Difficult shingle roof

[Landworks]

We washed this roof with a 50:50 mix with cling on and got next to nothing off of it. After this, we put straight 12% with cling on and my guys said the run off was very dirty but it still has a ways to come before it's clean. I haven't read anywhere about this problem and haven't come across it before.

Any suggestions to ramp up the strength of the mix for this problem?

[Raystown Roof Cleaning]

Hey Jonathon,...looking at the picture I can see a couple things going on. First thing I see is what looks like moss on the roof,..and it does look brown and dead. Which is how it should look. Many opinions on how to handle this,..my stance is,.. when looking at these "moss and lichen" jobs they need to be sold as what they are. Which is spray and allow the growth to fall off naturally, because that is the best way to ensure leaving the granules intact as possible. Moss, and especially lichen root into the granules, and in many cases, if growth is physically removed, damage will occur in the form of dislodged granules,...and in the case of lichen,..it will leave a dark patch, which is the asphalt under lament being exposed,..which is now suspect to Sun damage/cracking. It will go away on its own,..just takes time,..but the end result is more responsible to the customer.

Back to the selling,..the customer needs to be respectively told that the roof didn't get that way overnight, and now there is no way to give instant results,..Physical growth like moss/lichen is way different than the black streaks we often see,..and when explained properly most customers will understand what you're saying and have you do the work. Having the growth that is dead and disappearing is better than having it up there growing,..most understand this concept. It is their fault it's like that, not yours. Just keep it respectable when explaining.

The other thing I see is more "original" looking shingle color underneath the dormer,..that doesn't mean the rest of the roof is dirty,.many times the shingles in this area aren't as abused by the weather and water flow as the rest of the roof. What you're seeing is less granule loss in these protected areas,..which results in the contrast in appearance. And the contrast will show more after the cleaning due to the shingles being less camouflaged by the mold and dirt.

To me the roof looks good and ready to begin coming clean,..go back in a month and you'll see a big difference.

The key to these jobs is having the customer understand what they will have when you leave,..in regards to the growth and the contrast in shingles due to protected areas. Don't surprise them when your done by saying,.."Oh, yea that's the way these jobs are",...Ha,Ha,..


*With that said,..sometimes a percentage of moss can be removed with light agitation, sometimes it will just roll off when you begin spraying your mix. If you want to rinse with high flow and have some percentage come off I suppose you could,..Just don't get in the habit of picking at it, because that's when possible damage will occur. Lichen is stuck like glue and needs to flake away on its own.

**This is my opinion on this subject,..You'll most likely get conflicting points of view, either in this thread or in your travels through the various forums. I'm not going to argue it with anyone, because we all have our own ideas and viewpoints.

Jeff

[waxman18324]

Jeff,

+1

Hank

[cajun cleanin]

What was the temp when you washed it?I find that if it's not 70 degrees the mix doesn't work right on roofs.I have washed below that in the past but it was a roof that was in direct sunlight and heated up prety quick.

[Landworks]

Thanks, Jeff. The customer is ok with it taking some time if that's what it needs.

Cajun, temp was probably in the 50s.

What about the need for full strength 12%? Is that overkill?

[Diamond Roof Cleaning LLC]

We clean roofs when it 32 degrees and up. If you can't clean below 70 then you need another sh supplier.

[pressurepros]

What about the need for full strength 12%? Is that overkill?

Anything over 50% of a fresh 12% sodium hypochlorite mix is probably overkill. Using full strength is a guaranteed way to be replacing people's landscaping and grass. Hopefully the first rainfall this roof encounters will be a heavy one.

In 13 years, I don't think I have ever gone stronger than a 60% mix and that kills everything on contact.

[Landworks]

Chance of rain this weekend but we haven't rinsed it yet. I'm nervous about leaving it on. Should I rinse some? Maybe light rinse to guard against plant issues? It does have gutters which helps.

[G6millars]

What is the best way to clean our roof in a very useful way with the less use of power , If i done this work by my own !!!!

[Raystown Roof Cleaning]

Jonathan, there's no reason to go as strong as 12.5%,..that would be wasteful and likely destructive, as Ken stated.
50's is warm enough even at 4% strength,..just takes longer to work,..and at 6% you would be well in the range of an effective mix. I think the roof looks fine as it stands,...as I said,..go back in a month a check it out,..I'm sure the difference will be very noticeable,..rain or no rain,...natural decomposition happens once something is dead,..and that moss looks dead.

* If the idea behind 12.5% is killing it "deader",..just keep in mind, there isn't a magic solution to this,,..killing moss with a stronger mix isn't going to make it vaporize and be gone,..it's still gonna be brown and take time to disappear.

**A perfect World it's not.

Jeff