There is mold on the side of my house...what can i do?

Question

the siding is masonite

Answer 1

Siding cleaner, available from hardware stores, will remove this. Wash the house down with a long handled, stiff bristle brush, and rinse it off.

You also need to figure out why it is growing. Is there a leaking gutter? Perhaps a tree or limbs growing too close to the house? Cut back anything that is too close. If there is just too much shade, you may want to have some limbs removed from trees to help more light and air get through.

Answer 2

Clean it with bleach water mix. To keep mold from growing back you need more sunlight and dryness on the masonite. And make sure you don't have a plumbing leak on the inside of the home in that vicinity.

Answer 3

Masonite siding can be fun to deal with, hehehe....

First thing I'd ask is .. Do you really have 'mold', or algae?  Algae will grow in an area that gets little sunlight, is typically more 'green' in color, and usually affects, say, the lower portion of the wall, usually on a 'north facing wall', or one with a lot of shade.

If you've got algae, then most 'siding washes' will take care of it, with a little scrubbing from a stiff bristle brush.  I like using the type of brush you get to clean a deck with.  The brush isnt too wide, and the long handle makes it easy to use.

If you've got mold... then you need a more aggresive cleaner.  To remove mold, I prefer to use a 50/50 mix of bleach and water.  Use vinyl gloves, and wear safety glasses, hehehe, and wear old clothes, in case you splash any on yourself.  After cleaning with the bleach/water mix, rinse the area with plenty of cold water.  Let it dry, and then I'd give some serious consideration to hitting it with a good coat of primer (Kilz, for example).

Masonite siding needs regular maintenance.  If you let it get scratched to below the paint surface (or the paint itself flakes off), it will rot right out from under the remaining paint.  Once it reaches that stage, about all you can do is replace it.

Have Fun