Thanks for the video. 14 years ago in Tamp, FL. I cleaned my last roof. Did it for 6 years and loved every minute of it. Now at the ripe old age of 69 I'm back at it. I bought a trailer and soft wash kit and I'm in the process of putting it all together. Two roofs and houses to do this weekend. I love the smell of SH and mildew in the morning. The best part is the look on the client's face when I'm done, and then they give me money!
So I've only used this pressure washer one time. ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxfQauTxLT0JLSvqkq10rD79TU4k0Vz8zP The one time I used it, it worked great. I recently had new siding installed but kept the old gutters and small areas surrounding my house that weren't replaced so they looked horrible and dirty because of the new siding. I needed to get it cleaned asap. When I used the pressure washer, man it just melted all the dirt and grime that was on those areas of my house. I used that krud kutter soap and it was over after that. Easy to assemble, feels durable, very simple to use. Also, I purchased a used one to save money and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. I want to get more use out of it so I think I'll be washing the cars and update this comment as time goes on.
Thankyou for your vids and sharing your knowledge sir. I’m about to start up my own PW business. I’m going to be setting up my rig over the next few months and should be ready to go early spring. Looking forward to going into business for myself! Although time is not on my side at my age, watching and learning from you and a few others should prove to be very helpful/beneficial. Again thankyou
Hello 👋 just read this and I am starting my own company NEW ENGLAND PRESSURE CLEANING SOLUTIONS, LLC I bought a gas pump comet p40 pump, 200gal water tank, sh/soap tank on a trailer 👍
I let my clients know that I cannot rinse that day and will come back and rinse after one week if it does not rain between then just so they will feel comfortable about the roof looking better after the initial cleaning. The SH will weaken enough in that time so it doesn't do any damage to plants/grass etc. I couldn't let it go any longer looking filthy even though the organic material is dead. And it makes me feel better too.
+Chris Steward Absolutely, I do not tell them we’re going to come back if it doesn’t rain, I tell them after a couple rains if they’re not happy, we can come back out and do a little rinsing.
Was wanting to start my own pw/sw business so ur just using sh and water for the roof correct? Also just coat it and leave it ? U didn't brush off roof I noticed is that only necessary if it has alot of debris? One last thing what is best way to price?
This my next business venture after the car detailing business is able to run itself. You gave a price point and all the information anyone could ever need/use to start. Very informative and quick to the points,
Hey Mike this video was extremely helpful especially as I have just start my own soft washing business. That pump would be super helpful as it would contribute greatly. Keep these helpful videos up!
Congratulations on starting your own business Brandon! I started my soft wash roof and exterior cleaning business about 9 years ago and I love it! If you have not, I STRONGLY recommend getting some professional training from AC Lockyer with SoftWash Systems in Florida. This guy that posted this video seems to have good training and knowledge, but you'll quickly find so many of the people in the roof cleaning industry have almost zero education. They just spray and pray, so trained professionals really stand out. AC's company has done back to back $5 million dollar years, so I'd say his is the most successful roof and exterior cleaning business out there. His companies alone have cleaned in excess of 140,000 roofs, and countless house washes and such. If a mistake can be made, his company has made it, figured out a safe work around, and incorporated it into their training. You know by now that the biggest risk in roof cleaning (besides injury) is the salt content and harming plants. AC Lockyer is a college educated horticulturalist and worked in that field for 7 years before starting his roof cleaning business, so there is nobody more knowledgeable in plant protection than AC. He hired professional chemists to educate him on the chemical process, what reacts with what, what is harmful, and so on, so you'll work safer with fewer issues. A few negative reviews can really hurt a new business, so having this education is crucial for a new business. Also, having the in depth knowledge will give you a massive advantage over your competition. His full training course is about 40 hours long and it covers every aspect. I took this training and it has been invaluable in my business. I am not a great salesperson, but I can talk circles around my competition and it is very apparent to my customers who has the real training and knowledge to work on their roof safely with the least risk of damage. I've had customers tell me the passed over people charging nearly half my quote because they could tell I really know what I was doing and I was able to communicate in an intelligent manner. Chemicals, laws, safety, how to run a successful business, road rules, how to manage the work and customers, it is all in there. Once trained, you'll be able to point out to potential customers that there is no licensing required for roof cleaning, so many are untrained and simply watched videos and read information on forums before starting their business, where you can easily come across as very educated in the field and win so many more customers it will easily pay for the training. After the classes I bought the full training course and watch 100% of the videos every year just to freshen up on things that I may have forgotten and to keep little used terms fresh in my mind. There is another roof cleaning training company in Florida, but it is run by an ex-convict. He has a forum that I used to go to on occasion until I did a search on my company and saw several references to his forum page, which all made sense. However, when I clicked the links (multiple links, and they all did the same thing) instead of taking you to the forum post or my information, it took me to his direct company website, which if I lived and worked in Florida would have been stealing customers looking for MY company. That is quite an underhanded tactic so i stopped going to that forum. There are several other reasons I do not suggest his training. One being he doesn't follow proper OSHA guidelines such as safety harnesses. I think the first fine for not having proper safety equipment from OSHA is $125,000, and they are less forgiving if you have an employee working on a roof without safety gear because an employee should be able to trust their employer is following the proper laws to keep them safe. I'd also recommend a 5.5 GPM pump over a 7.5 GPM pump. I can more easily manage the spray with the 5.5 GPM and I have much less runoff, and because of this I can work faster with the 5.5 GPM pump. My buddy that has been cleaning roofs for 20 years doesn't really like the 7.5 GPM pumps either for the same reason. I also recommend the highest pressure pump you can buy in the 12 volt electric pump range. You don't use the pressure to clean, but I've come across a lot of roofs that due to the pitch and design of the house, they just have areas that are really difficult or impossible to reach. I use pressure washing extension wands at times, but the higher pressure from the pump will give you several extra feet of reach on a stream tip and make spraying difficult areas easier. Once you become more successful you can afford a nice graphite extension pole and tip so you can spray from a tip at the end of the pole 25-35 feet away and more easily reach these areas, but until then, extension wands and higher pressure pumps will extend your reach. And remember, if you want to be successful in any career, the better educated you are, the more successful you will be! Since I took the training, the only person in my area that can hold there own is my buddy who also took the same training, although he didn't buy the extended course so I still provide him with information updates as we talk from time to time, and this is the guy that has been cleaning roofs for about 20 years. Also, buy the highest rated battery you can get. Batteries last longer when they are discharged less per use, so having a higher amp hour battery means the same job will deplete the battery less, and the battery will last longer. When you buy your batteries, they are usually rated with something like an "A" for January, "B" for February and so on, and a number indicating the year the battery was built. As batteries sit they discharge, and then the sulfur in the acid bonds with the plates and then that section of plate is essentially dead. They have smart chargers that can run a desulfate process, but the longer the sulfation lasts, the harder it becomes and the less likely it is to come off the plate, so look through every battery on the rack and find the newest battery you can find. Or if possible, buy a dry battery where they add the acid when you purchase the battery for the best result. Always charge your battery as promptly as you can when the job/day is done to extend the life of the battery. There are only 3 battery builders and they are resold under many names and warranties, and they rate the amp hours differently so the exact same battery may show higher if they "tweak" how they rate the amp hours of the battery. If you grow your company to be very successful, they make Stealth Chargers that recharge your batteries while you drive from job to job from the alternator. If you become really successful, AC Lockyer sells extremely top of the line spray equipment, but it is not cheap, but it is pretty much the absolute best and it will make your truck/equipment look nice and give the appearance of an awesome company! Although AC doesn't own a franchise or sell pieces of a franchised company, owning his equipment can bring you more work. If one of his trained people land a job with Exxon to clean their gas station roofs or other items in Portland, as an "in network" company, you can pick up local Exxon work based off the work done by someone in Portland or elsewhere. Best of luck!
