I searched this forum and there seems to be conflicting opinions on this. I also searched Google and there also seems to be some gray area there as well.
I ask because I see websites that do softwashing claim they use “environmentally safe” cleaning solutions/detergents and I would love to put that wording on my website as well, as long as it’s actually true
Similarly, I’m also curious how many of you wear a mask when you do a housewash? Again, I see people on this forum say you should always wear a mask, but I see plenty of videos of housewashes where nobody is wearing a mask.
Basically, I’m a bit confused about how safe or not safe SH is both to the environment and to the washer himself/herself, and any insight would be greatly appreciated.
I wear a 3M full face respirator whenever I’m spraying bleach. Not going to kill you if you go without once but if you end up doing this for years it will affect your lungs if you don’t have ppe. I read about a study recently that showed that just cleaning your house with Clorox on a regular basis can affect you like 20 cigarettes a day. As far as the environment is concerned, I’m not 100% positive. It will of course kill plants and shouldn’t be washed into the drain but I believe that with proper dilution it is relatively harmless to groundwater.
The term “environmentally safe” is not well defined. A plant can die if it gets too much water. Is water not “environmentally safe”? So I think you can get away with putting it in your marketing material. But just because you can get away with it doesn’t mean it is a good idea. If you advertise “environmentally safe”, customers are going to expect you to show up and wash their home with fava beans. If you show up and spray bleach everywhere, you might have an unhappy customer.
In reality, nobody cares if the process is environmentally safe. Sometimes, people need assurance that you won’t kill their plants. Or they are just stalling. It doesn’t really matter how you respond to this as long as you come across as a responsible, thinking person. If somebody asks about killing their plants and you completely change the subject and tell them you are going to tape their doorbell, you’ll still get the job. It’s more about feelings than facts. A dissertation about how bleach breaks down in the environment might make you feel smart, but it won’t help land the job. If you make a big deal out of it, they’ll think it’s a big deal.
I don’t like the word “bleach” because of the connotation. If somebody asks me point blank if I use bleach, I tell them it is more like pool chlorine. Their house doesn’t smell like bleach; it smells like a swimming pool. Exact same stuff, except swimming pools have a happy, safe, kid-friendly connotation. Bleach is a toxic chemical.
I agree that there is no definitive information on ppe. My gut feeling is that when you are working outside, the chlorine gas dissipates quickly and is not an issue. The danger (and the danger is significant) is more in inhaling liquid droplets of bleach that fall in your face. So a simple dust mask is a heck of a lot better than nothing. If a p100 respirator is too hot or makes it too hard to breathe, at least use a dust mask or a bandana or something! You only have to wear it for a few minutes while you are soaping.
I just started using a product that is basically Oxiclean for the outdoors. It’s more expensive than bleach but seems to work in everything except black mold. Still gotta use bleach for that.
Long story short you can use “environmentally friendly” cleaning products, but not all your customers will pay the premium you’ll have to charge.
According to 3M, all they suggest for SH is a N95 mask if I’m not mistaken. I looked it up a while back and they have a chart for what appeared to be every chemical out there (because it was a very long list) with a mask recommendation for each, and I’m almost positive it was just a N95.
In 2012 the FCC came out with what is called the Green Guides. This is guidance for companies on how to advertise their “green” claims. To be blunt, SH can kill plants and it has a pH above what is suitable to go down a sewer. It is NOT eco friendly, to claim that it is would be against the FCC green guides.
They even defined biodegradable as decomposing within 1 year…and that includes the bottle. You will see more and more companies claiming to have eco friendly surfactants and solvents, rather than a blanket biodegradable claim.
I just started wearing a respirator. It really sucks, but I’m sure I will be happy healthy then comfortable sick. You can get a decent respirator from harbor freight for less then $40. I’ve used them in the past when using muratic acid to wash ungrounded d pools. They work fine.
The 3M filters are priced good too at about $16. You can then replace just the pink filters so it’s even cheaper after the initial purchase of the half mask. When working around fly ash at power plants we would use them and they worked great.
Depends on concentration more than anything it seems. Think about it this way. You spray 1% and then you dilute more with a rinse. So what the actual percentage on the ground. I say its as enviro friendly as plain water once its diluted down
If wearing a mask on jobs, I guess it’s really best to avoid using “environmentally safe” on a website because it might lead to more annoying questions (i.e. “Hey, why are you wearing that mask if your stuff is environmentally safe?”)
I don’t wear a mask and don’t think I would get much work if I did. I’m sure SH mist isn’t good for you but I only downstream and don’t do roofs with high concentration of SH. I just don’t think it’s that bad.
If you breath in enough SH you will lose your sense of smell. I’m using stuff that is mostly Sodium Percorbanate. I actually had a hose popped off & dumped some on a lady’s lawn. No problem. If that had been SH it would be a nice dead spot.
I’m just getting going but haven’t worn a mask yet and don’t see myself ever doing so. Times have changed to where many people are all about eating organic, not using chemicals, etc. I know some people don’t care but I can see others not calling to schedule if they see that I get all dressed out in gear that looked like I was getting ready to go work in a nuclear plant. People see that and they don’t want you spraying anything on their property that requires that kind of protection. I’m sure many understand it’s just because of the daily exposure but I’m sure many wouldn’t.
I live in one of the most hippy-granola towns in the US. I wear a mask on every job. It’s the basic 3m nuisance-level n95 acid gas one that’s been linked before. Looks just like a dust mask. I haven’t had a single comment on it, as much as I’ve been expecting one.
If I were doing roof cleaning, I would upgrade to the full face respirator. SH is incredibly corrosive and damaging to lung tissue. You don’t have pain receptors inside your lungs. By the time the damage is done, it’s too late. You’ve got COPD, asthma, or some other chronic respiratory condition for the rest of your life.
My health comes before my business. So far that stance doesn’t seem to have impeded my income.
