I’ve always rinsed my roofs after I have treated them but most of the time it takes longer then the actual treatment. Never have had any problems or complaints but I’m just curious as to how much rinsing is enough? My roof jobs tend to be more stressful then my house washing jobs because of the hotter mix having a higher chance in killing plants and grass. Because of this I really go through a lot of water when rinsing the roof. Just curious if I’m wasting TOO MUCH time and going overboard.
For you guys that rinse your roofs… How much time or even gallons of water, do you go through after treatment on say, a basic algae clean of a 2,000 sqft roof.
I’ve also seriously considered the spray it and let mother nature take care of the rest method because so many of you do that with no problems… I just get stressed that I’ll get a call that their grass is dead after the next short rain…
(We) Bag the gutters. Almost nothing makes it there anyway. When application is complete, flush gutters into bags. Remove bags, continue to flush gutters and maybe lightly rinse the first several courses of shingles. Outa’ there.
Thanks for the response Tim. That sounds like a much easier way then what I’ve been doing. I guess I’ve just been going over board with the rinsing. Just get stressed out that I’ll get a call that I killed their grass! Would rather not deal with that call… Thanks again!
Hey @MichaelA how is the rinsing going these days? Have you come up with a balanced time tested solution to your rinsing issue?
I also rinse roofs after spraying.
BTW, I think a lot of us are way overrating the power of SH. Once the solution is applied to the roof, most of it turns into chloramines, which is dead bleach basically. This is because it has reacted with the organic substances up there on them thar roofs.
Now we have a half-dead or 3/4 dead SH up there on the roof which is also rapidly decomposing into saline, its biodegradable, environmentally friendly, non toxic, non poisonous byproduct. What the moss, lichen, algae, dirt and general crud don’t get, the sunlight will kill off the rest.
I believe your science is accurate. However, too much salt can still be bad for plants.
Even if the SH has decomposed into salt and its other components before the next rain, if it isn’t adequately diluted when a small rain shower comes through, I believe it could still pose a risk to sensitive landscaping. For this reason, I think that if you’re in an area that gets frequent, light rain storms (like Florida, for instance), then at least a partial rinse would be advisable.
Disclaimer: This is all based on my reading and theory. I still haven’t added roof cleaning to my biz.
I am Chuck Bergman Roof Cleaning and Pressure Washing in Port Charlotte, Fl
I started in business here in 1989 and was - to my knowledge - the first to clean roofs chemically.
In the beginning, I had plant browning, leaf drop and dead plants.
I taught myself carefully, by learning from my mistakes.
It would be a mistake to ever think you could water too much!
For years and to this day, I go back a few days or a week later and look at some of my jobs that don’t have gutters. Unless I went way overboard with watering, you can certainly tell I have been there!
Now, I rinse at least the lower half of all roofs and flood the plants for at least an hour, while working-2 hours if possible. It has been over 2 years since I have seen a dead or brown plant. WATER, WATER, WATER!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqs1mT3XbBQ
Ha Ha LOL That’s funny! I’m 68 now, but back in 68 I’d feel what your saying better! Might even see it!!! LOL
I always try to choose “ambient” music, instead of standard country, rock, indie etc.But it’s not all ambient-sometimes I get a little wild, like in this video LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERuqsJh0QZw
