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Power Washing, Roof Cleaning -> National Softwash Alliance -> General Discussions and Conversations -> Rinsing
Post Info TOPIC: Rinsing
Fred W


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Rinsing
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waxman18324 wrote:

Doug,

Why are you rinsing roofs? Is it due to lack of gutters?

Hank

 Hank,

No gutters are a big issue here but so is the thickness of the algae.......There are times when we put two or three coats then rinse and reapply. You can keep applying but there is a point where it does no good at all until you remove (rinse) the top layer of muck.

Next is that the thickness just creates an ugly unfinished looking job. I can say "Wait til it rains" but I just can't drive away looking at that. 

We get 13.5% from Univar so I get some pretty fresh stuff most of the time. We use a 3% mix and on the real thick stuff I even bump it up a little. We shoot the thick stuff then bump it down to shoot the other sides. I do this more for plant protection than anything else.

We had soooooooo many issues with burning plants that I am also hyper paranoid. If we don't rinse we WILL have a burn line on the drip line or at the end of every single downspout and trust me.....I have bumped up and bumped down my mixes trying to find the right mix that will be effective against the algae yet not burn anything......just feels like it can't be done here.

If I bump down I put more SH on the roof because it won't cut through the algae....meaning more coats on the roof so I often bump just over that 3% mark (I get a print out from Univar showing the % and it is usually at the 13.5% mark).

I also recommend bagging the gutters but ALSO rinse from the top of the roof down (gutters only) BUT with very little water. This way you pull max chemicals off of the roof. Use very little water so that you don't overfill the bags. Now you can take the bags and clean the driveway while not risking the grass and surrounding plants around the downspouts.

The key there really is to put as little water on the roof as possible to just fill the bag and then stop. We fill the bags 5 or 6 times then rinse bottom up and overflow the bag.

No gutters means rinsing bottom to top only.

Wow, more typing then intended.....



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waxman18324


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Doug,

When you say algae are you referring to moss or black algae(gm)?

Hank

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Fred W


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Black Algae (GM). Most of the moss we have here is very small.

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Liberty SoftWash


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We never rinse.

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Eric Seitz

Liberty SoftWash

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Patrick G


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Non rinse is the way to go. When you don't rinse the roof satys algae free much longer.

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Fred W


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Patrick G wrote:

Non rinse is the way to go. When you don't rinse the roof satys algae free much longer.

 

Roof Cleaning PA wrote:

We never rinse.

 Even without gutters?

If I did that around here I'd burn everything......:}



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Eric Schnaible


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I've done both ways and I've done it a lot. It's definitely cleaner and a much nicer looking job if you rinse. Sure we could say it will look great after a rain but that sounds pretty silly when both we and the customer know it won't rain for 5 months. Also, the solution we use is a corrosive. We always rinse all metal jacks, flashing, skylights and gutters. While we are rinsing we usually end up rinsing at least the facet that is visible and generally the main concern to the homeowner. It goes a long way with customer satisfaction. Also, I'm not so sure leaving the juice makes any organics on the roof "deader". We used to say that to customers but I've been paying attention for 5 years and I don't see it. We don't rinse every job but we definitely don't have a no rinse policy.



-- Edited by Eric Schnaible on Saturday 4th of July 2015 09:30:03 PM

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waxman18324


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Doug,

We've only rinsed one roof since we started. This customer had an open house at the end of the week. 99% of the properties up here have gutters so that is not an issue for us. We do rinse out all gutters no matter where they are on the house. We carry several gutter canes, that we make ourselves, in various lengths so we can reach everything. As each property is different we handle the downspouts with various products.

Hank

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Pocono Non Pressure Roof & Exterior Cleaning, LLC

Stroudsburg, PA 18360

The Machine

Serving the Pocono and Lehigh Valley(Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, Pike and Wayne Counties), PA community as well as both Warren and Sussex Counties of New Jersey
Liberty SoftWash


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^^^^^^ what he said!

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Eric Seitz

Liberty SoftWash

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Roof Cleaner near York PA

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Fred W


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Man...........you guys have it soft. I bet you guys get manicures and everything!

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waxman18324


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Doug,

Every environment, region and market is different. What works in northeast PA might not work in Louisiana. I'd rather have heavy black algae than the carpeted moss we have here.

For the record I've only had a pedicure and manicure once. It was when I got married.

