What roof cleaning mix do you guys use?

What mix do you guys use, and why?

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br4nd0n9

New member
Just curious to see what mix you guys use. Im trying to decide. Im in south florida.

THANKS!
 
xxdbesse said:
I have used both the Green Wash & Roof Snot. I prefer Roof Snot but my next roof mix will contain 50/50 of both!
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If you ever get a bare cement tile roof David, the addition of some TSP will really make it whiten up. Florida Chemical Supply on Chelsea street, right off Orient road, just north of MLK in Tampa sells both TSP, and Ammonyx LO
The Ammonyx is a chlorine stable surfactant, just not as thickening as Roof Snot. It will work fine, if you are out of the Snot.
If using TSP with a surfactant, all it takes is 1/2 cup per gallon of your total mix.
It is very inexpensive, and for cleaning roofs in combination with Chlorine, it has no equal. Especially on a concrete tile roof.

Of course, keep it off the paint and windows, and watch your overspray.
 
JBurd said:
Fresh Wash. Beats the heck out of mixing TSP.
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Yes, mixing TSP is a hassle, and you have to be very careful when using it, to keep it off paint and windows.
When using TSP, it is always best to mix up your water and TSP first, and allow it to sit overnight.
Then, add your chlorine, and a surfactant if you need it for more cling, and then go clean.

TSP is suggested by ARMA, for a good reason. It really DOES increase the cleaning capability of Sodium Hypochlorite.
TSP is a proven effective cleaner, used for years in detergents, but removed from the general market because it is also a very potent plant fertilizer. It was causing unwanted Aquatic weed growth in lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams!
I have had converstaions with Proctor and Gamble Chemists, who admitted to me they still have not come up with any TSP replacements for their detergents that can even approach, much less match, the sheer cleaning power of TSP!

For cleaning and disinfecting, Beer Brewers Like Coors, Miller, and Budweiser still use Chlorinated TSP. It is basically Calcium Hypochlorite and TSP. The Calcium Hypochlorite is coated with TSP. Think about it ?
It would be easy enough to simply coat the Calcium Hypochlorite with any OTHER surfactant or detergent/cleaner, if it were better
The market for Chlorinated TSP is HUGE. Breweries go through Tons of this chit.
This should tell you something ?
 
The pink stuff Fresh Wash?
 
Apple Roof Cleaning said:
Yes, mixing TSP is a hassle, and you have to be very careful when using it, to keep it off paint and windows.
When using TSP, it is always best to mix up your water and TSP first, and allow it to sit overnight.
Then, add your chlorine, and a surfactant if you need it for more cling, and then go clean.

TSP is suggested by ARMA, for a good reason. It really DOES increase the cleaning capability of Sodium Hypochlorite.
TSP is a proven effective cleaner, used for years in detergents, but removed from the general market because it is also a very potent plant fertilizer. It was causing unwanted Aquatic weed growth in lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams!
I have had converstaions with Proctor and Gamble Chemists, who admitted to me they still have not come up with any TSP replacements for their detergents that can even approach, much less match, the sheer cleaning power of TSP!

For cleaning and disinfecting, Beer Brewers Like Coors, Miller, and Budweiser still use Chlorinated TSP. It is basically Calcium Hypochlorite and TSP. The Calcium Hypochlorite is coated with TSP. Think about it ?
It would be easy enough to simply coat the Calcium Hypochlorite with any OTHER surfactant or detergent/cleaner, if it were better
The market for Chlorinated TSP is HUGE. Breweries go through Tons of this chit.
This should tell you something ?
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I start sweating every time I see the words Calcium Hypochlorite
 
Doug Rucker said:
I start sweating every time I see the words Calcium Hypochlorite
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LOL, I guess you would Doug, after what happened to you:)
I still think that IF the problems of scale formation could be solved, AC's dream might be realized.
And a good dream it was, readily available "Chlorine in a Box". A product that could easily and safely shipped and transported. Calcium Hypochlorite has many many advantages to a roof cleaning professional, and is one hell of a lot easier on plants, because unlike Sodium Hypochlorite, it does not break down into plant harmful Salt!
Ac's vision was a product that could be left on a roof, w/o fear of it being rinsed off by the rain and messing up yards.
It breaks down into Calcium, not Salt.
If your ground person was thorough in his rinsing off the plants, or if plants were covered during the cleaning, it could have been the TRUE "splash and dash" product we all seek.

