[allyoops]

Can anyone recommend any specific chemicals that will remove moss and algae from tarmac,I have 1200 sq meters to clean,and the price of some of the chemicals to clean that area seem rather expensive.
When I tell him its going to cost £250 for the chemicals alone he will think that I am taking the ****
Grateful for any input,cheers

[jaespray]

hi allyoops  i use qualgex from rigby taylor  i trust the chemical  it is important to kill the moss in tarmac   remember mossy tarmac represents old tarmac that is degrading and breaking down   high pressure will smash the tarmac there fore high flow rate is more important than hi pressure   aviod gun use where possible   and use rotary equipment  its all about knowing your nozzels    remmember only apply moss killers in damp moist overcast conditions   and allow about 10 days to take effect
regards john

[Rob_Mac]

I don't necessarily agree with that and don't really think there is any requirement for chemicals at all.

I have just got in from a store clean in Leicester. There is a Tarmac 3 metre wide fire escape all the way round the back of the store.

The store has been up thirteen years and part of my works is to clean the path. The path cleaned fine using a 15lpm Yanmar engined pressure washer @ 3000psi plus any additional pressure created by the turbo nozzle. This was on a 200 metre hose. The path was green when I started.

I neither damaged the tarmac or had any requirement to put a chemical on it.

600m2 in about three hours. If you use a flat surface cleaner you will be going over it again!!!!

Rob

[allyoops]

Thanks for the replies,but if you dont use chemicals you will have regrowth within a matter of weeks,washing alone will not kill the spores

[Rob_Mac]

You will not have regrowth within a matter of weeks - what a load of crap!!

I probably do a more diverse range of pressure washing than anyone else on this forum and my annual amount of metres will go into several hundreds of thousands.

I cleaned the roof of the Sainsbury's at Cobham two years ago, there was two sections that could not be cleaned. The main section was down the main road - A3 (?)

The front roof section was cleaned back to original colour but there was a noticable difference between the two sides.

I drove past it a couple of weeks ago and guess what the front elevation is still noticably clean and without any regrowth of moss or lichens.

Rob

[Alan McTernan]

Hi allyoops,

As Robert says PW as normal. We adjust the pressure accordingly (we use a turbo nozzle) but just be careful

If you want to apply some preventive solution we use www.mosskillers.co.uk. Give them a call and they will sort you out We normally use Batimoss CR from these guys!!

Any more questions give me a buzz

Hope this helps
Alan

[Rob_Mac]

I don't use chemicals but I would presume that the methodology would be to pressure wash the area and then apply the moss re growth. Is that right Alan?

Cannot see any point in applying it to then wash it away!

Rob

[Alan McTernan]

Hi Rob,

Yes apply after washing (and when dry)!! As it is a preventive measure (we only do it as an extra) normally at clients request

Cheers
Alan

[allyoops]

Thanks for all your comments,wondered if anyone has used chlorine

[Alan McTernan]

Thanks for the replies,but if you dont use chemicals you will have regrowth within a matter of weeks,washing alone will not kill the spores

So if you used Chlorine it would kill the spores?

[jaespray]

hi allyoops  if you realy want to try something that will realy work try sodium hypochlorite  but read the instrutions

[Alan McTernan]

hi allyoops if you realy want to try something that will realy work try sodium hypochlorite but read the instrutions

That is chlorine

If you want to kill the spores as you said, then you would have to remove the main body of he moss first and then apply a chemical and leave it on!! I would not do that with chlorine/sodium hypo.

As you said the proper chemicals are going to cost £250 over 1200m2 that is less than 50p per m2 so how much is it going to cost to use chlorine? Is it worth it?

Good Luck
Alan

[BDCS]

Forget the chemicals - if it comes back then you've got more work. Tell the customer that the conditions in that particular area are perfect for moss growth and to budget for a return next year to reclean. I mention frozen moss is like a ski slope

[Alan McTernan]

Forget the chemicals - if it comes back then you've got more work. Tell the customer that the conditions in that particular area are perfect for moss growth and to budget for a return next year to reclean. I mention frozen moss is like a ski slope

I advise re-application of chemical every 12/18 months to cover my rear end!!! (and it is rather large)

[drive surgeon]

i never use chemicals on tarmac. just use a flat surface cleaner. easy 

[mark.laycock1@ntlw]

it depends on how bad the tarmac is to blast the moss out.it is sometime easier to kill the moss first comes out better.