Hank

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Pocono Non Pressure Roof & Exterior Cleaning, LLC

Stroudsburg, PA 18360

The Machine

Serving the Pocono and Lehigh Valley(Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, Pike and Wayne Counties), PA community as well as both Warren and Sussex Counties of New Jersey
Liberty SoftWash


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I love mine pedicure and manicure! Just ask Ray.

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Eric Seitz

Liberty SoftWash

(717) 324-4208

Roof Cleaner near York PA

Pressure Washer PA

Power Washing Equipment
Fred W


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just pik'en at ya Hank.....:}

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waxman18324


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Doug,

Not an issue. Just some good natured fun.

Hank

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Pocono Non Pressure Roof & Exterior Cleaning, LLC

Stroudsburg, PA 18360

The Machine

Serving the Pocono and Lehigh Valley(Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, Pike and Wayne Counties), PA community as well as both Warren and Sussex Counties of New Jersey
Fred W


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I have up'ed our pricing structure for not having gutters. I used to treat them the same but no gutters takes so much longer that I just can't ignore that time. We probably only have about 35% of our homes with gutters and many of them are only partials.

We currently place trays on the ground to catch the run off.....no matter how much water we use we get burns if we don't do this. The other portion of our equation is the roof pitch's we deal with. We have a ton of roofing with a 10/12+ pitch on the front and sides. Hard to keep the Cajun Sauce on the roof with that.

I am open to any thoughts and ideas to help out and speed up production. When the sauce comes off the roof at 20 million degrees from the summer sun we just need to stop it before it touches anything at all. Recently my guys finally saw the results of leaving the plastic on too long as well. Luckily the burning wasn't that bad and we were able to just trim it off.



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John Aloisio


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Doug,

in really hot conditions you can pre wet the roof with a garden hose. Just a light misting. That will help.



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Fred W


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Thanks John, we do that and, sometimes, we also wet the roof several times before we rinse. In other words, if the roof is done and ready to be rinsed we will wet the roof but not enough to allow any run off. This way the water mixes with the SH and the sun evaporates it.......allowing less SH to be on the roof when we do rinse.

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ginty


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I have a little drainage air bag its used to smoke test drains for leaks . i lower it down down spout so far .blocking the gutter down spout . then a pipe sucks out mix from gutter then pump to the breather pipe for the toilet . or a foul drain.. you can rinse all day . a mentioned softwashing to Scottish environment protection agency. SEPA . bleach going down raw water guy was like what % is it . me it does nt go down we block and pump to foul pipe on property . well that perfectly ok then . says SEPA . a have nt told everbody here how i do it if they ask i will . learning from you guys had me thinking a lot before a sprayed anything . thank you NSWA.

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DirtyRoofcom


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doug do you have the customer run the irrigation system the night before and immediatly before you get there? this way the plants wont suck up the mix in to the roots. Youll still have to deal with the drip line

also i think the clear plastic is the cause for burning plants when you cover them. When i used to install roofing we used opaque tarps for hours and never burned a plant. Maybe look into some plastic protection that wont let sun through.

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ReNew Roof and Exterior cleaning


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We use light tarps to cover plants with. Dark on one side and the other side has a reflective coating to reflect sun and heat. Plants stay nice and cool.

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Fred W


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Thanks for all the suggestions!

Erik, We don't ask them to run the water though I really should........Any type of plastic causes the plants to get hot. My guys know they are supposed to lift and water regularly and uncover as soon as possible.....but they do forget.

Gene, I'm not sure what you mean by "light tarps". I have been thinking about using Tyvek house wrap. It does reflect heat and does not allow water through.

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ReNew Roof and Exterior cleaning


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Sorry Doug, light duty tarps. Tyvek is a good idea although expensive. I get my tarps from a local discount store. 8x10 for under 5 bucks.



-- Edited by ReNew Roof and Exterior cleaning on Saturday 11th of July 2015 10:56:58 PM

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Gene Perkins

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Maverick Contracting


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Opaque plastic which we use for lead work is the best. Clear like Erik said let's uv in and burns the plants.

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Eric Schnaible


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We use the super light painters plastic when necessary. Curl the edges under and attach to the stems of the plant with clothes pins. We prefer not to use if possible. The opaque makes sense.

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Dave O


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We did a mansard roof Friday with the mansard siding on all four sides and no gutters. We did a lot of watering before, during and after treatment.

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Fred W


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I use the painters plastic as well....then just toss it out.

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