roof trouble

drivewaysonly

New Member
My neighborhood has dang near every house with the streaks. After the hurricanes here in Fl a couple years back, many opted for new roofs. the others? they are ALL coverd w/streaks. Cleaning roofs is new to me and I have read every post I can find regarding this subject..I am having trouble. I have 12v sureflow pump that delivers under 2 gpm. I did a 3200 sqft roof for a friend and in about an hour had only used about 20 gallons or so of the mixture chlorine, tsp and water. The roof is still dirty. I rinsed for three hours and had to get closer than what felt "good" I have a 4000 psi 4 gpm machine that has just had the pump rebuilt but has some serious hours on the honda 13 hp...I used a 45 degree tip with a 9gpm orffice....I still felt like th "dirt" had to be "cut"...few granuals washed off ( iwas looking hard for them) and yet, the streaks were still very stuborn. I am thinking the problem is not my mixture or my water flow but HOW MUCH solution I used. Not enough...too slow a pump. Can anyone advise?

It is of utmost concern that I be sure I know what I am doing before deliving into this side of the market...my area is underserved and this algae is spreading like wildfire.
 

squirtgun

New Member
Are you using household bleach or liquid pool shock?Household bleach is not strong enough if you cut it with water.
Try 10.5% to 12% pool shock(sodium hypochlorite) at 1:1 and see if you get better results.
 

douseahouse

New Member
enough chemical?

from what i've read a house about 2000 sq ft uses about 25 to 30 gallons of chemical/water so it sounds like you may have been a little easy on the wash. maybe one of the pros can tell us how much solution you should on a house that size. i'd like to know myself.

rando
 

squirtgun

New Member
drivewaysonly said:
are we trying to "soak" the roof or lightly "mist"?

You should be giving the roof a good coating.It should be running down the pitch somewhat.Also,if you apply from bottom to top/rinse top to bottom this may help with streaks.
You may have to make your mix a little stronger.60/40 or even 70/30 there is no one mix that will work for every roof although 50/50 is a good starting point.
 

drivewaysonly

New Member
squirtgun said:
You should be giving the roof a good coating.It should be running down the pitch somewhat.Also,if you apply from bottom to top/rinse top to bottom this may help with streaks.
You may have to make your mix a little stronger.60/40 or even 70/30 there is no one mix that will work for every roof although 50/50 is a good starting point.


Typically, I only quote the portion of a post I am refering to but since I am refering to the entire post....

I see that both problems may be mine and will adjust accordingly. Thanks.
 

taselton2

New Member
BE CAREFUL USING MIXTURES AS HIGH AS 70/30 THAT'S IS AN AWFUL TIGHT MIX. I CLEAN 5 TO 10 ROOFS A WEEK USING SODIUM HYPO AND I HAVE NEVER WENT THAT HIGH ON MY MIXTURES. I ALSO START AT THE BOTTOM PUTTING JUST ENOUGH ON THE SHINGLES SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY ARE WET (GLARE). YOU WANT YOUR CHEMS ON THE ROOF NOT ON THE GROUND. I WOULD TRY ADDING SOME SOAP TO THICKEN IT UP AND MAKE IT WETTER (PENITRATION). THERE IS NO REASON FOR A ROOF TO NOT COME COMPLETELY CLEAN USING THES METHODS. http://www.softwashing.com
 

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