How To Clean Painted Hardie Board
Hardie board—or equally it's referred to by its generic proper name, fiber cement—is one of the most popular materials for utilize every bit external siding fabric on homes across the Us. Hardie lath is especially sought after for its ability to mimic the texture of forest siding while likewise beingness more durable, longer-lasting, and with a wider range of colors.
However, over time you might notice your Hardie board siding losing its colour, with the outer surface of your Hardie board siding becoming chalky to the touch. These are signs that your Hardie board has oxidized.
Why Is My Hardie Board Oxidized?
Before you offset thinking that choosing Hardie board for your home's siding was a bad investment, let's clear the air on what oxidation actually is.
Setting bated all of the complicated chemistry, oxidation is a chemical reaction betwixt two different substances. In the case of your home, the reaction happens betwixt the siding material and the oxygen and clay particles in the air.
What the oxidation does to your Hardie board siding is as we touched on at the offset of this commodity—faded color, a chalky dust that collects on the surface, and the potential for further impairment over time. As such, you're going to want to fix any oxidation issues when they arise.
An important thing to note here is that oxidation on your siding is not sectional to Hardie boards. If yous've seen faded paint on cars or outdoor furniture, this is precisely what is happening.
In fact, oxidation will happen to just about whatsoever material given enough fourth dimension and exposure to the sun, since heat and UV office as catalysts that brand the procedure go faster.
Fixing Hardie Board Oxidation
At present that we understand what the problem is, our next step would be to fix information technology. Thankfully, the process is no more circuitous than a regular cleaning job. We'll give you the cleaning process below:
ane. Determine the extent of the oxidation.
The start thing you demand to do is discover where and how much oxidation is forming on your siding. If your siding is of a darker colour, so y'all'll discover the color becoming more faded. The aforementioned chalk is another sign of oxidation, which might not be easily spotted on lighter-colored siding unless you run a wet finger over it.
In any case, finding out how much there is to make clean is important every bit it'll help you determine how much cleaner y'all'll need to use and weigh your options of whether or not to take a professional do the cleaning for y'all.
two. Set up your cleaning equipment.
Once you know what y'all will be working on, the next step is to fix your cleaning solution. Since Hardie board siding mostly holds up to chemicals and weather pretty well, you accept several options when information technology comes to things you can use for cleaning.
Outdoor cleaning chemicals are a pretty reliable option for this sort of cleaning chore, but you tin can besides get away with genetic alternatives and still go similarly satisfactory results. Dish soap works quite well if you have actress lying around, and if you really want to go DIY, diluted white vinegar is very constructive.
iii. Protect yourself.
Now, cobweb cement is not exactly the safest substance in the world, barring mention the chalky powder that is the byproduct of the oxidation process. For this reason, you would want to minimize exposure to these substances equally much equally possible when y'all are cleaning.
The oxidized Hardie board is going to exist composed of very fine particles that tin easily become into your eyes, olfactory organ, and mouth and cause irritation. Sensitive skin may also react to the powder upon coming into contact with the stuff.
A pair of goggles, a face mask, and sleeves would generally be nice to have to maximize your protection.
iv. Apply the cleaner.
When applying your cleaning formula to your Hardie board siding, it's typically recommended to use a relatively mild cleaning tool to work the cleaner into the siding and remove the chalky oxides.
Using a rough scrubber could scratch the layer of the intact cobweb cement underneath, which would only accelerate oxidation later on you lot've finished cleaning. Something like a sponge or a soft brush works pretty well for this purpose.
If you experience hand-cleaning would be a flake also tedious (which it is), a pressure washer is a cracking alternative to both applying your cleaner and rinsing it off in the next step. Merely as with the scrubber, though, y'all would want to lower the pressure level of your washer to avoid damaging the board, every bit the force of the h2o could cleft the Hardie lath if you're not conscientious.
five. Rinse.
After scrubbing, you lot will accept already noticed some oxidation already coming off of your Hardie board. From here, removing information technology is merely a affair of rinsing with water. If you still meet chalky pulverisation, simply go over it with a scrubber and your cleaning fluid and repeat the process.
Preventing Hardie Lath Oxidation
One time the oxidation has been cleaned out of your Hardie lath siding, the side by side footstep would exist to preclude it from forming once more—or at to the lowest degree, keep it at bay for some time.
The fact of the matter is that oxidation is a continuous process so long as all of its ingredients are in place. And in the example of your Hardie board siding, its abiding exposure to the sun's UV radiation practically guaranteed connected oxidation over fourth dimension.
For this reason, painting or refinishing the Hardie lath is the most effective known way to prevent farther oxidation for a long time. The paint acts as a protective layer that seals the boards and whatsoever of their imperfections, blocking them from oxidizing under the lord's day.
With such a measure, one can expect the lifespan of their Hardie boards to extend at to the lowest degree another 5 to ten years—not to mention the extra visual appeal of freshly-painted siding.
Source: https://innovativebuildingmaterials.com/siding/hardie-board-oxidation/
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