Hi all, have been pressure washing decks for 9 years, vinyl houses for about 3 and have recently been asked about cleaning roofs here in the mtns. of the western NC mountains. Quite a bit of green stuff and winter damage here, resort homes, rentals and vacation property along with residential areas. A little background here. I am a one man dog & pony show with the occasional helper with some jobs (for safety when out in the county areas) and don’t have an elaborate set-up or rig, but it has worked for me. Just haven’t had the need for it. I use 2 small Honda cold water machines and have a pink/blue tip for down-streaming chems, from the ground to clean vinyl. I don’t like to walk roofs or climb big ladders, again for safety reasons. Primary cleaners are SH (8.25%) and an oxygen based cleaner, dawn dish, HD-80 for tough cleaning and stripping jobs, neutralizers- lemon juice /Citralic) I have a homeowner, repeat customer who has some moderate moss growing on 1st level roof growing next to a dormer, both sides, and wants it cleaned. My question is: If I just spray (infected areas) with a pump up, what would you use and will it show a difference where NOT treated? Yes, I have done my share of research here and on TGS that has been a tremendous help, but have not seen this addressed. Wouldn’t be where I am with my success without it. Just trying to keep it simple. Drove around my residential area the other day and saw quite a few potential homes that could be potential customers if I can get this one job cleaned right. I’d be willing to use my roof for experiment, but there is no moss or mildew on it. Believe me, my own deck has been used for numerous tests. Have had limited success with oxy-clean products and SH on cedar shakes, but didn’t charge because they let me use an area that was out of sight. I really want to do this as it could open more (revenue) doors and services to offer. Thanks for any help. Please feel free to call me if it’s more convenient. David
Under Pressure of Boone
828-964-2563
Hey Boone, Please be careful with roof cleaning. You can easily ruin a shingle roof and/or void the warranty if you do it wrong. I would recommend taking a course on it to learn like I did.
2 main things is you dont want to use more than 100psi on a roof and you also should not rinse moss off as it will cause pitting in the shingles. Once you kill it, allow 4 weeks of rain to wash it of naturally.
You can make a lot of money with roof cleaning, I would say just make sure you learn how to and you’ll be fine.
I took my course from Josh Brown at Clean Pro Exteriors. Search him on youtube. You can also look up Roof Cleaning Institute of America. I think they have course as well.
hope this helps
You tube has many roof cleaning videos and diff applications. Find the one that works best for you and go for it.
