Cladding marked (Ed.)

[JohnD]

Are you in a hard water area? Wipe a test patch with vinegar on a rag. What happens?

I am in a very hard water area and my window cleaner uses a tank of purified water that he keeps in his van. He has a reverse osmosis plant at home to fill it. It leaves no deposit.

 

[mrsbinks]

Have you checked that the rest of the cladding isn't just filthy?

Maybe the cladding is dirty and could do with a wash. The window cleaner states he has not used any additives in his water. After this window clean it has actually stained the cladding. I have tried cleaning with water, but to no avail. I have just searched a couple of window cleaning forums to see if water fed pole window cleaners add additives.
Some use isopropyl alcohol to stop water from freezing in their van based water tanks, and it helps clean really dirty window frames. I'm now thinking that this may be what has happened to mark the cladding.
I use to work with epoxy resin and have used isopropyl alcohol before, so know the damage it can cause.

 

[noseall]

This is how it looked when fitted 2 yrs ago.

Irrelevant.

Most suppliers have a rep that deals with discolouration, especially between batches (they will be numbered). You can clearly see a distinction between the boards (between the windows) where the discolouration and chalking is uneven.

Crap product. If it can't withstand water, then it needs binning.

 

[noseall]

how comes this has just happened?

Just happened my arse. Discolouration between boards is gradual and that's exactly what you have there, even on the bits unaffected (between windows) by the water run-off.

Get the rep out, you should have a guarantee, if the product is up to snuff.

 

[Mottie]

This is how it looked when fitted 2 yrs ago.

I must say, it hasn’t weathered terribly well between the windows in just two years.