One thing we see a lot of here in British Columbia is vinyl siding oxidation. This is a natural occurrence due to the vinyl breaking down similar to rust on metal.
One of the first things we check when we arrived on site is for oxidization this can be easily done by wiping your finger across the vinyl siding and looking for any chalky substance that is left on your finger.
What does this mean to the homeowner and the customer?
It means a few things
1. The task of cleaning your vinyl siding can be much more involved then if it wasn’t oxidized, in most cases, it’s not worth removing the oxidization unless it’s for paint preparation. The oxidization will just return fairly quickly and the process of removal is time extensive.
2. The standard method of house washing could possibly remove areas of oxidization leaving blotchy marks potentially looking worse than if left alone. When this happens we would either need to remove all oxidization from the side of the house affected or try to blend in the exposed areas as best as possible.
Does oxidization on vinyl pose a threat you’re or damage your siding?
Absolutely not this is the natural process of breaking down the UV inhibitors within the vinyl siding.
New siding oxidization for my experience in the mini hundreds of houses we wash yearly one thing is certain not all vinyl siding or siding. Is made equal even though your house is a year or two old or even if you replace your siding recently doesn’t mean anything.
Some contractors will use very cheap siding when building a house or even renovations to save you money in the short term. This, however, could lead to signs of oxidization a lot sooner.
You can protect yourself by ensuring that the siding on your house either comes with a warranty from the contractor or from the manufacturer.
In 2016 we have seen a record breaking amount of new homes just over 1-year-old with signs of oxidization do to cheap siding.
