Okay, here's my power washing mobile home adventure – a total DIY saga.

So, I decided my mobile home was looking ROUGH. Like, seriously needed a bath. Green algae, dirt caked on – you name it. I figured, "Hey, I can do this!" Famous last words, right?

First thing, I borrowed my buddy's power washer. It's a decent one, nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. I started by clearing everything away from the house – potted plants, lawn furniture, the whole shebang. Didn't want to accidentally blast anything into oblivion.

Then came the fun part (or so I thought). I started with the lowest pressure setting. I'd read online that you gotta be gentle with vinyl siding, especially on a mobile home. You don't want to peel anything off or force water behind the siding. I held the nozzle at a downward angle, like they said, and started spraying from the bottom up. The goal was to prevent streaking, and honestly, it seemed to work okay.

The first pass was pretty satisfying. Watching all that gunk just slide off was strangely therapeutic. I overlapped my passes, making sure I wasn't leaving any weird lines. And I tried to keep the spray angled, like a pro, to avoid driving water into the siding.

Now, for the soap. I went to the hardware store and grabbed a gallon of siding cleaner. Nothing too expensive, just something that said it was safe for vinyl. I used the siphon attachment on the power washer to apply the soap, again working from the bottom up. This part was kinda messy, soap everywhere!

Let the soap sit for a few minutes (like the bottle said) and then rinsed it off from the top down. The rinsing took a while, making sure all the soap was gone.

The biggest challenge was getting the stubborn algae off. Some spots just wouldn't budge with the low pressure. I carefully upped the pressure a little bit on those areas, but I was super cautious not to get too close or use too much force. It was a slow process, but eventually, I got most of it off. There are still a few spots, but I’m ok with it, for now.

The whole thing took me pretty much an entire Saturday. My back was killing me, and I was soaked from head to toe. But when I stepped back and looked at the finished product, I gotta admit, I felt pretty good. The mobile home looked a million times better – cleaner, brighter, and just…well, less gross.

Would I do it again? Probably. But next time, I'm investing in a better nozzle and maybe a back brace. And definitely starting earlier in the day!

• Cleared everything away from the house.
• Started with the lowest pressure setting.
• Applied siding cleaner from the bottom up.
• Rinsed from the top down.
• Carefully increased pressure for stubborn algae.

Lessons Learned:

• Low pressure is your friend!
• Overlap your passes.
• Don't be afraid to adjust the pressure, but be careful!
• Wear clothes you don't mind getting soaked.

Tips and Tricks

• Use a wide fan nozzle for even coverage.
• Keep the nozzle moving to avoid damaging the siding.
• Work in sections to prevent the soap from drying.

That's my power washing adventure! Hope it helps someone else tackle their own dirty mobile home!