How long does a vinyl fence last? Will a vinyl fence fade, turn yellow, or crack? What are the benefits of a vinyl fence?
These are all common questions asked by homeowners who are thinking about investing in a durable vinyl fence.
How Long Does a Vinyl Vence Last?
The short answer to this question is that you can expect your vinyl fence to last between 20-30 years.
However, a vinyl fence’s durability and lifespan can vary widely depending on the brand of fence you buy and the quality you choose.
Let’s dive in and learn more about what you can expect from your vinyl fence.
What are the Benefits of a Vinyl Fence?
Vinyl fencing is versatile, affordable, and available in a wide array of colors.
An excellent alternative to wrought iron or wood, vinyl fencing deserves a second look if you’ve not thought about it recently.
Here are some of the benefits of vinyl fences.
Low-Maintenance
Compared to wood and metal, vinyl fencing is extremely low-maintenance. You can clean it easily with your water hose and save tons of money in terms of maintenance costs.
Durability
In addition to being five times stronger than most types of wood, vinyl fencing will not decompose or ruse.
Also, you don’t have to worry about pests destroying your fence if it’s made of vinyl.
Also, vinyl fencing won’t rot, blister, or peel. You can even put it near your swimming pool if you want.
Affordability
While you will pay more initially to have a vinyl fence installed, vinyl fencing doesn’t have to be replaced as often as wood fences.
With wood fences, you will spend about three or four times more over the life of your homeownership than you would with a vinyl fence.
Flexibility
Homeowners are often caught unawares by things like strong winds, taxing winters, or lots of rain.
Vinyl fencing is more flexible than wood, and it stands up more strongly.
In fact, vinyl fencing is popular at equine facilities and on farms because horses and cattle won’t be harmed if they run into it.
Easy Installation
A vinyl fence is super easy to install, and many homeowners find that they can do it themselves.
The pieces slide and lock firmly into place, and the posts are secured to the ground.
If you hire a professional to install your vinyl fence, it will usually be cheaper than hiring someone to install other types of fencing that is more challenging to work with.
Are Vinyl Fences Durable?
Vinyl fences are made from polyvinyl chloride, and they are strong and durable by nature.
To understand the durability of a vinyl fence, consider that this type of fence has four times the flexibility of most wood fences and is five times stronger than wood in tensile strength.
You can expect your vinyl fence to handle anything that wood can handle.
Moreover, if a vinyl fence is impacted by something damaging, it will usually emerge looking far better than a wooden fence would look in the same circumstances.
Do Vinyl Fences Need Maintenance?
One of the most important benefits of a vinyl fence is that this type of fencing is almost maintenance-free.
You will never have the hassle of needing to stain or re-paint a vinyl fence, and that will save you countless hours over the course of your life with this type of fencing.
To create a product that is very low-maintenance, vinyl fencing material is usually blended with other ingredients.
However, everything does require some maintenance, and with vinyl fencing, maintenance mostly includes keeping it clean.
If you don’t clean your vinyl fence, it can start to look pretty grubby over time.
How to Clean a Vinyl Fence
Below, we have outlined four steps for getting (and keeping) your vinyl fence as clean as possible.
1) Rinse your vinyl fence with your garden hose.
The first thing you need to do when cleaning your vinyl fence is to give it a quick and thorough rinsing with your garden hose.
You will need to do this every couple of months.
Rinsing your fence with your garden hose will remove most of the surface dirt that accumulates and will go a long way towards making sure that grime doesn’t build up over the years.
2) Clean your vinyl fence with a soft cloth and bleach-based cleanser.
If you go too long without rinsing your vinyl fence off with a hose, you may find yourself with a dirty fence.
Fortunately, it’s easy to clean up. You just have to apply a little bit of elbow grease.
When this happens, take a soft cloth and a bleach-based cleanser and directly apply the solution to the spots that need to be removed.
Brands like Mr. Clean and SoftScrub work well to clean your fence without damaging it.
One thing to consider is that you want to avoid using products with bleach if your vinyl fence is tan-colored.
To make sure a cleanser doesn’t damage your fence, do a safety test in an inconspicuous area before cleaning your entire fence.
3) Use a Magic Eraser to clean your vinyl fence.
Magic Erasers truly are magical. They can clean everything from the kitchen cabinet to sneakers. Well, these little gems can also clean your vinyl fence.
To clean your fence with a Magic Eraser, get your eraser slightly damp and start scrubbing gently. Be sure to follow the same recommendations as above if you have a tan fence.
4) Power wash your vinyl fence.
In drastic situations, you may need to break out the big boy: your power washer.
If you have grossly neglected your fence, a power washer may be your only option to get it looking as good as new.
In most cases, the pressure from your power washer will be enough to get even the toughest stains out of your fence.
A Special Note About Mildew…
Mildew can be a problem in some areas of the country. If this is something you’re dealing with, we have a solution for you.
Mix together the following ingredients.
- 1/3 cup Tide detergent
- 2/3 cup Soilax (trisodium phosphate)
- 1 quart Clorox (5% sodium hypochlorite)
- 3 quarts water
Be sure to wear gloves when you use this solution. Apply the concentrated solution to a soft brush or cloth, then scrub your vinyl fence gently.
Again, be sure to test in an inconspicuous area if you have a fence that’s tan in color.
