Hot Water Roof Cleaning

Well if hot water removes oil, and asphalt is a petroleum product. pretty sure that is going to loosen the granules, and knock them off. Not to mention they say they use no cleaner which means they are using pressure. I am no expert on roof cleaning , but that sounds like a quite a few no-no's right in a row.
 
This was just brought up in another thread on here,..the one about lichen. The poster claimed to be doing maintenance treatments twice a year with warm water and it has kept the mold away in most cases without any SH?? I questioned if, in his opinion it was the warm water killing the mold,..I haven't yet to get a response. I also stated,..that since I've never done it myself I can't argue that it would work on "not yet visible spores".....I have also never done an actual cleaning with warm or hot water,..but feel comfortable in saying I don't think it's a proper method to safely remove stains from shingles. You would also have to be right on the stains,..Man what's easier or better about not using a time tested method? Other than a phony, misleading sales pitch.

As Ralph states,..pressure beyond some acceptable degree would most likely be used. Not to mention in my opinion wouldn't do the customer,..or yourself justice for that matter,...as I think the stains would return in a much shorter time than when done with SH mix.

Jeff.
 
Lots of fear mongering and misinformation from the website.....

"I had no idea many other companies used bleach and now that I've done a little research on it, it's pretty appalling and irresponsible just to save money on the purchase of the solutions they use."........

"We do NOT use the common cleaning agents containing sodium hypochlorite (bleach) that release dangerous chemicals vapors into our atmosphere and leach into the ground causing long-lasting harmful environmental effects."


"First our hot water cleaning method removes all the hydrocarbons, algae, mold, and mildew that are discoloring your roof and kills the spore at the root."

I mean I "Get" what they're doing......but I don't agree with what they're advertising.
 
Considering what he's doing is most likely harder in trying to achieve the same results we do with SH mix,... I'd say he's trying to distance himself from other companies? Maybe he wants to be "green" and scare people from using the more preferred method that he's probably competing with. I see no advantage in his method over what we do,..sure no chemicals,...but that isn't an advantage when you need chemicals to do the work responsibly, with the preferred, time tested method.

How hot does water have to be to kill GM spores? I haven't any clue,..but too hot of water,..especially under force could loosen granules from the asphalt.

Jeff
 
On a hot day the roof temperatures can get hot enough so that the granules can move when you walk on the roof, the hot water from a pressure washer can easily get much hotter.

I would show customers the brochure of the surface cleaner, how hot it can handle water, how many gallons per minute and how much pressure and show them that it takes at least a couple thousand psi for the swivel to turn the spray bar to clean decently, more pressure the better for blasting dirt and mold out of the concrete, people just love to blast away on concrete all around the country, just blast, blast, blast away and this guy is doing this on your roof where the granules are not secured that good and the hot water loosens the asphalt so they come off quicker, this is a wonderful way to remove the granules that reflect the heat of the sun away from your roof.

Remind the cusomer that most of them use bleach for their white clothes to get them clean, it is also a great mildewcide, disinfectant, cleaner, etc.....that most people have been using for generations with no problems, restaurants use it to sanitize their dishes, utensils, pots, pans, etc....

If the bleach was really so bad then they would not let people buy it at convenience stores, grocery stores, corner stores, shopping clubs, etc.....

Fear Tactics is really sad but the reality is that some people will listen to him and let him destroy their roof. You can make a brochure or post card to send out explaining the truth and expose the fear tactics so that people understand what is really happening or put the info on your website for them to read.

It might turn into a game of who is the better salesman and the winner gets the customer and the job.

Good luck.
 
Lots of fear mongering and misinformation from the website.....

"I had no idea many other companies used bleach and now that I've done a little research on it, it's pretty appalling and irresponsible just to save money on the purchase of the solutions they use."........

"We do NOT use the common cleaning agents containing sodium hypochlorite (bleach) that release dangerous chemicals vapors into our atmosphere and leach into the ground causing long-lasting harmful environmental effects."


"First our hot water cleaning method removes all the hydrocarbons, algae, mold, and mildew that are discoloring your roof and kills the spore at the root."

I mean I "Get" what they're doing......but I don't agree with what they're advertising.
I hear ya and if they just use hot water the algae will return in about a year.
 
Considering what he's doing is most likely harder in trying to achieve the same results we do with SH mix,... I'd say he's trying to distance himself from other companies? Maybe he wants to be "green" and scare people from using the more preferred method that he's probably competing with. I see no advantage in his method over what we do,..sure no chemicals,...but that isn't an advantage when you need chemicals to do the work responsibly, with the preferred, time tested method.

How hot does water have to be to kill GM spores? I haven't any clue,..but too hot of water,..especially under force could loosen granules from the asphalt.


Totally Agree Jeff.... Their tactics prey on the ignorant & uninformed. They'll soon have that "High Tech" equipment for sale.

We have run into a few customers that raised concerns about the use of SH, but after a few minutes of "Correct" information & education, their concerns were eliminated.
 
I know this isn't exactly what's being described but I would expect dry steam to do a good job on roof cleaning. I don't do it, it would probably be very slow, and see no reason why it would be better than soft washing with the appropriate cleaning agents most of us use, but I suspect it would work. Warm water would probably do nothing.
 
Just a gimmick, it's a tile roof thing. They show a surface cleaner and some steam coming off it and think there doing something good. The are still breaking the hairline fracture tiles, etching the baby fat off the surface, shoving 400mile an hour water up under the tile into the soft under layment, which causes premature replacement of the roof, which utilizes resources to make and install a new roof. The "carbon footprint" of the whole process, including the teardown and replacement of the roof, takes a steaming dump over the non existant enviromental impact of a proper soft wash process.
 
I have hovered roofs with cold and super hot water, there was no difference in how long they lasted,both don't last long at all and it's the most miserable method of cleaning a roof in the entire galaxy. Yes 95 degree day, sunny, and let's stand above a hover pumping out 190 degrees.. Smh
 
I'd be willing to bet that here in Fla. On an average summer day the shingle temps aren't too much lower than 200 degrees f and the algae grows fine. I don't see how 200 degree water is going to kill it. It may rinse some of it off.


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ANR Cleaning Services LLC
www.anrcleanteam.com

www.anrcleanteam.com

Al, that's an excellant point.
 
On a hot day the roof temperatures can get hot enough so that the granules can move when you walk on the roof, the hot water from a pressure washer can easily get much hotter.
I was going to bring that up. I am on roofs cleaning gutter all the time and in the late afternoon I notice looser granules. And I notice when we have a sudden afternoon rainstorm, granules get washed away into the gutters also. I carry a trowel to shovel out the granules, sometimes it is an inch deep.
 
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