Cleaning soffit vents

[Not that Bob]

I have second story soffits, some with vents, vents that are in bad need of cleaning. The only way to reach them, short of spending days going up and down a ladder with a rag, is to spray them with a pressure washer. The pressure washer method worries me in that some water will spray through the vents and into the attic. Although the amount of water that would get through the vents would be small, and even though it is dry and hot in the attic, I worry that even small amounts of quickly drying water would be a bad thing. Suggestions please.

 

[Dead Horse]

Its so hot that if any water did get in through the vents it would evaporate damn near immediately.

I wouldn't worry about it and go ahead and power wash. Maybe cut down the pressure though.

 

[14tokihorn]

If you can get around the ladder issue, H. Depot will rent you a electric-powered air compressor... you get the hose along w/ it, but you may have to arrange a nozzle of some sort.

Water will create mold, an quickly... if thats a concern.

 

[Summerof79]

A brush on a long pool handle extension?

I once had to clean out a fireplace trap in my interior fireplace (stupid to put a trap in) and I rigged up a pool hose to my shop vac and sucked it all out of the house without any dust getting inside the residence. Perhaps a vacuum brush attached to a long pool (or paint rollwer extender if you needed more support) that hooked to the shop vac might do the trick? If you have decent access from upstairs windows the brush/ shop vac might work great. OR perhaps a leaf blower with a longer extension might work.

I would worry about the potential for mold even as hot as it is. Think of what happens to a wadded up towel if you toss it outside into the heat. It gets nasty as hell inside in a day or two instead of drying out even if in direct sunlight.

Anyhow those are my two cents.

 

[Not that Bob]

Good two cents, Summer. I'm going to work out some variation of your suggestion. I wanted to wet wash it, but you talked me out of it.

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

Yeah, I'm gonna disagree with Deadhorse. There's too much possibility for the insulation in the attic to get wet & contribute to a problem.