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If you used 60%sh to 40%water, it should have worked great. It should have foamed like crazy and smelled like death itself. If your SH is fresh it will eat a red shop rag into bits in less than 10 minutes and turn it into white fluffy dust!! Also it will turn bright white foamy when you rub it between your fingers and I don't mean a little bit, I mean all white foam and it should burn. When you get some real fresh SH don't go 60-40, start lighter and make it stronger if you need too or want to over time with practice.

I drove by this afternoon and it was still dirty. I will go back monday with a fresh batch this time with ISO and TSP. I will take pics and keep y'all posted. Thanks for the input
Patrick

Roof Cleaning Pro Greensboro NC (336)362 7659 wrote:

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Good deal.

Keep in mind every roof is different. Your first one may have been a severe exception.

The worst roof I did was over 20 years of neglect and required 3 coats and 80 gallons to come clean.

It was only an average house of 2000 square feet.

Sometimes charging by the square foot can bite you.

After you get some experience, you can look at a roof and tell how many gallons it will take and charge by the gallon. That's what I have been doing lately because I am paying more than twice the amount for 12.5% bleach I was last year.

I charge $10/gallon.

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 That is one of the better ideas that I have heard. By the gallon covers you and your time.

Yes, that's why I stopped using Borax. I substituted alcohol instead.

Even in hot water Borax will not dissolve completely. This makes it harder on your pump.

Yes, the Pleasant Garden roof on my NC certified roof cleaners page I needed to mix it stronger than 15 gallons SH, 25 gallons water.

Looking back on that job, instead of mixing two 40 gallon batches @ 15/25, I probably should have mixed it at 30 gallons SH/40 gallons water or 25/35 might have worked better and saved me some time. 

Very steep, very old neglected roofs or cold weather you need to mix it stronger.

I'll mix it at 15 gallons SH/20 gallons water or
20 gallons SH/30 gallons water and
add more TSP than usual like you did works well.
Add more Dawn for steep roofs.

For the most part the standard mix of 15/25, 5lbs.TSP, 64oz.IPA, 1/2 bottle of dawn works great.

I don't add more than 2 ounces/gallon of dawn because it gets so thick it slows the pump down on my 12V FATBOY.

Air pumps don't have this problem. You can simply dial in more pressure for thicker mixtures.

-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Pro Greensboro NC (336)362 7659 on Monday 17th of August 2009 06:24:59 PM

Thought I would show some pics of my current set up.
I made the trailor from an old Chevy S10 pickup bed frame. My wife and I hand painted the signs. I am ordering professional ones Monday.
I bought good quality hose to deliver the Love and cheaper hose for wetting down and rinsing. I put brass quick connects on the good hose.
The yellow hose has five sprinklers placed in line so that the spray pattern overlaps (about 10 feet apart). I work alone so this will keep the plants and such soaked while I spray.
My first job I just used a $10 garden spray nozzle but then I found this brass twist nozzle, put a 45 degree brass shutoff and a quick connect on it.
I have a pump sprayer for pre soaking bad spots and demonstrations and I will be adding hose reels soon.
I also bought a fourway brass manifold that I will incorpirate into the system to switch between Love, rinse water, and other chemicals for house and fence washing.
I want to get wheel covers for the tires.
I have two old pop-up campers that are rotten which I am going to tear down to the steel frame and make two more trailors.
I am building my website this weekend. reviveroofwash.com
It works for now.

 Forget ordering signs those look great ! just becareful working by yourself i would not recommend it for your safety and damage to the landscape, all the best with the buisness

Thanks for the support guys.

I have always worked by myself. I only trust my wife and daughters to help me with work (I was a trim carpenter) probably coz I do not mind if they are standing around and if i get impatient with them they will kick my butt.

I did not use the sprinklers yet. What i did was wet down the landscaping really good, sprayed a section of roof then, when I moved the ladder, I also wet that area down again and rewet the area under the next section I was going to spray. I was only up on the ladder for a couple minutes before I was able to rewet the landscape.

I did 1800 sq ft in less than 1 hour. thats from the time I arrived until I left the job. I used abot 25 gallons of Love. I think that I stepped up on the roof once.

If I was going to clean a roof in a remote area by myself I think I would be sure to call the misses just before getting up on the ladder and then again when I got done. That way if I was not heard from she could call the life insurance company.

It does pay to be careful. I had a friend who fell 8 feet from a roof and was killed. I am a Paramedic and last week in the ER a young man came in who fell 12 feet from a roof and it killed him too.
Take your time and be safe.

Hey guy's,
I just did a 1600 sf roof at 6/12 pitch. I am using a brass garden spray nozzle for application. I went through 50 gallons of Love. I know you said 30 gallons should be enough for a roof like this. Do you think it is the nozzle or the operator.

I guess I should tell you I put it on heavy. I get alot of run off. How much is too much?

Nick is right. You don't need to "soak" the roof. Just get it wet and wait a little to see how the mix is working. You do have to give it a little time. It won't disappear the minute you hit it with the chemical.

I wet the whole section of roof that I can reach from my spot on the ladder and then I check back to the section that I started on and usually the stains are gone from where I started.

If I walk the roof, I will do the whole front or rear of the house and then check the section I started on. I will usually take a seat on top of the roof until the ground guy has sufficiently wet everything down again and then I will have him check the roof from the ground to make sure everything looks good. If I need to reapply chemical, now is the time that I do it.

More chemical does not = better cleaning. It only = less profit!

Brian