@@Troy-Echo see how NOBODY like or responds to your excessive rambling, even the original poster doesn’t like or comment, quit trying to take over this dudes page with your pushy salesman mentality
@@AnthonyBrown-mk2qc Thanks Anthony! You're insulting, mind numbing rant has made me change how I live my life! I'll go forth and do great things now I bet now that I've been properly chastised. Oh, and this poster has many videos and we have had conversations on several of his threads and we get along just fine. He has liked and hearted some of my comments and appreciated my feedback. So apparently someone does like my excessive rambling, and this is still a free country. I'm free to ramble all I want and share advice all I want, and you're free to skip my posts, or read them and complain that they are long. If your reading comprehension isn't high enough to take it in all in one reading session, breaking it down into manageable parts. Or skip, either is fine with me, but your rant won't change my desire to provide people information or comments that I feel can make new people successful, and experienced professionals potentially better, safer or more profitable. Roof cleaning is a good business when done correctly, and safety is paramount. If you review the top 10 most dangerous professions in the USA, work that requires constantly getting on a roof has ranked #3 to #4 over the past 10 years based on the number of deaths per 100,000 employees. If I can share information to help save someone's life, or prevent them from serious injury, I'm going to do it. And no rectal orifice posting an insulting comment is going to stop me or even slow me down. When you have something knowledgeable or helpful to contribute to the thread, please do, until then, I have no need to explain myself to you further.
Hey Mike, appreciate all the videos. 2 questions for you. I’m in Florida and it rains a lot, if I land a roof job on a day it’s supposed to rain later. Can I spray chem in the morning? My second question is what hose reel would you recommend for a 250ft 1/2 inch soft wash line? Thank you again for the information!
+Ricky Jaeger There are different opinions on this, typically a day would be best without rain, but if you do it in the morning and it doesn't rain until later in the afternoon, the SH has time to dry and do its job and will be ok I would check with SouthEast Softwash - we have their reel deal hose reels ans love them
I have a tan shingle roof that I use SH on it. it didn’t come clean like your video I had to go and pressure wash to get it all the way clean took me hours. I wanna know what I was doing wrong I wish I could show you pictures or video of what I had going on Do you have a different method with different colors shingles?
Nice video. My son is looking to get in the business in N. Carolina. Why not rinse after cleaning? Does the chemical kill plants? Do you have licenses needed for the business? Thanks.
If caught early enough, how much more life could you get out of a roof by properly maintaining it ? I’m a full turn hvac tech and im starting my own business in Jan. Thanks for the vid!
Great video. Question from a noob, Any reason for me to keep my xjet over building a budget 12v softwash system? I just got it in the mail and all I can think of is the softwash can do everything the xjet can do and better and more things like roofs instead of carrying a bucket or connecting to a backpack sprayer. Also, Can a 5.5gpm softwash pump let me connect long hose and just use that? Seems like that might be a better way to go and I should send the xjet back or am I wrong?
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Thank you so much for responding. I've learned a lot from you. Can't wait to get the how to wash coarse. I bought the contract pdf. And it is amazing!
Hey im trying to do some research on this line of work because i want to start my own buissnes doing this, on the roof aspect of washing do you just apply the chemical and leave it like that or do you take your pressure washer to rinse it all away. My knowledge in this is none .
N95 is the lowest rated mask you should wear. If you spray and find yourself coughing, it's most likely the result of the chemical gas released in the process of the chemical reaction during the cleaning. If you have a good breeze you will be OK most of the time, but as a general rule, roof cleaners should wear a mask all the time. If you don't, now when the weather is cool is the best time to start so you train your body to adjust to the additional heat incurred by wearing a mask. Also, you should overhydrate the day before a hot job. In cool weather it's not a big deal, but when you're in 100 degree weather standing on a roof that is black asphalt with black stains, the roof and air is much hotter (probably 130-140ish), so you need to train your body to do this versus just throwing on a mask in the middle of summer.
@@timexkills65 honest truth. I would have real bad cramps. It had to be from the bleach because since I posted that comment I wear one now and have not had that issue again
I dont mean to ask a simple question, but why wasn’t the roof pre rinsed and rinsed after the SH was applied as I’ve seen in your previous videos? Thank you, Sir.
Hi, I have a contract cleaning business down here and I am looking at expanding our scope of work to cover water storage tanks cleaning. Unfortunately most of these tanks are installed on rooftop, sometimes up to 70m high. We intend to use rotary impingement technology nozzles to do this cleaning, but our challenge is getting hot water delivered from a truck downstairs to this height at about 30L/m flow rate and pressure of at least 1500psi. Do you have any recommendations for setup or pump that can achieve this? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
+Cary Johnson that is something that we do not have in the southeast - I know that some guys will increase their mix to around 6% to kill it. It also depends on the roofing material - folks over in England have to deal with that a lot more and it is significantly more labor intensive
@@KC4RYJ im in the pacific north west and we get lots and LOTS OF MOSS... and to be honest it really up to you. There are pros and cons for everything. Pros: removing moss with a brush will make it infinitevely better end result. Cons: Takes alot more labour (time) and you gonna have some sore shoulders arms Pros: not brushing the moss off will be way way quicker to get the job done Cons: end result is not as nice and more importantly you will use alot more chemical as you really have to saturate the moss to kill it which can open a van of worms with chemical cost and you can run into big issues with plant/vegetation damage
+jeffery measles When we use a Surfactant, we use southern drawl from SoutheastSoftwash, it does an outstanding job. As far as rinsing roofs, it all depends on the roof.
Very nice video! Thanks! Question: I have rain barrels on my downspouts, which I plan on disconnecting before the roof cleaning. If the SH solution is left on the roof, when will it be safe to reconnect the barrels? Or, do you recommend rinsing the roof before reconnecting them?