Though some of my friends at the Roof Cleaning Institute Forum disagree, I still think (and hope) that it's problems may be solved one day!
My health is not good, I can barely breathe anymore, and most any kind of exertion causes extreme coughing spells.
I lack the energy I once had, and it is all I can do sometimes in this bad Tampa economy to keep my company solvent.
I have neither the time, nor the energy, to pursue the development of Calcium Hypochlorite for roof cleaning.

However, even as it is right now, I think a low dose of Calcium Hypochlorite, combined with a Chlorine Stablle Surfactant like Russ Johnsons wonderful Roof Snot, might very well be a great alternative to Spray and Forget, and other clean your roof over time Chemicals.

Back when AC and I were still talking, he told me he has had success with augmentation. Augmentation meaning adding smaller amounts of Calcium Hypochlorite to the standard roof cleaning mix containing Sodium Hypochlorite.

AC's research tells me that the dreaded scale formation MAY be directly proportional to the concentration (ratio) of Calcium Hypochlorite to water. IF this is indeed the case, then we may be able to get enough Calcium Hypochlorite into solution to KILL the roof algae, w/o any trace of Scale !!!!!

Now, if we combine this with a Chlorine Stable Surfactant like Roof Snot, that has not only increased dwell time, but excellent penetration characteristics to carry the Calcium Hypochlorite Algae Killer deep into the Algae filaments, then AC could have one Hell of a product !

The potential market for a clean the roof with the rain over time product like this is of course not only roof and pressure cleaning companies, but homeowners as well!

And, since Calcium Hypochlorite is FAR less expensive then the Benzalkonium Chloride found in Spray and Forget and Wet and Forget, a lot of ass could be kicked in the marketplace.

Clean with the rain types of roof cleaning products are NOT rocket science. The concept is quite simple really. That is a plant (cynobacteria) growing on the roof. Kill it, and it loses it's ability to remain on a roof. It then become vulnerable to the elements (wind and rain) and goes away, over a period of time.
 
thanks. i think im going to go with the roof snot for normal jobs and add tsp for the bad ones like Chris said. Any other good tips for someone just starting out? Also what's a good starter pump? Preferably affordable so I can 2 to always have a back up and then upgrade once things get going.
 
br4nd0n9 said:
thanks. i think im going to go with the roof snot for normal jobs and add tsp for the bad ones like Chris said. Any other good tips for someone just starting out? Also what's a good starter pump? Preferably affordable so I can 2 to always have a back up and then upgrade once things get going.
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I use air driven pumps with air compressors, but a 12 volt pump system is great, for just starting out. They cost a lot less, and take up far less room. Their weakness is this, they do not like smaller GPM nozzles (like the ones you will use for barrel tile roofs). It makes them cycle on and off, and burns them up. Some of my guys at the Roof Cleaning Institute have went away from the Delevan Fat Boy for this very reason, and have gone to the Delavan 5850 instead.
Because the Smaller Delavan has less GPM then a Fat Boy, it does not seem to cycle on and off as much with the smaller nozzles. Plus, it's run off is a lot easier to control then the run off from the Fat Boy.
The Fat Boy is a serious shingle roof cleaning pump.
I always advise users of 12 volt pumps to keep one under the seat as a spare. I think Paul from the Power Wash Store still offers a dual pump in a box 12 volt system. The idea is, if one pump fails (and it will), you have another pump ready to go!

You will be just fine using the Roof Snot for everyday use, and the TSP for the really really bad roofs, or on ANY bare concrete tile roofs, really dirty or not. TSP is a concrete whitener, and works wonders even on "clean" concrete surfaces.

Good luck to you over there in West Palm Beach!
 
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