Roof Cleaning Process

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degraffreed

Guest
Help!!!

Gents I did my first roof job and the result were not as expected. The roof had mold on it and heavy in certain spots. I came to this BB and researched over and over again before I went out Saturday and performed the job.

The roof was asphalt, brown in color and approx 2600 sqft. I sold job this along with the cleaning of the house.

The house took about three hours using limolene, ( not as great as advertised). It did not remove mildew off the hardiplank with out using bleach as told by distributor.

Back to the roof, I used about 15 gallons of 6% store bought bleach. I used my thruster from e-spec, 5gpm 3000 psi. I have a M5 jet but it only had a 15 ft hose. I could not get on the ladder and get the proper angle with such a short hose, So I decided to use my thruster with the 50 ft 1/4 hose. I had no issue getting the chems up on the roof but the roof did not come as clean as I would have liked it the customers were fine with the outcome. I mixed 5 gal of bleach with a nice big squirt of
Dawn for a surfacant and thrusted it on, waited 15 min on each part maybe longer then rinsed. I had to apply chems three times and still not the result I would have wanted. Results like RYAN H, pictures of past roof jobs he completed. I know he's has the experience and the know how.

My question is this. Should I have used pool chlorine of 10-12% versus the 6% store bought? My thinking is my Thruster diluted the bleach to the point that it was ineffective.

Should I have used my M5 Xjet which would have put it on in a stronger concentration to kill the mold?

I am looking to purchase roof cleaning product from Steve Rowlett and go back this spring a redo this roof for this customer at no cost. I know some of you think if the customer is fine with it this let it be But I am out to do quality work and am sort of a perfectionist. Plus it just do not look good to still see what I was supposed to remove.

Can a vet help me out on this delema. I want to be the best at what I do. My company name is on every job.

Hey any pw in GA willing to train me on roof cleaning for free labor. In in Atlanta and would like so OJT if you do not mind.

Degraffreed
[hello]
 

Dan S

New Member
Degraf, I dont think it is so much the chem u r having problem with as it is using the proper pressure.....

Yes you gotta use low pressure but it will (mold) come off with ease with less chem if you can walk the roof, or at least get close enough for it to clean...........

I have used just a wand
or one of those sidewalk thingies that has wheels and 4 nozzles
and of course the surface cleaner ............

I believe your problem is pressure not chem.

my .50cents worth of jabber!
 
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degraffreed

Guest
Dan,
The roof had a pretty steep incline. It was a Cape Code style Ranch homes with the Dormers on top. I damn near slid off the roof when cleaning the dormers earlier in the day just to get the hardiplank clean. I did use a ladder and 6ft' wand with a slight angle to keep my thruster from blasting the roof shingles off.

I thought that using the bleach would be enough to kill the mold then rinse off. But to no avail. I think if the roof would have been" walkable" the results would have been better.

Dan are you also saying that my mix was ok? May just needed to be closer to the surface using low pressure?

Degraffreed
 

Dan S

New Member
believe it or not...................

Any mix you use will work Bleach sucks but it will work

If you can just get appox. 600psi on the surface in nice pattern or closer you can have great results.

Also the next "walkable" roof you get try just using a mild soap and then use your wand to wash it. It is not so much the chems that clean the roof as it is using the proper psi and getting close.

Talk to a contractor in your area that puts new shingels on ..see if you can get a bundle or 2 and try different methods...............I think you will find that h20 is your friend if you got the distance and the pattern down.
 
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degraffreed

Guest
Dan S said:
believe it or not...................

Any mix you use will work Bleach sucks but it will work

If you can just get appox. 600psi on the surface in nice pattern or closer you can have great results.

Also the next "walkable" roof you get try just using a mild soap and then use your wand to wash it. It is not so much the chems that clean the roof as it is using the proper psi and getting close.

Talk to a contractor in your area that puts new shingels on ..see if you can get a bundle or 2 and try different methods...............I think you will find that h20 is your friend if you got the distance and the pattern down.


Dan, I am not following why the bundles of shingles to test. I am looking for something that has mold on it correct? Not brand new shingles. Or are you suggestind new shingles for the sake of seeing how much psi can be applied before you start removing the granules?

Does any one know if there is a vhs video on roof cleaning that can be bought for a visual aid?

