Spring Cleaning for Your Log Home

Why should you clean the exterior of  your log home?

1. Maintain the durability and appearance of your exterior finish.

2. Dust, pollen, and other airborne contaminants provide a food source for fungal growth on your logs.

3. If using a contact insecticide, dirt accumulated on the exterior surface of your home will prevent bugs from contacting the treated surface and render the insecticide ineffective.

4. Helps you get a good look at the physical condition of your logs/siding to see if there are any areas that need caulking or chinking.

5. A regular gentle cleaning of the exterior of your home can prolong the life of the stain/finish on your home.

Why should you not use bleach or ammonia based products?

• Destroys lignan in the wood.
• Can permanently remove color.
• Residue is a carcinogen once it falls to the ground.
• Bleach is tough to rinse off and you will find that the finish may look spotty after washing.
• May cause streaks to develop on the surface of your wood.

What You Need

• A liquid log cleaner like  X-180 (oxalic acid) or Log Wash (detergent).  The reason we recommend a cleaner specifically for logs is that the PH of the cleaner needs to be very close to the PH of the wood in order to work effectively and not damage your wood.
• A garden hose equipped with a spray nozzle or low-pressure washer (no more than 500 psi).
• A pump up garden sprayer.
• A long handled, soft bristle brush.

How to Clean Your Log Home

1. Pick a small area.  Work only an area big enough so that the cleaning solution is on the wall for about 10-15 minutes.

2. Wet down the wall with mist from your garden hose.

3. Apply cleaning solution with a garden sprayer, starting at the bottom of the wall and work your way up.

4. Scrub. Gently scrub the wall with your brush.

5. Rinse. Use a gentle setting on the hose nozzle and thoroughly rinse the cleaner from the top down. This will help prevent blotches and drip marks. If you are going to use a pressure washer set it to deliver at 500-800 PSI to avoid splitting the wood fibers.

More questions about cleaning the exterior of your log home?  Call us at 1-888-208-2248 for some friendly help.  Want to test out some of the products mentioned in our blog? Click here to request  free samples.

Photo Credit: April Westervelt