Cleaning before painting

Justin Case

Hi, I`m going to paint my 1950`s house soon. This will be my first time using a pressure washer. I want to clean the bricks (not painted), and remove some paint chips from the overhang. Also I want to remove paint from a concrete ramp. Is there any pretreatment chemical that wont harm the bricks and or concrete?
Thanks in advance!

redline

what psi is the washer?

Justin Case

The pressure washer is 2500 psi. It worked great! But I found some mold on the brick and I want to get rid of it completely.

Barry M

To kill and remove the mold completely you'll have to use a bleach mix. Normally you can cut house hold bleach 50/50 with water and add a a squirt of dish soap to gallon of mix. On brick you may have to mix the bleach a little stronger and use some pressure to get the mold off but be careful you don't blow the mortar joints out. Be sure to water all your landscaping before, during, and after cleaning the brick and you won't harm the plants. You can apply the mix with a garden sprayer or use the chemical injector on your pressure washer if you can figure out the right ratio.

Justin Case

Thanks for the info Barry!
Should I use a sealer?... if so can you recommend one to follow up after spraying?