Thread: The Roof Cleaning Process

I have that problem with my garage roof that faces west.. Comes back after I use A roof cleaner few weeks later..
I seen a company use a large spinner with a rope from other side of the roof..

My roof was new 5 years ago and been getting black stains only on the west side of the garage since new.. Seems to be just the side gets less time in the sun..

This is two ways I seen before as I said above.

Actually i have done several roofs in the last year; Usually the custy has a lot of shade trees close to there home; generally they have been oak. I charged approx. $175 per roof; I used a low pressure tip on pressure washer to apply eco safe chem; but it wasn't called roof wash.

My house I have no trees at all , near or block sun from the roof... Front looks new and back gets alot of black staining.. Like I was saying roof's 5 years old and I had them install the better grade roof with ice block under...

I looked into getting into it several years back!

Average roofs around here go for about $500.00....

You are not supposed to use over 500 PSI on a shingled roof by the way. Higher PSI will tear the shingles up and void the warranty.

I had a roof cleaning business for about five years until hurricanes Francis and Jean tore most of the roofs off and the state was coverd in blue tarps. Killed my business overnight. So I sold all my stuff and moved on. I can tell you guys all you want to know though....just some basics...

Never use any pressure on a roof, never. Especially on a shingle roof. A pressure cleaner of any kind should not be used. Reasons? Just walking on a shingle roof causes granules to come loose, imagine what pressure does, even 500 psi. That yellow 'hover cover' on tiles is also way to much pressure. Roof tiles have a glaze on them from the factory and any pressure will remove that glaze not to mention breaking tiles in the process.

No pressure roof cleaning is the only acceptable way to clean a roof. Just like in the cc industry half the people out there are hacks doing it the wrong way, misinforming the customer.

If you are intrested in doing this I can help...just post your questions...

Good roof cleaning chemical and a garden hose was the way I was told if I remember correctly.....

Like I said it was years ago and the guy I was thinking of partnering with did roof installations. In no way do I know the ins and outs of the process.

Originally Posted by SDSinc

Here is how I did it. The big boys have even improved on this system by now..All you need to get started and do it right and efficient is about a 55-60 gallon polly tank, a electric shurflow pump...if memory serves me I think it was 1.5 or 2 gpm...run off a marine battery that I charged at night, about 100 ft of air hose on a reel, I think it was 3/8, and an application wand that is made from 1/2 pvc about 5ft in length with a on/off valve. Thats the very basics. Now this system dose requier getting on the roof which I had no problem doing but I would not want an employee doing. If you are a one horse owner operator then you would set up your ladder, drag the air hose and wand up on the roof, drag the custys garden hose up on the roof, turn on your surflow pump, you then walk to the edge of the roof with the garden hose and wet all the plants, side of the house and grass under the area you will be cleaning, once that whole area is good and saturated with water you then grasp your wand and apply the solution from the edge of the roof walking back wards to the peak, you dont want to walk over the treated areas cause its slippery. If done right you should not have to ever get wet or any solution on yourself. Keep repeating the process till the whole roof is treated. Once done rise all landscaping and house down from the ground. Now you have 2 options left...leave the solution up there and let the rain wash it off or give the roof a rinse from the ground as you rinse the lanscaping....which is what I did...a fireman's nozzle works great for this...you can get them at walmart. Now my rig was an open 7x14 trailer with two shurflows, two 55 gal solution tanks, one 225 gal fresh tank, and all the hoses and reels...Maybee I can find a picture of it.

Now about the solution...
You have to trust me on this...this best way to clean a roof with the longest lasting reluts..I gave a five year warranty on mine...is pool chlorine mixed with TSP and dawn dish detergant...You will hear allot of miss information about how chlorine will void warranties, make the shingles brittle and break, eats away at the tar paper....bla bla bla...if you want to do a search for pressure cleaning forums...the grime scene is one I like...and you will see thread after thread debating this issue...all of the ones who say its bad are trying to sell you something...the largest companies here in FL, apple, duck etc all use a variant of this solution...
Now if you really want to get into this the best way is to invest in a Honda motor and pump and shoot the solution on the roof standing on the groud...in and out in 30 mins...collect check and move on....

Rick great post. I was wondering,could you substitute hydrogen peroxide for the chlorine??

TSP = Trisodium Phosphate

You can get TSP at just about any hardware (Lowes, HD, Ace) store.