@@AllAboutPressureWashing so... the bleach is not a problem after an hour or a couple days? I'm getting mixed messages. I don't want my gutters to rust out because I got bad information.
great video...I just did I roof today and it was a redo from yesterday. i tried doing the roof from ground and ladders and it just was not coming out good. I could not tell how much chem I was getting in certain areas then I noticed I was blowing through my SH (also had my surfactant on 1 on the dial and it hardly pulled anything from the tank no wonder I could not see any soap up there). I was running 50/50 mix ....So I cut back and the roof just did not come out great and I rinsed it all. So i went back today. Actually walked the roof and tried it that way. Set my surfactant on little over 2 and was applying it well all along the house. Then I did not realize until I was done I still blew through alot of chem and my surfactant was sucked dry...so again my helper did not pay attention .....Sorry for all the info....question is how much SH do you usually use on 3000 ft roof? How much surfactant....(currently I use Napco surfactant and I fill up 5 gal with 4.5 gal water the add 1/2 gal surfactant..then set my proportioner on low setting? are you nervous if you paint your self into corner and have to walk on the freshly sprayed roof..( ever get slippery up there? Do you spray form top down? I was nervous about slipping if I walked on the parts I sprayed.
Some roofs are nastier than others and require multiple applications. I would increase the SH not the surfactant if you need multiple coats to clean it. That is normal. It can get slippery, start from the top and work your way down. I’m about to do a video on roof cleaning with a new tool- I’m pretty stoked so stay tuned and subscribe!
Generally I use a store brand surfactant called "Kling-on" and SoftWash Systems Green Wash which has a catalyst so I can use less bleach and get the same effect. How much I spray depends on how badly stained the roof is. A lightly stained roof for example may take 15 gallons of SH, but that same roof with bad stains and moss and lichen could take 25-30 gallons of SH. The Green Wash is enough for me on all walkable surfaces, but I add some Kling-On (basically Roof-Snot) when I am working on steeper pitches so I have less runoff. You'll learn how much you need as you get more experience. You see many people flooding the roof which creates a lot of runoff which is not the best way to spray. It wastes chemicals and increases cost and increases risk to killing plants and getting bad reviews. I try to spray light...or as heavy as I can right up to the point I start getting runs. A friend of mine told me once he tells his employees to treat it like a video game. See how much mix you can get on the roof without having runs coming down to the gutter. Presented like that, it made a difference for his crews. Basically, if the stain has changed color, it is dead and rain will rinse away the dead bacteria. If there is ANY black left in the stain, let the mix set and if that is not enough, apply another coat and allow it to soak in until the color has changed, or you'll get a return call. I'm a bit OCD and when I have spots that have changed and are brown, I'll usually put a light coat on these as I'm about to come off the roof for good measure. It's maybe $2-$3 worth of product, but I've never had to go back and do a touch up after I complete a job. It's worth a few dollars and a few minutes to be 100% sure I won't have to make a special trip to the customers roof, break out my hoses and ladders to do 5-10 minutes of work. If you want to do a test, look up the "Pro-Portioner" on the Pressure Wash Store (or similar name) and they have a video where they took (3) 5 gallon jugs and marked them so they could tell how much water, soap and bleach was being pulled through. You can open your sewer line (if on city sewers) and spray water, soap and bleach down that pipe near your how without any issues as a test so when you reach the customers house, you know you're not blowing through tons of surfactant. It's just a learning curve when you move away from single batch mixing.
@@failmulisha9839Certainly. Because one of the billions of random people on UA-cam told me to stop, I'll quit immediately. I'm so sorry I spoke up. Please though, fill in the gaps with your personal education and experience on the topic. I'd love to hear your educated post.
I am working on setting up a new softwash trailer. I am trying to decide what size tanks to get for the SH and soap. I have a 300gal crated tank for a water buffer tank and have built a proportioner. Do you think an 8 gallon would be good for the soap and 26 gallon for the SH? I know bigger is better but I am just starting out and dang tanks are expensive!
Shane Weaver Shane, Channel if you have not already. If it all possible, I would go with a larger tank for the sodium hypochlorite if at all possible because I know you will want it eventually. The 8 gallon is sufficient for soap or even better just use a 5 gallon bucket for now and save for a bigger SH tank. Good luck
a 50 gallon tank would be good for SH, or if you stay busy and do a lot of roofs, a 100 gallon tank may be better if there is room on the trailer. It depends on how far away you are from your store where you buy bleach. Also look into bleach distributors if you grow to a point you rent a building. You can get better rates on bleach buying direct if you use enough. Pat Clark in South Carolina was saving more money on bleach cost each month than he was paying to rent the building he was in when I was last down his way. Also, do not go over 120 gallons for a bleach tank. It doesn't matter if you are carrying 15% SH or 0.5% SH, if you hit 120 gallons I think you're required to have a CDL and a tanker endorsement, so keep the amount of bleach (in any concentration) below 120 gallons. When you mount your spray pump, put the pump head at the bottom and the motor at the top. If you ever get a leak, you can replace the spray head or repair it, but if you leak into the electric engine, you'll ruin it and have to buy an entirely new pump. Also do all your tank penetrations and bulkheads on the TOP of the tank. If you penetrate the bottom of the tank and get a leak, you can create a large dead spot in a customers lawn, or leak into the storm sewer which is an EPA Clean Water Act violation that could be costly if someone wanted to press the issue.
I've yet to see a video where there's like 2" of moss and it looks like you need a lawn mower to clean it. That's all I get up here in Washington. Love to see a video on one of those.
Sodium Hypochlorite (SH) is bleach. We buy 12.5% and dilute it about 50/50 in our big tanks and either Downstream when pressure washing or use a proportioner when soft washing.
hi I usually remove the moss with a brush and blow the ceiling and clean the gutters and put moss kiler powder on top .. .. to do your step I would have to first do everything I usually do skipping the step of applying the powder and then apply the soft wash method?
I'm assuming you're in the Pacific Northwest? That area is notoriously bad for moss because everything is damp all the time which promotes the growth of the Gloeocapsa Magma stains, moss, lichen and other types of fungus. I have an associate that works near Portland, OR and owns ALL-CLEAN SoftWash and he has posted some amazing photos of moss covered roofs there. One was so bad that the first photo was zoomed in enough so you could not see the outer edges of the roof and it looked like a forest floor. It was NUTS! And since it wasn't my own roof, it was kind of hysterically funny to me too. He sent me another photo where moss outlined every single tab of a 3-tab shingle roof like it was somebody's art project. It is best not to brush an asphalt roof, but in situations like these, a gentle brushing is OK so you can remove some of the moss. There are over 10,000 species of moss, and some will release with just the pressure of a leaf blower, where others may need slight pressure with a brush, and other species have root systems that burrow deep into the asphalt and you'll rub with a brush and damage the shingles before they release. So keep it gentle, and if the moss doesn't want to come off easy, spray it and kill it, and allow mother nature and time to wear it away. That's the safest and best way to maximize the remaining service life of the roof. Put that in your sales pitch. Those stains, moss and lichen didn't appear overnight, and they will not go away overnight without causing serious damage to the roof. If the homeowner insists you try to brush away or use water pressure to remove the moss or lichen, refuse to do it unless they sign a waiver where you tell them it is a harmful practice and the homeowner will not hold you liable for any damages you cause by following these procedures. Most people back off at this step, unless they are selling the house at which point they do not care about the long term results. Sellers just want the cheapest and fastest clean possible and don't seem to care about what the next owner faces as long as they can sell the house for as much as possible as fast as possible. Also charge more if you have to take the extra time to do extra steps.
