How to Clean a Vinyl Fence Made Easy
Vinyl fencing is quickly replacing wood and even metal fences due to its flexibility, easy maintenance, and ability to endure even the most extreme Southern California weather conditions.
Even in the midst of dry heat, heavy rain, or high humidity, vinyl fencing won’t crack, split, chip, or chalk up. For as long as you own your home, vinyl fencing will stay put and stay strong.
Despite being low maintenance and easy to handle, there are things you can do to ensure that your vinyl fences are always looking their best.
Whether you’re dealing with light grass stains, scuffs, or tougher organic stains, there are steps you can take to get your fence looking like new again.
Steps for General Cleaning, Light Stains, and Buildup
What You’ll Need
- Garden Hose With Sprayer/Spray Nozzle
- Bucket
- Simple Green (dish soap works too!)
- Old Cloths/Towels
- Scrubbing Pad (non-abrasive for cleaning dirt and dust)
- Water
- Rubber Gloves
1. To begin, you’ll want to hose down the entire fence using the spray nozzle for a forceful jet stream. This should easily remove light dirt and dust automatically.
2. For best results, clean in small sections, spraying from the top to bottom so dirt and dust will run off.
3. Once you’ve finished with the hose, you’ll be able to identify the stubborn areas that will require some scrubbing.
4. In order to clean these, fill the bucket with warm water and mix with dish soap until frothy.
5. Dip your cloth or towel in the water until soaked and begin wiping the stained areas. For extra stubborn areas, use the non-abrasive scrubbing pad so as not to damage the vinyl.
6. Once scrubbed clean, rinse with the hose and wipe down with a fresh cloth or towel to remove excess water.
Steps to Clean and Remove Grass, Tar, Grease Stains and Fresh Paint
These are perhaps the toughest stains that will befall your vinyl fence, so it’s good to know how to tackle them.
What You’ll Need
- Soft Cloths
- Mineral Spirits/Very light amount of Lacquer Thinner
- Rubber Gloves
Once you’ve got your supplies collected, follow these steps:
1. Start by cleaning the fence using the method described for general cleaning above.
2. Be sure to protect your hands with the rubber gloves.
3. Soak your soft cloth with tar remover or lacquer thinner.
4. Gently rub the stained area. Be sure not to apply a lot of pressure as that will result in a polished mark. Be sure and try it first in an area that is not visible to make sure that you are not cleaningwith something too strong.
5. Once the stain is removed, rinse with water. Keep the hose on a gentle setting for best results.
Steps to Remove Rust Stains
What You’ll Need
- Soft Cloth or Non-Abrasive Sponge
- Lacquer Thinner
- Rubber Gloves
1. Find out what might be causing the rust stains first. Vinyl fencing should be installed with Zinc coated screws and fasteners or stainless steel screws and fasteners. Most fence styles should have no visible fasteners or screws they should be concealed in the product and hidden with caps or plugs.
2. Probably the easiest way to get rid of rust is with soft cloth or non-abrasive sponge with a very small amount of lacquer thinner dabbed onto the cloth.
3. Be sure and wash off the vinyl once you have cleaned off the rust.
Steps to Removing Graffiti
What You’ll Need
- Soft Cloth or Non-Abrasive Sponge
- Lacquer Thinner
- Rubber Gloves
1. If caught soon after someone painted your vinyl fence, it should not be a problem wiping the paint off your fence.
2. Always try and small less visible spot to make sure that you do not damage your fence.
4. Probably the easiest was to get rid of paint is with soft cloth with a little bit of lacquer thinner wiped dabbed onto the cloth.
5. Be sure and wash off the vinyl once you have cleaned off the paint.
6. If this doesn’t work, there is always the option of just replacing certain pieces of the fence, which normally isn’t too hard to do.
7. Just make sure that you have a picture or a sample that you can take into your local vinyl company to match up what you need.
Always wear protective rubber gloves, eye protection, and a mask whenever using harsh chemical to clean your fence.
As you can see, cleaning vinyl fencing is fairly easy if you’ve got the right tools and directions. Your vinyl fence will last long and look great with proper cleaning and occasional maintenance when needed. To stay on top of things, it’s best to clean your fence once over 6-12 months.
For different vinyl building products, tips, testimonials, and services, there’s Home Team. Our company offers full-service sales and installations and ships to all 50 states. Call or visit our website for a free design consultation and to browse our different vinyl pieces and looks. We can wait to help make your landscape beautiful!
