How to Make Stains Lighter on My House Exterior

Spray the stains with a garden hose. The water pressure from the hose is itself enough to lighten or remove exterior stains in some instances.

Mix several drops of dish-washing liquid into a gallon of hot water. Apply the solution to the house stains with a scrub brush. The dish-washing liquid helps remove dirt and grease stains and the friction from the scrub brush helps lighten stains as well. Avoid wire brushes since they are more likely to scratch.

Apply oxygen bleach powder to the stains and then rinse them with water. Follow all instructions on the package to prevent damage to the house paint and to get best results. Many varieties recommend creating a paste with the oxygen bleach by mixing bleach powder with water. Oxygen bleach is recommended by builder Tim Carter for house cleaning and stain removal. It does not have the toxicity of chlorine bleach and is an effective agent for lightening and removing stains. Wear rubber gloves whenever using a bleach product.

Power wash the outside of the house if other methods haven't been effective. Power washers use high temperature and extreme water pressure to eliminate stains. Many hardware stores rent them if you don't have access to one yourself.