I don't rinse roofs with gutters, but a roof with no gutters, I'll rinse a minimum of 4 feet up, and the steeper the pitch, the higher I rinse. This is because overnight the dew will set in and reactivate the bleach and it will contain a high concentration of salt from the bleach. This can drip over the edge of the roof and create a thin dead line in the plants below. Or you can get a VERY light rain that will rinse a little salt off the roof as mentioned above, but not be enough rain to rinse the salt off the plants. The leaves will absorb the salt and damage the plant. Some plants are VERY sensitive to bleach/salt and you can easily kill them, where others are fairly hardy. So I rinse in these situations so if heavy dew or light rain happen, it won't be enough to put salt on the plants below. If the plant absorbs the bleach/salt and all the leaves fall off, the plant will most likely recover in
If you have a lot of runoff (Steeper roofs will have more run off), then you should wet everything down before hand. Wash the roof, and then spray everything down again to wash away any chemicals that may have gotten anywhere
Hi i have a question ,when doing roof washing is recomended to pre wet or actually it is not very good because it dilutes the mix ,i was told you do ,but i see on the vidio yiu just spray it on it with ou pre wet the entire roof
+Nery Albanez You should pre-wet all of the vegetation around the property, not necessarily the roof unless it is unbelievably hot that day. Which was not the case the video you just watch.
+David Very rarely do we use surfactants, if the roof pitch is not significant, there's really no need. The purpose of a soap or surfactant is to allow the chemical to clean, this is only needed really in my opinion when doing very steep roofs. We do not use a Surfactant when we're doing house washes.
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Hey, I'm not sure if you use them or not, but check out the Orbitz line of garden hose nozzles. You may be able to find them online, but I know they are sold at Lowe's. They have multlpe settings and a thumb control so you don't have to squeeze a water handle for hours on end, and they boast a 20% great GPM flow than other nozzles. They also make a larger fireman style spray nozzle similar to the Underhill nozzles. My buddy has one and I like it, but I've not found one myself yet.
#satisfying #satisfyingvideo
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What is the correct name for that spray nozzle? Can't find where to buy it. Need help getting this.
Thanks for the video. 14 years ago in Tamp, FL. I cleaned my last roof. Did it for 6 years and loved every minute of it. Now at the ripe old age of 69 I'm back at it. I bought a trailer and soft wash kit and I'm in the process of putting it all together. Two roofs and houses to do this weekend. I love the smell of SH and mildew in the morning. The best part is the look on the client's face when I'm done, and then they give me money!
That is awesome and WELCOME BACK!
I am 69 and just starting.
💪
🔥🔥🫡
Just checking in man. How’s things going??
So I've only used this pressure washer one time. ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxfQauTxLT0JLSvqkq10rD79TU4k0Vz8zP The one time I used it, it worked great. I recently had new siding installed but kept the old gutters and small areas surrounding my house that weren't replaced so they looked horrible and dirty because of the new siding. I needed to get it cleaned asap. When I used the pressure washer, man it just melted all the dirt and grime that was on those areas of my house. I used that krud kutter soap and it was over after that. Easy to assemble, feels durable, very simple to use. Also, I purchased a used one to save money and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. I want to get more use out of it so I think I'll be washing the cars and update this comment as time goes on.
That doesn't work
Where did you get that solar panel from? Love the set up
Do you rinse the roof after treating it?
Sometimes
Thankyou for your vids and sharing your knowledge sir. I’m about to start up my own PW business. I’m going to be setting up my rig over the next few months and should be ready to go early spring. Looking forward to going into business for myself! Although time is not on my side at my age, watching and learning from you and a few others should prove to be very helpful/beneficial. Again thankyou
Good luck to you and keep watching! Make sure to subscribe to the channel so you can get notified when we do the pump giveaway
Hello 👋 just read this and I am starting my own company NEW ENGLAND PRESSURE CLEANING SOLUTIONS, LLC
I bought a gas pump comet p40 pump, 200gal water tank, sh/soap tank on a trailer 👍
I let my clients know that I cannot rinse that day and will come back and rinse after one week if it does not rain between then just so they will feel comfortable about the roof looking better after the initial cleaning. The SH will weaken enough in that time so it doesn't do any damage to plants/grass etc. I couldn't let it go any longer looking filthy even though the organic material is dead. And it makes me feel better too.
+Chris Steward Absolutely, I do not tell them we’re going to come back if it doesn’t rain, I tell them after a couple rains if they’re not happy, we can come back out and do a little rinsing.
Was wanting to start my own pw/sw business so ur just using sh and water for the roof correct? Also just coat it and leave it ? U didn't brush off roof I noticed is that only necessary if it has alot of debris? One last thing what is best way to price?
Do you cover up the plants below when spraying chemical? Or the chemical is no damage to plants?
Definitely should be covered, those chemicals are meant to kill moss
What product should be used on slate roofs? Any difference in applying product to slate roof vs asphalt shingle?
This my next business venture after the car detailing business is able to run itself. You gave a price point and all the information anyone could ever need/use to start. Very informative and quick to the points,
What’s your service area
Awesome job, do you rinse after applying a hot mix 6% SH?
Yes we do
What, specifically, is the nozzle you’re using? Is it just a Ryobi twist?
Yes
Thank you for the video, how many gallons of SH did you have to buy for the batch, and how many gallons of the batch did you make?
I’m always watching your vids late night before I go to bed, even if they are 3-5 years olds
+David Moore thank you - hope they help and don't just put you to sleep 😆
Creepy
great video. Clear, concise. thumbs up
Thank you
Should you rinse the roof during summer when no rain is expected?
Hey Mike this video was extremely helpful especially as I have just start my own soft washing business. That pump would be super helpful as it would contribute greatly. Keep these helpful videos up!
Brandon, Thanks and congrats on starting your business, good luck! Make sure to subscribe so you are eligible to win the Softwash pump!
