Black Spots On Vinyl Siding

We have these small black spots that look like specks of tar all over our white vinyl siding of our house.

Black spots on vinyl siding.

It goes all the way up to my second story windows and is even under my soffit and on my gutters. The vinyl siding institute yes there really is such an organization offers some helpful and specific tips for dealing with stubborn moldy spots on your siding. It s on the porch my windows but it is worse on the siding. The black tar like spots that are all over your vinyl siding are more than likely a fungus called sphaerobolus stellatus better known as artillery or shotgun fungus although it s most often found on the east coast it can grow anywhere and especially thrives in areas that have cool damp springs or rainy fall weather conditions.

Removing spots from vinyl siding. The photo at above left shows green algae on vinyl siding. Vinyl siding is very popular due to its durability and simple maintenance. Insect stains and other debris can be removed by simply cleaning vinyl siding with household cleaners.

The siding has been on the houses for 12 years and now everyone is talking about the black spots so it s really a town issue lol but one we need to figure out. Algae may also look black or brown as may some molds. Dirt and insect secretion stains however can adhere to vinyl siding attracting molds mildews and algae. Also known as artillery or cannonball fungus sphaerobolus it uses internal water pressure to forcefully fire its spores similar to seeds up to 20 feet away the fungus sets its sights on bright areas so that means it will aim for any pale surface that reflects light such as the siding on your house.

Store bought cleaners such as windex will usually do the job for these kinds of spots but if you want to make your own chemical free solution you can use a natural mixture of. I have been experimenting with various solutions on my vinyl siding to remove the spots. Click to enlarge any image small gray or darker round spots on siding that are about 1 16 in individual diameter particularly if the spots are slightly raised may be artillery fungus a mold spore. Some tell us it s from spiders.

Others have said it s a fungus from mulch. It s hard to see shotgun fungus itself because it s only 2 millimeters wide. Thankfully i only have one area that has plants next to it so the bleach solution wouldn t hurt them but not sure about my deck stains. I ve found the following over the counter product works with elbow grease to remove the spots.