Degraffreed
 
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Henry Bockman

New Member
I'd try using a stronger bleach mixture first and then see what happens. Bleach is pretty cheap but it depends on how thick the mildew is on the roof. I would'nt suggest using more pressure or getting closer to the roof for you.
No offense but your new at this and if your not careful you will take the grit off the roofing and leave black bald spots. If you do it Dan's way, definetly practice on new roofing or preferrable some old roofing thats aged. Then you can practice safely without messing up the roof.
 

squirtgun

New Member
Degraffreed,
The mixture wasn't strong enough,you need to use 10.5% to 12 % pool chlorine.You need it to hit the roof at approx.4% to 6%.Using the thruster you were diluting regular bleach to much for it to be effective.With and Xjet(orig. or M5) you will get a stronger mix if you switch to pool chlorine.
If you can walk the roof or tie off using a harness,you can use a shurflo to apply pre diluted chlorine. You need to visist Steve R's BBs and do some research on the roof cleaning forum.The Fl. guys use the method I mention with outstanding results.

This is a roof that we cleaned using the above method.We were about 1/2 done when this pic was taken.
 

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Dan S

New Member
I have cleaned roofs successfully with nothing more then my truck wash soap.
Walkable roofs that is.

some "grit" will come off That is normal ....alot of Grit is not normal.
 
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degraffreed

Guest
Squirtgun

Did you clean from the ground or did you "walk the roof"?

This is exactly the same color roof that I did not as much mildew as yours but it was heavy in some spots. Did you use a water broom to rinse also?

Degraffreed
 

squirtgun

New Member
This was a walkable roof.We have done them from the ground,but if you can walk them it is easier to apply the chems.
This was cleaned with pool chlorine diluted to about 7% and 1 cup of liquid soap(for cling) and rinsed with a garden hose and a fire nozzle.Cleaning with the right mixture of chlorine and soap will eliminate the need for anything more than a low pressure rinse.
 
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degraffreed

Guest
Squirt

Did you xjet or walk this roof. Looks as if its to steep to walk w/o a harness.

Degraffreed
 

Henry Bockman

New Member
That roofs not steep at all man... You could roller skate on that one if you wanted to. Sometimes they look steeper than they really are but it looks fairly flat to me.
 
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degraffreed

Guest
Squirt

Can you post a pic of your shurflo rig set up. I am starting to get more roof cleaning request and may need to get this set up soon. Once I learn the proper techniques and be time effiecient being my main objective.

I am not sure about mixtures and ratio to the extent that this board talks about but if you purchase 10-12% pool chlorine ( because store bought chlorine is about 3-6%) and your post stated your ration was 7%. How do you dilute or what is the way you could explain in NEWBIE terms, how you go from 10-12% down to 7%. I know it got to be simple but I am missing something here. Maybe over analyzing the issue. Why not apply at 10%-12% thats the concentration it come in correct? Then add a surfacant.

I could use your expertise here.

Degraffreed
 

squirtgun

New Member
You will need a separte drum or tank to mix your chlorine in 30 gallons is usually enough for most 2000 sq ft homes.The basic mix is 10 gallons of chlorine to 20 gallons water.This gets it close to 7% hitting the roof we add 1 cup if scented dish soap for cling,yu can adjust the mix up or down depending in how dirty each roof is.

To set up the shurflo you will need a 1.8 to 3 gpm shurflo pump,a deep cycle marine battery(personal water craft batteries work well if you are going to mount this on a hand cart)a pvc spray wand(I'll post the link to pics)200ft of 3/8" clear braided line.
If you have seen pic of the xjet cart we use it's a similar setup.


Look for the post by Don Phelps it has the pics of the wand to use in this set up.
http://www.powerwashnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=6099&highlight=wand

This is the link to pics of a cart with the battery and pump mounted.You will need a lot more hose but it's the same idea.
http://www.deckcare.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33
 
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oneness

New Member
Dan S said:
I have cleaned roofs successfully with nothing more then my truck wash soap.
Walkable roofs that is.

some "grit" will come off That is normal ....alot of Grit is not normal.

You shouldn't have any "grit" coming off at all, except the granules that are already broken loose. Knocking "some" grit loose isn't normal, and damages the roof. If you're going to clean roofs, learn to do it right! You shouldn't need more than 100 psi to rinse. I can often rinse from the ground with a garden hose. I've cleaned several roofs for folks who paid someone to clean it 6 months earlier who didn't bother using anything, or just used soap, and blasted away at the roof. It's a shame. A properly cleaned roof should stay clean at least a year, usually 2-3 years. Sometimes longer. When I climb off the roof, every bit of algae and mold is gone...killed, loosened, and rinsed off.

The problem with folks cleaning roofs who don't know what they're doing is that the damage doesn't usually show up for years.
 

oneness

New Member
squirtgun said:
You will need a separte drum or tank to mix your chlorine in 30 gallons is usually enough for most 2000 sq ft homes.The basic mix is 10 gallons of chlorine to 20 gallons water.This gets it close to 7% hitting the roof

How strong is the chlorine you're buying? Even at 15%, mixing 10 gallons with 20 gallons of water would give you 5%, which is about right for most roofs.
 

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