Congratulations on starting your own business Brandon! I started my soft wash roof and exterior cleaning business about 9 years ago and I love it! If you have not, I STRONGLY recommend getting some professional training from AC Lockyer with SoftWash Systems in Florida. This guy that posted this video seems to have good training and knowledge, but you'll quickly find so many of the people in the roof cleaning industry have almost zero education. They just spray and pray, so trained professionals really stand out. AC's company has done back to back $5 million dollar years, so I'd say his is the most successful roof and exterior cleaning business out there. His companies alone have cleaned in excess of 140,000 roofs, and countless house washes and such. If a mistake can be made, his company has made it, figured out a safe work around, and incorporated it into their training. You know by now that the biggest risk in roof cleaning (besides injury) is the salt content and harming plants. AC Lockyer is a college educated horticulturalist and worked in that field for 7 years before starting his roof cleaning business, so there is nobody more knowledgeable in plant protection than AC. He hired professional chemists to educate him on the chemical process, what reacts with what, what is harmful, and so on, so you'll work safer with fewer issues. A few negative reviews can really hurt a new business, so having this education is crucial for a new business. Also, having the in depth knowledge will give you a massive advantage over your competition. His full training course is about 40 hours long and it covers every aspect. I took this training and it has been invaluable in my business. I am not a great salesperson, but I can talk circles around my competition and it is very apparent to my customers who has the real training and knowledge to work on their roof safely with the least risk of damage. I've had customers tell me the passed over people charging nearly half my quote because they could tell I really know what I was doing and I was able to communicate in an intelligent manner. Chemicals, laws, safety, how to run a successful business, road rules, how to manage the work and customers, it is all in there. Once trained, you'll be able to point out to potential customers that there is no licensing required for roof cleaning, so many are untrained and simply watched videos and read information on forums before starting their business, where you can easily come across as very educated in the field and win so many more customers it will easily pay for the training. After the classes I bought the full training course and watch 100% of the videos every year just to freshen up on things that I may have forgotten and to keep little used terms fresh in my mind. There is another roof cleaning training company in Florida, but it is run by an ex-convict. He has a forum that I used to go to on occasion until I did a search on my company and saw several references to his forum page, which all made sense. However, when I clicked the links (multiple links, and they all did the same thing) instead of taking you to the forum post or my information, it took me to his direct company website, which if I lived and worked in Florida would have been stealing customers looking for MY company. That is quite an underhanded tactic so i stopped going to that forum. There are several other reasons I do not suggest his training. One being he doesn't follow proper OSHA guidelines such as safety harnesses. I think the first fine for not having proper safety equipment from OSHA is $125,000, and they are less forgiving if you have an employee working on a roof without safety gear because an employee should be able to trust their employer is following the proper laws to keep them safe.
I'd also recommend a 5.5 GPM pump over a 7.5 GPM pump. I can more easily manage the spray with the 5.5 GPM and I have much less runoff, and because of this I can work faster with the 5.5 GPM pump. My buddy that has been cleaning roofs for 20 years doesn't really like the 7.5 GPM pumps either for the same reason. I also recommend the highest pressure pump you can buy in the 12 volt electric pump range. You don't use the pressure to clean, but I've come across a lot of roofs that due to the pitch and design of the house, they just have areas that are really difficult or impossible to reach. I use pressure washing extension wands at times, but the higher pressure from the pump will give you several extra feet of reach on a stream tip and make spraying difficult areas easier. Once you become more successful you can afford a nice graphite extension pole and tip so you can spray from a tip at the end of the pole 25-35 feet away and more easily reach these areas, but until then, extension wands and higher pressure pumps will extend your reach. And remember, if you want to be successful in any career, the better educated you are, the more successful you will be! Since I took the training, the only person in my area that can hold there own is my buddy who also took the same training, although he didn't buy the extended course so I still provide him with information updates as we talk from time to time, and this is the guy that has been cleaning roofs for about 20 years. Also, buy the highest rated battery you can get. Batteries last longer when they are discharged less per use, so having a higher amp hour battery means the same job will deplete the battery less, and the battery will last longer. When you buy your batteries, they are usually rated with something like an "A" for January, "B" for February and so on, and a number indicating the year the battery was built. As batteries sit they discharge, and then the sulfur in the acid bonds with the plates and then that section of plate is essentially dead. They have smart chargers that can run a desulfate process, but the longer the sulfation lasts, the harder it becomes and the less likely it is to come off the plate, so look through every battery on the rack and find the newest battery you can find. Or if possible, buy a dry battery where they add the acid when you purchase the battery for the best result. Always charge your battery as promptly as you can when the job/day is done to extend the life of the battery. There are only 3 battery builders and they are resold under many names and warranties, and they rate the amp hours differently so the exact same battery may show higher if they "tweak" how they rate the amp hours of the battery. If you grow your company to be very successful, they make Stealth Chargers that recharge your batteries while you drive from job to job from the alternator. If you become really successful, AC Lockyer sells extremely top of the line spray equipment, but it is not cheap, but it is pretty much the absolute best and it will make your truck/equipment look nice and give the appearance of an awesome company! Although AC doesn't own a franchise or sell pieces of a franchised company, owning his equipment can bring you more work. If one of his trained people land a job with Exxon to clean their gas station roofs or other items in Portland, as an "in network" company, you can pick up local Exxon work based off the work done by someone in Portland or elsewhere.
Best of luck!
@@Troy-Echo see how NOBODY like or responds to your excessive rambling, even the original poster doesn’t like or comment, quit trying to take over this dudes page with your pushy salesman mentality
@@AnthonyBrown-mk2qc Thanks Anthony! You're insulting, mind numbing rant has made me change how I live my life! I'll go forth and do great things now I bet now that I've been properly chastised. Oh, and this poster has many videos and we have had conversations on several of his threads and we get along just fine. He has liked and hearted some of my comments and appreciated my feedback. So apparently someone does like my excessive rambling, and this is still a free country. I'm free to ramble all I want and share advice all I want, and you're free to skip my posts, or read them and complain that they are long. If your reading comprehension isn't high enough to take it in all in one reading session, breaking it down into manageable parts. Or skip, either is fine with me, but your rant won't change my desire to provide people information or comments that I feel can make new people successful, and experienced professionals potentially better, safer or more profitable. Roof cleaning is a good business when done correctly, and safety is paramount. If you review the top 10 most dangerous professions in the USA, work that requires constantly getting on a roof has ranked #3 to #4 over the past 10 years based on the number of deaths per 100,000 employees. If I can share information to help save someone's life, or prevent them from serious injury, I'm going to do it. And no rectal orifice posting an insulting comment is going to stop me or even slow me down. When you have something knowledgeable or helpful to contribute to the thread, please do, until then, I have no need to explain myself to you further.
@@Troy-Echo good try but you lost me at "salesman". Lol
Hey Mike, appreciate all the videos. 2 questions for you. I’m in Florida and it rains a lot, if I land a roof job on a day it’s supposed to rain later. Can I spray chem in the morning? My second question is what hose reel would you recommend for a 250ft 1/2 inch soft wash line? Thank you again for the information!
+Ricky Jaeger There are different opinions on this, typically a day would be best without rain, but if you do it in the morning and it doesn't rain until later in the afternoon, the SH has time to dry and do its job and will be ok
I would check with SouthEast Softwash - we have their reel deal hose reels ans love them
I have a tan shingle roof that I use SH on it. it didn’t come clean like your video I had to go and pressure wash to get it all the way clean took me hours. I wanna know what I was doing wrong I wish I could show you pictures or video of what I had going on Do you have a different method with different colors shingles?
What percentage of SH and how did you put it on
Awesome video thanks. I’m in Arizona and we never get rain should I rinse after applying Chems? If so how to deal with the run off?
I would think you would need to do some rinsing . You will need to water the vegetation where run off occurs - perhaps use a bleach neutralizer
Hey Mike, what do u do if the roof don’t got gutters
Wash it, protect the property below, lots of watering
So by washing your roof do you in fact cause more damage by expediting granule loss. I don’t know so that’s why I’m asking?
