Surfactant and Detergent?

Didnt realize those tiles were walkable

Ted Watson passed on to me how Gain worked well as a roof surfactant and house wash soap

Never had a problem with streaking windows either

You're right Mike,..most streaked windows come from user error,.not soap. You have to simply rinse it away. Soap don't leave streaks,..people leave streaks.

Jeff
 
Hello everyone I am somewhat new to chemical cleaning and have been only doing this for a year part time mostly. Where I bought my equipment i asked the owner what is the best mixture to clean tile roofs in south Florida and he told me that it depends on the day and how bad it is. He recommended using a 70%-100% SH mixture depending on the job. Before all the pros start bashing me about this I searched for hours looking up surfactants and detergents and found nothing in the search button. So my question is, should i be mixing any surfactants or detergents to my mix and are there any house soaps and detergents that i can use to reduce my cost? I have asked many local guys around here and they just apply SH mix and that's it, some of them even say they don't rinse off the roof and let the rain do it. Thank you for all your answers and advice.

1) I would never use 100% SH on a roof. The most we use on tile roofs is 50/50 and roof snot.
2) the amount of soap we use is dependent on the if there are gutters or not, and if there are no gutters and plants directly under the drip line then we use way less soap to sometimes none. This helps to prevent the mix from "sticking" to the plants.
3) you can use pretty much any house/detergent soap you want. Some will perform better than others. I personally never use them because they are always changing the formula in them which can sometimes cause our i or quality of cleaning to be off. I have been using Roof Snot for years and and love it. I have tried every house/dish soap out there but just never really liked any. Plus using Roof Snot, if you are doing a lot of roofs, is going to be cheaper for you in the end versus store bought products. IMO
4) I have never rinsed a roof. Some do, sone don't. You'll find many different opinions on that.

Hope this helps. You will find many different opinions on this subject...best thing is to try some different ones and see which you like and works best for you.
 
Bira, You can look up MSDS's from the manufacturers which sell the products or simply type the words like, "MSDS for Sodium Hypochlorite" in your task bar. Some of the supply houses will ship MSDS's with their products. I think Bob at Pressure Tek ships a MSDS with each product purchased.

Each container whether it be liquid or powder needs to be clearly marked for the contents.

As mentioned earlier, If you don't have a MSDS dedicated binder in your truck, make it a point to put one together and make sure it is "Unmistakable" and within eyesight when in your truck. Besides a possible D.O.T. pull-over, If you get into an accident and your products start pouring out on the ground, The local Emergency personnel need to know what they will be dealing with. Some may feel this is non-sense however, "YOU" are the one who will be fined and the fines are not cheap... And, They don't issue warnings!!!

Best Regards,
Mike
 
Bira comes through a successful vetting....
All the guys on here are very helpful and, on occasion, have a habit of saving each other's butts. From my time here I have learned that the only thing asked in return is honesty and integrity. Just an FYI.
As I'm sure you've gathered, the guy that sold you your rig set you up for failure when it comes to proper roof cleaning. Having cleaned 50 roofs and never having a problem with plants, grass, nuking paint on gutters, or any of the other fun stuff proves that you are extremely lucky.
Read over this thread a few times and soak in as much information as possible from scrolling through old threads and you'll set down a much safer roof cleaning path.


Halston Barney
Pristine Power Cleaning
www.GetPristine.com
Kerrville, Tx 78028
 
Didnt realize those tiles were walkable
They are, if you know what you are doing. I have to get on tile roofs to clean gutters around pool cages. There are rules of thumb. Never step in the edges, never step on a cut tile(valleys or around vents, skylights) Try to step on two at a time. There are really bad or brittle roofs that I won't go on. A lot of times I see where somebody walked up the roof and broke every tile on the way. Some idiots just don't care around here. Oh yeah if the roof is black with algae, and you get it wet... be careful, It's like a skating rink.
 
Thanks everyone for all your help I really do appreciate it and I have learned a lot from you guys. I would of never known about the msds or different kinds of surfactant if i didn't come to this forum. I will try the snot and some gain and I will let you guys know what worked best for me.


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How are some companies offering 2 years warranty on roofs to stay clean? Are they adding a preventative?


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It's easy to offer a two year warranty, I do.
If the roof is cleaned correctly it will stay clean for well over two years ( here in North FL) Roofs that have a lot of shade may grow green algae within two years or even a year. If you explain that to the home owner before you clean their roof most understand. It pretty easy to kill/clean the green algae down streaming a cleaning solution.
 
They are, if you know what you are doing. I have to get on tile roofs to clean gutters around pool cages. There are rules of thumb. Never step in the edges, never step on a cut tile(valleys or around vents, skylights) Try to step on two at a time. There are really bad or brittle roofs that I won't go on. A lot of times I see where somebody walked up the roof and broke every tile on the way. Some idiots just don't care around here. Oh yeah if the roof is black with algae, and you get it wet... be careful, It's like a skating rink.

Ralph-as you know here in NJ Tile roofs are rare-though im starting to see more and more with new construction

Slate roofs on the other hand are common in older well to do areas-Victorian style homes

Those i would never walk on-very expensive and unsafe- just looking for trouble
 
I am a paranoid dude when it comes to roofs. I do not walk roofs/my helper does them all.

I don't walk them, unless I have to. I'll move a ladder around at the cost of some time over walking a roof any day of the week.


Halston Barney
Pristine Power Cleaning
www.GetPristine.com
Kerrville, Tx 78028
 
What kind of pump are u guys using that allows u to shoot that far? Or is it the tip that does that. I have a shurflo 3.6gpm 50 psi and I just bought a flojet that does 4.7 gpm 60 psi


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I'm getting approx. 24-30 ft.(depending on the wind) out of my bandit with the zero degree JROD at the very top of a 28ft. ladder. If I need more reach(with our steep roofs), I simply insert one of my aluminum lances with the JROD attached. I almost never get on a roof and in most cases, I can shoot the entire front or back side with 2 ladder moves.
 
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