Roof Cleaning Process

Roof Cleaning Process

Processes required before performing the Roof Cleaning Process

1. How to Setup The Chemical Hose

Roof Washing Process (explainer videos below)

1. Assess the scope of the work by walking around the entire home and identify all the dirty areas of the roof that need to be washed
2. Remove all customer items from the work area, including vehicles, furniture, hanging plants, flags, banners, umbrellas, and the like.
3. Begin by setting up and working on the dirtiest side of the home first.
4. Place strainer bags inside of 5-gallon buckets that will be used to capture the runoff
   1. In a worst-case scenario where you run out of chlorine from the chlorine tank, you can use the captured and strained runoff solution to treat the roof by placing the chemical dip stick
5. Setup buckets (with strainers) at the bottom of the downspouts to collect all runoff from the roof.
   • For downspouts that extend and empty on to the lawn
     1. Remove the downspout elbows and extension at the bottom of the downspouts and set aside
     2. Place 5-gallon bucket with a strainer on the ground so the downspout extends directly into the bucket.
   • For downspouts that lead to an underground drain, drain tile or French Drain
     1. Remove any bottom downspout extension that leads into the ground and any gutter straps that may be holding the downspout to the siding.
     2. Place 5-gallon bucket with a strainer on the ground so the downspout extends directly into the bucket.
6. IMPORTANT: You must be able to easily remove the bucket from the downspout and not have to tip it too much when you place it and remove it. If the bucket is full and the downspout extends too far into the bucket, you may attempt to tip it, but that would spill chlorine onto the ground and nearby plants. If that happens, you can use the manual chemical transfer pump to transfer bleach from the full downspout-bucket to a second bucket placed next to it. Once empty, you can properly tip and remove the downspout-bucket
7. IMPORTANT: If the downspouts extensions are removed and the downspout is too high above the downspout-bucket where the run-off won’t flow properly into the bucket, you can tie a plastic garbage bag around the downspout, cut the bottom out of the garbage bag, and place the garbage bag into the bucket to guide the run-off into the downspout-bucket.
8. After the water tank on the truck is completely full, disconnect the garden hose from the truck and connect a spray nozzle.
9. Begin by spraying water from the garden hose and saturating all plants, decks, cement, and all surfaces directly beneath the work area and within the distance of any possible overspray.
10. If the temperature outside is over 85°F, pre-wet the roof to cool it off before you begin treatment.
    • Above 85°F outside, the roof can be above 150°F. Spraying chlorine on a roof that hot can cause the shingles to melt
11. Set up ladders to begin at the edge of the dirtiest section of the roof.
    • Generally, all treatment is done working on the ladder from the level of the gutters
    • Only walk the roof if the roof is extremely low slope and 1 story.
12. Spraying Techniques & Best Practices
    1. Always spray from the edge of the roof to the middle of the roof
    2. Spray from top of the roof to the bottom.
    3. Avoid spraying so much that the solution begins to run-off and flow down the roof
    4. You want all the solution that you apply to be absorbed by the roof, any run-off is a waste
    5. Be aware of how the wind may affect the spray of the solution
    6. Avoid overspray by not overshooting the edges and roofline
    7. Avoid spraying any siding, windows, or gutter fascia
    8. Be cautious of overtreating near the valleys as it is easy to cause a lot of run-off to occur at the valleys.
13. Treatment of Black Streaks (algae)
    1. Black streaks are a single-celled cyano-bacteria called Gloeocapsa Magma (commonly referred to as algae)
    2. Heavy staining of algae may require multiple treatments during the job. Anywhere from a second application to four or five applications until the stains are completely removed
    3. Once you perform an application, you must wait 10 to 15 minutes before any subsequent applications. This ensures that the chlorine you just applied has done its work and cleaned through that layer of algae
    4. After the roof has dried, assess the roof for remaining black streaks.
    5. If the roof is not uniform in color, treat again.
14. Treatment of Moss and Lichen
    1. Moss and lichen are heavy-bodied growth with roots which grab hold of the shingle grit.
    2. We do not brush or pressure wash moss and lichen away. This would damage the roof and unnecessarily remove the shingle grit and shorten the roof’s life.
    3. Moss and lichen are treated by spraying directly until they turn from green to gray/white.
    4. Once treated, the moss and lichen will weather away over the course of 2-3 months (quicker in warmer wetter weather, slower in colder dryer weather).
    5. Moss and lichen that weather away does not cause an issue of filling the gutters or clogging the downspouts.
15. Once the dirtiest section of the roof is treated, move onto the next section of the roof and repeat steps 4 through 14.
16. Once all of the affected areas have been treated, walk around the entire home and ensure that the roof has been properly treated
    • All black streaks are gone
    • All moss and lichen are no longer darker green and are light gray or white
17. Properly Dispose of collected run-off
    • Discharge or irrigate the water in an area
      where the water will not flow into a stream
      or storm sewer.
    • Discharge or irrigate the water on the
      property and ensure that it does not flow off
      client’s property.
18. Flush the Pro Mix-A-Lot with water with 5 gallons of water
    Turn the flush valve on Pro Mix-A-Lot to flush position
    Place sprayer end of the chemical hose into a 5-gallon bucket
    Run the pump until the 5-gallon bucket is filled
    Properly dispose of the chemical solution as described in Step 17.
19. Pack up equipment and safely secure it to the truck
20. Replace all of the client’s items that were moved back to their original location
21. Perform walkthrough with the client.

What is growing on your roof:

Before the roof treatment explanation

After the roof treatment explanation

Roof treatment explanation and demonstration 2

Setting up runoff bucket for gutters that exit above ground

Setting up runoff bucket at a French/underground drain

Working around a downspout that extends too far when needing to capture runoff

Showing how run-off is gathered into buckets

Proper rinsing of plants for a roof wash:

Always rinse plants within 5-10 feet of home and especially where potential overspray is most likely to occur

Proper application method for roof washing:

Begin at the edge of the roof, spray towards the middle, start from the top of the roof and spray down, avoid run-off, change to fan tip as you need to spray closer to your ladder

Post-treatment explanation

Removing the bucket and reattaching downspout after treatment