+Northeast Indiana Roofing LLC nope. No granule loss. Less pressure used than rain
Just out of curiosity, do you ever blow the roof clean first? Not worth it?
+Walter Eismann if there is a bunch of debris( pine needles or leaves ) they will blow it off for sure. If it’s just a few needles - no.
How does moss consume oil? I am fascinated by this science and believe it may change the world.
what if it doesn't rain a lot where you are at? Im from CA so should I just rinse off after applying?
Do you rinse the the house after you apply the chemical, or is it the same technique with the roof?
Tes
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Thanks Broski
You got it
@@kvartekmedia
Hey I know this is a pretty old video and not sure if you remember what I'm about to ask, but ratio of mix were you using? Was it a 50/50 or 70/20 ?
Likely 4%
I just purchased a gx160. How many GPM is it?
Is the surfactant mixed in with the bleach? I only saw two lines in the proportioner.
How is the 7.0 GPM pump?
That extra tip was SICK BRO!
what was your percent you used with the chemical? did you just adjust it from the 3 way valve thingy?
Wait 9 mins and he doesnt explain percentage?
Nice video. My son is looking to get in the business in N. Carolina. Why not rinse after cleaning? Does the chemical kill plants? Do you have licenses needed for the business? Thanks.
If caught early enough, how much more life could you get out of a roof by properly maintaining it ? I’m a full turn hvac tech and im starting my own business in Jan. Thanks for the vid!
Thanks can you advise what size ag hose you used and how long?
Great video. Question from a noob, Any reason for me to keep my xjet over building a budget 12v softwash system? I just got it in the mail and all I can think of is the softwash can do everything the xjet can do and better and more things like roofs instead of carrying a bucket or connecting to a backpack sprayer.
Also, Can a 5.5gpm softwash pump let me connect long hose and just use that? Seems like that might be a better way to go and I should send the xjet back or am I wrong?
We dont use xjets and most roofs require a stronger mix
If batch mixing just curious how much water would a roof like this go through. Example would a 70 gallon tank work
Question
Why no rinse after? Thank you
It really is dependent on the roof and the forecast
I was wondering if you had a link to your before and after pictures for sale
+ian fraser yes d1aettbyeyfilo.cloudfront.net/thecommission/22553747_1631635439063GMB_pack-20210908T214658Z-001.zip
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Thank you so much for responding. I've learned a lot from you. Can't wait to get the how to wash coarse. I bought the contract pdf. And it is amazing!
Hi Mike, What do you like to use on cedar roof? Is there something better then SH?
What are the chemicals call and where do you buy them
+Eric Reyes Sodium hypochlorite, we buy them from a pressure washing supply house, but you can get them at the pool supply store.
Hey im trying to do some research on this line of work because i want to start my own buissnes doing this, on the roof aspect of washing do you just apply the chemical and leave it like that or do you take your pressure washer to rinse it all away. My knowledge in this is none .
+Brayan Hernandez depends on the roof.
How long can it go waiting on rain? Nice info
+Dick Guzinya it can stay on for as long as it takes for the next rain
Why don't you rinse it off?
What was the proportions ?
Awesome job!! Very informative I’m in the process of opening my own business,so all tips are gonna help a lot👍🏻
Hi. , what is the exact formula ? Sodium Hydroxide is what comes with the pool chlorine correct? If not , where would I buy it ? Thanks
What’s that price for everything or just the roof
What is that on the right side of the pump? Is it capped off?
+KG Outdoor Solutions it's a 90 degree elbow that goes through a hole in the bottom of box
How much SH (in gallons) did you use on that job? I’m trying to figure out how much SH needs to be purchased for roof jobs
No idea - was years ago
Love your videos.
Sure would like to see you wear a respirator when shooting hot chem.
Thank you.
I'm about to start wearing one myself because everytime I do a roof the next day I got a banging headache and my muscle spaz out.
N95 is the lowest rated mask you should wear. If you spray and find yourself coughing, it's most likely the result of the chemical gas released in the process of the chemical reaction during the cleaning. If you have a good breeze you will be OK most of the time, but as a general rule, roof cleaners should wear a mask all the time. If you don't, now when the weather is cool is the best time to start so you train your body to adjust to the additional heat incurred by wearing a mask. Also, you should overhydrate the day before a hot job. In cool weather it's not a big deal, but when you're in 100 degree weather standing on a roof that is black asphalt with black stains, the roof and air is much hotter (probably 130-140ish), so you need to train your body to do this versus just throwing on a mask in the middle of summer.
@@user-fc4ne9le5f what🥶🥶
@@timexkills65 honest truth. I would have real bad cramps. It had to be from the bleach because since I posted that comment I wear one now and have not had that issue again
I dont mean to ask a simple question, but why wasn’t the roof pre rinsed and rinsed after the SH was applied as I’ve seen in your previous videos? Thank you, Sir.
Same question.
Hi,
I have a contract cleaning business down here and I am looking at expanding our scope of work to cover water storage tanks cleaning.
Unfortunately most of these tanks are installed on rooftop, sometimes up to 70m high. We intend to use rotary impingement technology nozzles to do this cleaning, but our challenge is getting hot water delivered from a truck downstairs to this height at about 30L/m flow rate and pressure of at least 1500psi.
Do you have any recommendations for setup or pump that can achieve this?
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
If you have a roof that is covered with moss and mold do you sweep it off first or just treat it several times?
+Cary Johnson that is something that we do not have in the southeast - I know that some guys will increase their mix to around 6% to kill it. It also depends on the roofing material - folks over in England have to deal with that a lot more and it is significantly more labor intensive
Thank you.
@@KC4RYJ im in the pacific north west and we get lots and LOTS OF MOSS... and to be honest it really up to you. There are pros and cons for everything.
Pros: removing moss with a brush will make it infinitevely better end result.
Cons: Takes alot more labour (time) and you gonna have some sore shoulders arms
Pros: not brushing the moss off will be way way quicker to get the job done
Cons: end result is not as nice and more importantly you will use alot more chemical as you really have to saturate the moss to kill it which can open a van of worms with chemical cost and you can run into big issues with plant/vegetation damage
Thank you for the info, I was wondering what is your SH %, and if you could go more in depth on why you do not rinse.
are you using the 5.5 or 7 gallon pump on this video? - (Everflo EF5500-BOX 5.5GPM OR Everflo EF7000-7.0 GPM).
This is what I want to upgrade to but it looks so complicated with the valves and all that and how to get the right mix
Did you use a surfactant? If say you lived in an area without alot of rain would you rinse the roof?
+jeffery measles When we use a Surfactant, we use southern drawl from SoutheastSoftwash, it does an outstanding job. As far as rinsing roofs, it all depends on the roof.
+jeffery measles I have made several videos on roof cleaning, definitely check them out.
@@AllAboutPressureWashing gotcha. So does it need to rain to be affective? I'm in socal where it hardly rains
@@AllAboutPressureWashing I'll definitely check them out! Thanks for the great videos
It does not need rain to be affective, the chemical does the work, if you do not have a lot of rain, you are probably going to want to rinse.
