Vinyl Siding With Dark Spots

This article discusses common causes of stains or discoloration found on vinyl building siding.

Vinyl siding with dark spots.

Clean tough stains off with a nonabrasive cleaner or a homemade vinyl siding cleaner of soap and water that won t damage the surface of the vinyl. Vinyl siding stain diagnosis. For tough spots like paint drips tar and pencil and pen marks use a nonabrasive bathtub cleaner or nylon scrub pad. Also known as artillery or cannonball fungus sphaerobolus it uses internal water pressure to forcefully fire its spores similar to seeds up to 20 feet away the fungus sets its sights on bright areas so that means it will aim for any pale surface that reflects light such as the siding on your house.

It goes all the way up to my second story windows and is even under my soffit and on my gutters. We have thousands of tiny black spots pin head size all over the siding of our house. Others have said it s a fungus from mulch. The black tar like spots that are all over your vinyl siding are more than likely a fungus called sphaerobolus stellatus better known as artillery or shotgun fungus although it s most often found on the east coast it can grow anywhere and especially thrives in areas that have cool damp springs or rainy fall weather conditions.

It s on the porch my windows but it is worse on the siding. Insect stains and other debris can be removed by simply cleaning vinyl siding with household cleaners. Distinguishing the type of stain found on siding is useful in deciding on the cause and thus the cure or prevention of staining. Dirt and insect secretion stains however can adhere to vinyl siding attracting molds mildews and algae.

It s hard to see shotgun fungus itself because it s only 2 millimeters wide. Thankfully i only have one area that has plants next to it so the bleach solution wouldn t hurt them but not sure about my deck stains. You should not paint on very sunny or hot days as the heat can affect the paint. The siding has been on the houses for 12 years and now everyone is talking about the black spots so it s really a town issue lol but one we need to figure out.

The vinyl siding institute yes there really is such an organization offers some helpful and specific tips for dealing with stubborn moldy spots on your siding. Vinyl siding is very popular due to its durability and simple maintenance. Some tell us it s from spiders. Store bought cleaners such as windex will usually do the job for these kinds of spots but if you want to make your own chemical free solution you can use a natural mixture of.