bleach and acid never mixed · LaGrange, GA

bleach and acid never mixed in LaGrange

In LaGrange, this comes up on historic-district houses, college-side streets, and the larger lots toward Vernon Road and Callaway. LaGrange clay does not rinse off a driveway with a garden hose, and shaded brick grows a green film by late summer. If a previous crew left a bottle on the site, we still do not combine it with what is on our truck.

January here is gutters full of oak, a porch that needs to look right for guests, and the odd jobs that got postponed all year.

This is the non-negotiable part. Sodium hypochlorite plus an acid releases chlorine gas. Sodium hypochlorite plus ammonia makes chloramines. Both can hurt the person holding the wand and anyone standing in a garage or a breezeway. Professional washing keeps bleach chemistry away from acids and away from ammonia products. Rinse water in between is not optional.

That is why rust removal is not “added to the house wash.” Oxalic acid and similar rust treatments are a separate step, on the stain, after the bleach chemistry has been rinsed away. Degreasers for oil are their own step too. If a quote says one mix will do the roof, the rust, and the oil, ask them to name the products. If they cannot, do not book them.

We will tell you the family of product for each part of the job: hypochlorite for organic growth, a detergent or degreaser where grease is the problem, a rust treatment only on rust, and pressure only where the surface was built to take it. You do not need our supplier’s brand name to hold us to that.

The full explanation, without the town attached, is the chemicals that do not go in the same tank article. The town does not change the chemistry. It changes the houses, the shade, and the clay.

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