[pat mitchell]

hi all
does anyone have a quick and easy method for getting rid of the green slyme that builds up on roofs as the years go on. im doing gutter cleaning but keep getting asked to get rid of this stuff. is it a case of just getting on the roof with a scrubber on a pole. any ideas would be much appreciated

pat

[Len Gribble]

Pat

Check out this site.

http://www.anglianhome.co.uk/cleanaroof_process.htm


Len

[keith b]

Pat,

check out http://www.tensid.com
and go to the aquilla pressure washer page and scroll down to the `roof cleaner TC47`

If health & safety is ok i would work from a up & over cherry picker.

lets us know how you get on!

keith

[Morclean]

Pat
use high pressure water with either a fixed splash guard or rotary cleaning head, water can be removed and then filtered with a vacumated head if required

Addatives and chemicals that prevent a build up help but high pressure water does most of the job

Be careful with regard to water discharge however, according to EA guidlines -technically the water that is removed should not fall to surface drains

A vacumated system therefore captures the water

Check out NetRegs on the EA website

[pat mitchell]

thanks all for the info. ill certainly look into the tc47 eqipment although the outlay might be a bit beyond me at present. ill be bearing it in mind for the future though.

cheers for the help. pat

[amberville]

Try this anything for roofs/Damp Walls etc. We have done jobs like
this for years, used them  never a problem. Also if anybody wants to get into textured wall coatings /Roof coatings these are the the major companys    http://www.britanniapaints.co.uk

[Aquatechnique]

Pat

Check out this site.

http://www.anglianhome.co.uk/cleanaroof_process.htm


Len

No4 is interesting,rinsing at 3000psi!

Pat where are you based,I have a pitch witch you may be able to use.

[carloso]

hi pat
would be interested to know how much you think you will get for this service and how long you think the roof will stay "green slime" free and how long you will tell customers it will stay clean. i think the green slime you descibe is moss and algea and it will come back quite soon unless you are doing something of a more long term solution, because all of that stuff comes down as spores in the rain.
look forward to return comment

[pat mitchell]

carloso.

im just at the investigation stage at the moment so i'm not sure how much i would be asking for this service or indeed how long i would anticipate the time needed between cleans. i did realise that the green stuff was organic and so likely to return pretty soon, although i beleive there are solutions to that also. len, im based in glasgow, and at the risk of sounding stupid, what's a pitch witch?

cheers again for all the advice lads and lasses.

pat

[wreelyclean_servic]

  An algicide or abicide sprayed on from the top downwards will kill off whats there now......watch for the run off though.....however I have investigated this and come up with a "revolutionary new way" to treat this problem...

I`m not a scientist and whether it works is yet to be seen but apparrently if you fix a half inch wide length of copper wire all along the ridge tiles, the resultant oxidation of the copper causes a mild solution of copper oxide which I`m told will wash down the roof when it rains and will keep on top of the spores as they start to grow.  Apparently moss / algae & lichen hate copper solutions and will not grow.

Now don`t ask me where I found that one out `cos I can`t remember....I`ll try and hunt it down again though. :

[carloso]

hi wreelyclean
you are right that the stuff that grows on the roof does not like chemical treatments.
the issue is still difficult for the following reasons.
the stuff has to be gotten off the roof prior to a copper treatment for the copper treatment to be effective.
unless you know exectly what you are doing in that field how can you make claims about its length of efficacie and if you finish up making any claims on paper, if they are questioned and you cannot back your claims up you can be had by the advertising standards  people ( they are always looking for an easy kill and the small man is favorite)
you cannot just nail things into roof tiles especially old ones as they are more than likely brittle and if you simply stretch a copper wire between to points you are simply making a platform for the pigeons to root on.
there is also as has been mentioned the matter of what about the polluted run off,
both the detritus and the chemical
 

[Len Gribble]

Pat

It was not I re pitch witch it was Aquatechnique.

Would like to show picture but having problems loading it to this forum, but if you login to this other forum they have a section for P/W

http://www.another forum.co.uk/

Look under has any one got one of these


DON’T FORGET HS ASPECT

Len

[Aquatechnique]

An algicide or abicide sprayed on from the top downwards will kill off whats there now......watch for the run off though.....however I have investigated this and come up with a "revolutionary new way" to treat this problem...

I`m not a scientist and whether it works is yet to be seen but apparrently if you fix a half inch wide length of copper wire all along the ridge tiles, the resultant oxidation of the copper causes a mild solution of copper oxide which I`m told will wash down the roof when it rains and will keep on top of the spores as they start to grow.  Apparently moss / algae & lichen hate copper solutions and will not grow.

Now don`t ask me where I found that one out `cos I can`t remember....I`ll try and hunt it down again though. :

That would be a system similar to Copper Ridge?Popular in Scotland?

Great up to 10 ft from the actual strip,not so good further away as dilution of oxides is much to sparse to be of any use.Also when homeowners see the strip turn green from oxidisation can be funny about the effect on the appearance of their home!(one likened it to turning her house into a freight train)

For a simple test on the effect of oxides on these type of problems look no further than lead flashings under windows and the lack of algae growing beneath.

Algae adapts to living on roof tiles as the original fired glaze degrades over time leaving a rougher surface for root growth.Most of the time algae has migrated from nearby trees.

Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate is soluable in water and although costly is effective as an algaecide.So to are Copper Sulphates but you must beware of staining existing brickwork with these minerals.

If in doubt,or you have any further questions shoot me an e-mail

Kevin
Aquatechnique

[Len Gribble]

Aquatechnique

Re No4 can’t see were they are using 3kpsi for rinsing, if they are need head examined.

Len

[Aquatechnique]

Aquatechnique

Re No4 can’t see were they are using 3kpsi for rinsing, if they are need head examined.

Len

Len

I see this process of "cleaning" time and time again.No way ever will moss be removed the same day off a roof without using pressure that will in some way actually be detrimental to the lifespan of the roof.OK perhaps 3000 psi was slightlyexaggerated,but I dread to think what the granule loss was from the roof tiles.

I would be quite concerned about my roof if it were able to absorb moisture (the re growth retardant) for 20 minutes after wouldn`t you? Isn`t a roof supposed to repel rainwater after all?
Don`t get me wrong 20% of the process is good practice,80% is just not what I`d do!

Kevin
Aquatechnique

[Len Gribble]

Pat

Problem solved, this is a pitch witch




Len

[wreelyclean_servic]

  Hey carloso......who has made any bloody claims about what??

I merely mentioned that I have seen it somewhere and even offerred to re- search for the item.

If you`re daft enough to think that I wouldn`t clean the existing moss off first then you really shouldn`t be chipping in with your mis-spelt contributions.

As for nailing copper wire on the ridge tiles.....get real!!

Read your posting and go away and think how stupid you`ve made yourself look.

 : :

[pointer]

Hi Pat, for your gutters you mentioned to me about charging by the metre.
What is the going rate per metre?

cheers fella.