Can this be done with a pressure washer and a downstream?
+David Reyes not really
Xjet is about the only way you can come close.
@@AllAboutPressureWashing wrong, do it all the time
Thanks for sharing
My pleasure
Very nice video! Thanks!
Question: I have rain barrels on my downspouts, which I plan on disconnecting before the roof cleaning. If the SH solution is left on the roof, when will it be safe to reconnect the barrels? Or, do you recommend rinsing the roof before reconnecting them?
I would wait a couple days - bleach degrades over time
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Awesome, thank you!
@@AllAboutPressureWashing so... the bleach is not a problem after an hour or a couple days? I'm getting mixed messages. I don't want my gutters to rust out because I got bad information.
great video...I just did I roof today and it was a redo from yesterday. i tried doing the roof from ground and ladders and it just was not coming out good. I could not tell how much chem I was getting in certain areas then I noticed I was blowing through my SH (also had my surfactant on 1 on the dial and it hardly pulled anything from the tank no wonder I could not see any soap up there). I was running 50/50 mix ....So I cut back and the roof just did not come out great and I rinsed it all. So i went back today. Actually walked the roof and tried it that way. Set my surfactant on little over 2 and was applying it well all along the house. Then I did not realize until I was done I still blew through alot of chem and my surfactant was sucked dry...so again my helper did not pay attention .....Sorry for all the info....question is how much SH do you usually use on 3000 ft roof? How much surfactant....(currently I use Napco surfactant and I fill up 5 gal with 4.5 gal water the add 1/2 gal surfactant..then set my proportioner on low setting? are you nervous if you paint your self into corner and have to walk on the freshly sprayed roof..( ever get slippery up there? Do you spray form top down? I was nervous about slipping if I walked on the parts I sprayed.
Some roofs are nastier than others and require multiple applications. I would increase the SH not the surfactant if you need multiple coats to clean it. That is normal. It can get slippery, start from the top and work your way down. I’m about to do a video on roof cleaning with a new tool- I’m pretty stoked so stay tuned and subscribe!
Generally I use a store brand surfactant called "Kling-on" and SoftWash Systems Green Wash which has a catalyst so I can use less bleach and get the same effect. How much I spray depends on how badly stained the roof is. A lightly stained roof for example may take 15 gallons of SH, but that same roof with bad stains and moss and lichen could take 25-30 gallons of SH. The Green Wash is enough for me on all walkable surfaces, but I add some Kling-On (basically Roof-Snot) when I am working on steeper pitches so I have less runoff. You'll learn how much you need as you get more experience. You see many people flooding the roof which creates a lot of runoff which is not the best way to spray. It wastes chemicals and increases cost and increases risk to killing plants and getting bad reviews. I try to spray light...or as heavy as I can right up to the point I start getting runs. A friend of mine told me once he tells his employees to treat it like a video game. See how much mix you can get on the roof without having runs coming down to the gutter. Presented like that, it made a difference for his crews. Basically, if the stain has changed color, it is dead and rain will rinse away the dead bacteria. If there is ANY black left in the stain, let the mix set and if that is not enough, apply another coat and allow it to soak in until the color has changed, or you'll get a return call. I'm a bit OCD and when I have spots that have changed and are brown, I'll usually put a light coat on these as I'm about to come off the roof for good measure. It's maybe $2-$3 worth of product, but I've never had to go back and do a touch up after I complete a job. It's worth a few dollars and a few minutes to be 100% sure I won't have to make a special trip to the customers roof, break out my hoses and ladders to do 5-10 minutes of work.
If you want to do a test, look up the "Pro-Portioner" on the Pressure Wash Store (or similar name) and they have a video where they took (3) 5 gallon jugs and marked them so they could tell how much water, soap and bleach was being pulled through. You can open your sewer line (if on city sewers) and spray water, soap and bleach down that pipe near your how without any issues as a test so when you reach the customers house, you know you're not blowing through tons of surfactant. It's just a learning curve when you move away from single batch mixing.
@@Troy-Echo bro just stop
@@failmulisha9839Certainly. Because one of the billions of random people on UA-cam told me to stop, I'll quit immediately. I'm so sorry I spoke up. Please though, fill in the gaps with your personal education and experience on the topic. I'd love to hear your educated post.
Do you pre rinse your roofs before spraying sh or just spray at once?
+JC Pressure washing pre-rinse when it's hot out
+JC Pressure washing just a very light rinse - do not put on a enough to get runoff
+JC Pressure washing also - check out How To Wash
I am working on setting up a new softwash trailer. I am trying to decide what size tanks to get for the SH and soap. I have a 300gal crated tank for a water buffer tank and have built a proportioner. Do you think an 8 gallon would be good for the soap and 26 gallon for the SH? I know bigger is better but I am just starting out and dang tanks are expensive!
Shane Weaver Shane, Channel if you have not already. If it all possible, I would go with a larger tank for the sodium hypochlorite if at all possible because I know you will want it eventually. The 8 gallon is sufficient for soap or even better just use a 5 gallon bucket for now and save for a bigger SH tank. Good luck
@@AllAboutPressureWashing already subbed, love your videos! Thanks for the advice!
a 50 gallon tank would be good for SH, or if you stay busy and do a lot of roofs, a 100 gallon tank may be better if there is room on the trailer. It depends on how far away you are from your store where you buy bleach. Also look into bleach distributors if you grow to a point you rent a building. You can get better rates on bleach buying direct if you use enough. Pat Clark in South Carolina was saving more money on bleach cost each month than he was paying to rent the building he was in when I was last down his way. Also, do not go over 120 gallons for a bleach tank. It doesn't matter if you are carrying 15% SH or 0.5% SH, if you hit 120 gallons I think you're required to have a CDL and a tanker endorsement, so keep the amount of bleach (in any concentration) below 120 gallons. When you mount your spray pump, put the pump head at the bottom and the motor at the top. If you ever get a leak, you can replace the spray head or repair it, but if you leak into the electric engine, you'll ruin it and have to buy an entirely new pump. Also do all your tank penetrations and bulkheads on the TOP of the tank. If you penetrate the bottom of the tank and get a leak, you can create a large dead spot in a customers lawn, or leak into the storm sewer which is an EPA Clean Water Act violation that could be costly if someone wanted to press the issue.
New subscriber. Great content. How many total gallons of "sauce" did it take to do that roof? And what percentage.
I've yet to see a video where there's like 2" of moss and it looks like you need a lawn mower to clean it. That's all I get up here in Washington. Love to see a video on one of those.
We don't have that in Georgia
Great video man! What kind of warranty do you offer for this kind of work? Thanks
+BRAWL STARS LALO!! Thank you
Damn bro good info I’m just getting into this business and bought an entire rig. You were very informative and detailed
How has your business been 1 year later?
Does that also go for tile roofing and Claire roofing as far as the integrity getting eaten up?
How much the you charge to clean the roof?
What is the water tank for?
Water
Do you just leave the Hypo on the roof? Does it not need rinsing after a few hours?
