, before any work starts. Our guide to aluminum siding walks through that choice.

Location adds the other layers. Houses facing M-⁠29, which runs through town as Parker St and River Rd, take salt spray and traffic grime on their lower courses all winter, a gray film that a degreasing detergent lifts before the main wash. Houses along the Belle River and the blocks off Water St sit under mature beech and maple that shade their north and east walls into the late morning, and algae and mildew spread there first. Spider webs and insect residue build up under the eaves, where rain seldom reaches. A soft-wash mix handles the growth on those shaded walls.

What Force Does to Old Siding

On the re-sided walls of an old Marine City house, a narrow tip held close cracks cold vinyl, lifts the bottom edge of a lap and drives water into the wall behind it, where it can stay wet for days. On aluminum it scours through the chalk into bare metal and leaves stripes that show in low sun. On original wood trim it tears paint and raises the grain, leaving a fuzzy surface that holds water against the wood and gives the next coat of paint a poor base.

When to Book House Washing in Marine City

Spring is the first useful wash on a Marine City house, once nights stay above freezing and the plows are done on M-⁠29. It clears the winter's salt film from walls facing Parker St and River Rd before new growth gets going on the shaded sides. Early fall clears the summer's algae after the leaves come down. If you plan to paint the trim, wash a week or two ahead so the wood is clean and dry when the painter arrives.