Fixit: Clean water stains from siding

Q How do I remove hard-water sprinkler stains from vinyl siding?

By Karen Youso, Star Tribune

Last update: October 27, 2006 - 4:14 PM

Q How do I remove hard-water sprinkler stains from vinyl siding?

A The universal solvent for hard-water stains is vinegar. Try a 2-1 solution of water and white distilled vinegar. Be sure to test it on an inconspicuous spot before widespread application.

Or try the household cleaner Fantastik. It's commonly suggested as a siding stain remover by the Vinyl Siding Institute, an industry trade group.

For general cleaning of vinyl siding, the institute recommends washing with soap and water and an ordinary long-handled, soft-bristle brush. For textured surfaces, use only a soft-bristle brush to keep the grooves in the texture stain-free. For best results, work up from the bottom of the house and rinse the cleaning solution completely before it dries. If your house has brick facing, cover the brick to protect it from the runoff.

Small spots of mold and mildew can be handled with cleaners such as Fantastik or Windex. For larger sections, a solution of vinegar (30 percent) and water has proven successful. You also could try the following solution: 1/3 cup powdered laundry detergent, 2/3 cup powdered household cleaner, 1 quart liquid bleach and 1 gallon of water.

Mercury in fluorescent bulbs

Q You mentioned that you need to take care when cleaning up a broken compact fluorescent bulb because of the mercury. Is this just the compact bulbs or all fluorescent lighting, including the long tubes? Also, doesn't this point out the folly of using fluorescent bulbs? They damage the environment.

A Mercury is present in both compact and tube fluorescents.

The compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) contain about 4 milligrams of mercury. A typical 4-foot fluorescent tube contains between 8 and 50 milligrams of mercury. Recently manufactured fluorescent lights generally have less mercury than do older ones.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the bulbs conserve so much energy that even if they are incinerated after disposal, there is still a net decrease in the amount of mercury released compared with that released by coal-burning power plants producing electricity for less energy-efficient conventional lighting.

When broken, fluorescent bulbs can be expected to release 20 to 40 percent of their mercury to the atmosphere in the two weeks after breakage, with about a third of that emitted during the first eight hours. Generally, if a fluorescent bulb is broken during use, more mercury will be released than if it is broken when not in use (when it is cold).

Send your questions to Fixit in care of the Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488, or call 612-673-9033, or e-mail fixit@startribune.com. Past columns are available at www.startribune.com/fixit. Sorry, Fixit cannot supply individual replies.