Hey Mike
What chemicals do you use for tile and shingles?
How do you go about chemical going into gutters when people are collecting their rainwater ?
We don't
How do I figure out the price for cleaning a roof
Just got my first roof wash call an hour ago. wondering how to price it
+Adam G. 👊🏻👍🏻
Hi, If it was a steeper pitch where you needed surfactant, would you then rinse?
So is the SH the same as bleach? and if so what is the concentration of it?
Sodium Hypochlorite (SH) is bleach. We buy 12.5% and dilute it about 50/50 in our big tanks and either Downstream when pressure washing or use a proportioner when soft washing.
Can I use Harpic toilet cleaner as a surfactant?
No
what chemical do you use for this
+Matthew Ross SH
@@AllAboutPressureWashing thanks man , is that basically just bleach
Great Info
+Pressure Washing Reviews thx
hi I usually remove the moss with a brush and blow the ceiling and clean the gutters and put moss kiler powder on top .. .. to do your step I would have to first do everything I usually do skipping the step of applying the powder and then apply the soft wash method?
+el pelon de oregon where are you located? In our area, we are lucky and don’t have moss on the roofs, just algae.
I'm assuming you're in the Pacific Northwest? That area is notoriously bad for moss because everything is damp all the time which promotes the growth of the Gloeocapsa Magma stains, moss, lichen and other types of fungus. I have an associate that works near Portland, OR and owns ALL-CLEAN SoftWash and he has posted some amazing photos of moss covered roofs there. One was so bad that the first photo was zoomed in enough so you could not see the outer edges of the roof and it looked like a forest floor. It was NUTS! And since it wasn't my own roof, it was kind of hysterically funny to me too. He sent me another photo where moss outlined every single tab of a 3-tab shingle roof like it was somebody's art project. It is best not to brush an asphalt roof, but in situations like these, a gentle brushing is OK so you can remove some of the moss. There are over 10,000 species of moss, and some will release with just the pressure of a leaf blower, where others may need slight pressure with a brush, and other species have root systems that burrow deep into the asphalt and you'll rub with a brush and damage the shingles before they release. So keep it gentle, and if the moss doesn't want to come off easy, spray it and kill it, and allow mother nature and time to wear it away. That's the safest and best way to maximize the remaining service life of the roof. Put that in your sales pitch. Those stains, moss and lichen didn't appear overnight, and they will not go away overnight without causing serious damage to the roof. If the homeowner insists you try to brush away or use water pressure to remove the moss or lichen, refuse to do it unless they sign a waiver where you tell them it is a harmful practice and the homeowner will not hold you liable for any damages you cause by following these procedures. Most people back off at this step, unless they are selling the house at which point they do not care about the long term results. Sellers just want the cheapest and fastest clean possible and don't seem to care about what the next owner faces as long as they can sell the house for as much as possible as fast as possible. Also charge more if you have to take the extra time to do extra steps.
+el pelon de oregon nice
great video!! Do you ever need to rinse the roofs off?
Scott Garvey we don’t like to - but if there is a need we will
Don’t forget to subscribe
I don't rinse roofs with gutters, but a roof with no gutters, I'll rinse a minimum of 4 feet up, and the steeper the pitch, the higher I rinse. This is because overnight the dew will set in and reactivate the bleach and it will contain a high concentration of salt from the bleach. This can drip over the edge of the roof and create a thin dead line in the plants below. Or you can get a VERY light rain that will rinse a little salt off the roof as mentioned above, but not be enough rain to rinse the salt off the plants. The leaves will absorb the salt and damage the plant. Some plants are VERY sensitive to bleach/salt and you can easily kill them, where others are fairly hardy. So I rinse in these situations so if heavy dew or light rain happen, it won't be enough to put salt on the plants below. If the plant absorbs the bleach/salt and all the leaves fall off, the plant will most likely recover in
@@Troy-Echo thanks for explaining in great detail. I'm just starting up but to me rinsing sounds all around to be the right thing to do
@@johndoe-cc9cw I agree.
Thank you for sharing
+Dee Justice 🙏🏼
Great video Mike 👍
Can I wash a roof that has solar panels on the front side? Will the roof mix harm the solar panels if I get some mix on them?
At What % is your mix on a roof?
Depends on the roof and how bad it is - could be 3 or it could be 6
Great video, thanks for the great info. How long a single treatment last before you have to do it again?
+Ricardo Ayala it depends on lots of factors - heat / humidity / trees around / proximity to other houses with roof algae
So after soft washing a roof. You don’t rinse?
Typically we do not, it all depends on the roof. Watch our video on rinsing or not rinsing for a better explanation.
What rurfactant do you use
Southern Slang from Southeast Softwash
Thanks man i just did my first roof with my 12v and proportioner $700 roof and $500 house wash in 2 1/2 hrs
@@mpmpropertyservices651 .......bet they won't have you back!
what chemicals do you keep in the chemical tank? a mixture of bleach and water?
+Matthew Fulmer yes
How do you prevent the SH from damaging the grass and plants and trees? I was told to pre-wet everything and then after wet it again?
If you have a lot of runoff (Steeper roofs will have more run off), then you should wet everything down before hand. Wash the roof, and then spray everything down again to wash away any chemicals that may have gotten anywhere
that yellow tip just connect to a quick connect ??
+Brad Parker yes
Hi i have a question ,when doing roof washing is recomended to pre wet or actually it is not very good because it dilutes the mix ,i was told you do ,but i see on the vidio yiu just spray it on it with ou pre wet the entire roof
+Nery Albanez You should pre-wet all of the vegetation around the property, not necessarily the roof unless it is unbelievably hot that day. Which was not the case the video you just watch.
@@AllAboutPressureWashing hi thanks you for making more clear ,thank tou very mich for your response
So $850 for the entire house…roof, sides and concrete? That’s a fair price
+Joeyballz77 👍🏻
2 questions:
1. Did you use a surfactant? If not, why?
2. On this job how much SH would you have used?
Cheers
+David Very rarely do we use surfactants, if the roof pitch is not significant, there's really no need. The purpose of a soap or surfactant is to allow the chemical to clean, this is only needed really in my opinion when doing very steep roofs. We do not use a Surfactant when we're doing house washes.
What line dose the ground man rinse with??
The customers garden hose or one of ours.
@@AllAboutPressureWashing Hey, I'm not sure if you use them or not, but check out the Orbitz line of garden hose nozzles. You may be able to find them online, but I know they are sold at Lowe's. They have multlpe settings and a thumb control so you don't have to squeeze a water handle for hours on end, and they boast a 20% great GPM flow than other nozzles. They also make a larger fireman style spray nozzle similar to the Underhill nozzles. My buddy has one and I like it, but I've not found one myself yet.
@@Troy-Echo wow, a comment in one breath
The kid screaming at 5:00 has me cracking up 😂
That is hilarious - I totally forgot about that!
So what about all the chemical that runs down on the plants and grass? How do you avoid the chemicals damaging the vegetation?
Water them
This is a great video. Thank you!