Asphalt Shingle Cleaning applications

[Mike Williamson]

Originally Posted by Aplus

My sureflow wands are made of 12" regular 1/4" threaded pipe with a trigger gun and q/c on one end, and a 1/4" q/c on the other end for the spray tip. I use a 25045 and it delivers adequate spray with a 60psi 1.8 pump.

I like the idea of adding a reel to the cart.

The reason for using the pvc for roofs is the chlorine. The only metal parts on my whole setup, from the pump to the nozzle, are two QCs.

[GymRat]

Thanks guys for the help in my problem of low flow from my shurflo wand. I like the idea of building my own wand. I ran a little text last night and found my pump cycles every few seconds with my adjustable nozzle attached. I removed this cap and my pump ran continuously and still had good pressure. I may try drilling the cap of my nozzle, and see if that helps my flow problem.
I don't understand the nozzle size Scott mentioned in his thread(8010). I'm looking in a northern hydraulic book at the 1/4" male NPT nozzles and they are sized from 0deg to 40deg spray pattern, and 3.0 to 7.5 nozzles size. If you could clarify this for me it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ; John-- a true rookie

[squirtgun]

you'll have to order the 8010(80 degree fan/10 gpm tip) from Water Cannon,Delco or some place similar.You can use a 6510 also.

[GymRat]

Thanks Scott, if I keep reading these boards, my head is going to explode form all of this knowledge.

John

[Mike]

A few questions on this topic.....

I've noticed alot of distributors offering roof cleaners that claim that contain "no bleach" ... so does it just contain the Sodium Hydroxide that is in the bleach. Seems alot less hazardous to me then spraying straight bleach? Does this stuff not work as well, or does it just cost 3 times as much and bleach is the cheaper alternative?

What safety precautions do you practice when applying straight bleach?

[Pams Pressure & Clean]

There are arguments as to whether bleach (sodium hypochlorite) or Sodium Hydroxide is the better choice for roof cleaning.
Some say that bleach dries out and destroys shingles, others say that Sodium Hydroxide dissolves the petroleum based shingles (Sodium Hydroxide is a degreaser)

The key in the Hydroxide based cleaners is not necessarily the amount of Sodium Hydroxide, but the amount and effectiveness of the surfactants which are the workhorses of the blend.

Both are used quite successfully by MANY contractors, but the debate rages on...

[Mike Williamson]

Originally Posted by Mike

A few questions on this topic.....

I've noticed alot of distributors offering roof cleaners that claim that contain "no bleach" ... so does it just contain the Sodium Hydroxide that is in the bleach. Seems alot less hazardous to me then spraying straight bleach? Does this stuff not work as well, or does it just cost 3 times as much and bleach is the cheaper alternative?

What safety precautions do you practice when applying straight bleach?

Sodium Hydroxide is not a component of bleach. You're thinking of Sodium Hypochlorite, which is the primary ingredient in both bleach and liquid pool shock.

Why is spraying straight bleach hazardous? Just don't get it in your eyes or douse yourself with it. Rinse the plants well before and after, and be particularly careful around gutter downspouts, since the concentration there is much higher, so you need more rinsing.

Personally, I agree with others that Sodium Hydroxide isn't good for asphalt shingles...It is a degreaser, and of course, asphalt is oil based. Granted, most "asphalt" shingles are fiberglass based, but they still have an oil based component. It also requires a higher psi rinse than I'm comfortable with.

Pool Chlorine/bleach is easier, faster, works better, and is usually cheaper.

[Mike]

You know I've been doing ALOT of research on this topic the last few days. I've seen web site after web site of people bashing companies that use Sodium Hypochlorite chlorline and bleach to clean the Gloeocapsa Magma (fungus) off roofs. Of course you get down a little further and you see they are selling their own brew of roof cleaner.

So I decided to go to a 3rd party source and I wound up at the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association web site. Here I found a technical bulletin, which can be found here... http://www.asphaltroofing.org/pdf/tb_217.pdf giving you instructions on how to use chlorine and bleach for cleaning roofs. Of course like anything you have to be practicing common sense when using it and be safe, but I found nothing about how it's quote "unsafe" for the shingles like many other web sites claimed (most of which wanted you to buy thier product at the end) One thing they did frown on was using a pressure washer, low pressure should be used at all times when cleaning a roof to preserve the granule.

[VanDiesel99]

"Here I found a technical bulletin, which can be found here... http://www.asphaltroofing.org/pdf/tb_217.pdf giving you instructions on how to use chlorine and bleach for cleaning roofs. "

Actually the bulletin which has been passed around for a while on all these boards states that the algae is "difficult to remove, but may be lightened" with the use of bleach. It also does not say what concentration of bleach to use, which leads one to believe that they are referring to household bleach. At this rate even the 2.5 gal chem : 2.5 gal water ratio has a much lower concentration then what people say is needed to clean a roof with bleach. I don't like to get into this debate because there is no real answer. If it works for you than do it. There are cons for both bleach and sodium hyd. I know in this area there have been a lot of roofs that were done with bleach and within that year the roof was infested again(even some which had zinc strips installed after the cleaning). I haven't had any reoccurences of algae on any of the roofs I have done with sodium hydrox. I give a two year guaranteed clean roof, so if the algae returned quickly on my jobs then I would be out of luck. I do think a rinse is essential regardless of what chem you use however, because that will help rinse away any organic matter that has accumulated on the shingle before or after the cleaning, therefore reducing the "food" that the algae has to thrive on.

[newlook]

If I were to 2-step my chemicals and include a small ratio of Round Up in the equation, would that help with the algae? I am thinking out load here

I sometimes need to walk away from jobs because the customer has an "organic flower garden" growing around the house. We mention any chemicals and they are running for the hills. You can't agitate because of the granules on the shingles. Anybody know of a biodegradable citrus base product out there that could be used in situations like this?

[jsavoy]

Gym Rat, Nice work on the rig! What kind of battery pack are you using? Thanks Jimmy

[newlook]

I meant to say "I am thinking out loud here" -- my spelling has gone down the old shi....

[Mike Williamson]

Originally Posted by newlook

If I were to 2-step my chemicals and include a small ratio of Round Up in the equation, would that help with the algae? I am thinking out load here

I sometimes need to walk away from jobs because the customer has an "organic flower garden" growing around the house. We mention any chemicals and they are running for the hills. You can't agitate because of the granules on the shingles. Anybody know of a biodegradable citrus base product out there that could be used in situations like this?

Basically, anything that will kill the algae will kill the plants, since they're essentially the same thing...live plants. The trick is to get the chems on the roof in sufficient strength and length of time to kill the algae without getting the chems on the plants in sufficient strength and length of time to kill them at the same time. Thus the need for plenty of rinsing.

I don't think you could add enough round-up to make it effective without endangering the plants, and that stuff is expensive! What you CAN do in the case where runoff is going to be a serious problem is use a low-volume pump like a 1.0 shurflo and use a small tip (like a 4.0 or so). This will take more time, because you'll need to coat the roof more than once, but it will cause the runoff to be very limited to non-existent. I use a 4.5 tip with my 1.8 shurflo when I'm concerned about runoff in a particular area and it has worked well.

[Crownroyal]

Chemistry of Sodium Hypochlorite

Reacting chlorine and sodium hydroxide will produce Sodium Hypochlorite

Cl2 +2NaOH = NaOCL + NaCl + H2O

Chlorine + Sodium Hydroxide + Sodium Hypochlorite +
Sodium Chloride + Water

[GymRat]

Weather finally seems to be slowly breaking around here, and I was able to do two roof jobs yesterday. I have not been doing any rinse on my asphalt roofs with a 50/50 water to 12.5 sodium hypochlorite solution applied with shurflo rig. I was wondering if those who do a rinse have noticed any better results to back up the extra step. i don't rinse, and have been getting good results and my fear of rinsing is adding more damage to grass with more solution running out of the down spouts. Always trying to learn and improve.

Thanks again

PS I forgot my digital camera again. Need to tie a string or rope around my neck to remind me.