roof cleaning
- Thread starter 7dgirl
- Start date
smoothmarine187
Well-Known Member
I cleaned mine last year, it had that black mold crap all over it. I sprayed it off and then added some mold resistant stuff that's supposed to keep it off for a year. I don't know of any companies that do it though.
If you're talking about the black streak-like stuff you see on many shingled roofs, you can't clean that. It's an algae that actually "feeds" of the asphalt in the shingles. You can add these copper cap type things I understand which changes the water as it runs down and will deter any more algae from growing but once it's there you can't fully remove it is my understanding. They do make shingles that are supposed to resist the formation but of course that means replacing the roof.
GWguy
*
That's probably true, I have a cupola on my garage roof, and the runoff from that completely deters any mold or algae. I wasn't sure if it was the copper or the paint. My neighbor did clean his roof, came out ok. But the stuff he used, specific for cleaning roof tiles, will kill anything on the ground underneath it.
i just spoke to this one company. he told me you can get rid of it. and then to put the copper stirps on the roof to stop it from coming back. he is comng out next week to look at it. he says he has pic. of roofs he has done before. so we will see. i let you guys know how it turns out.
GWguy
*
Please post back. I would be interested in that as well, and what he quotes you.
clevalley
...
Ok - I have a secret concoction;
Take a 2 gallon pump sprayer - add 1/2 gallon of bleach, rest water, 1 cap full of liquid clothes detergent. The bleach kills the mold, water thins it, liquid soap lets the solution "cling" to the surface...
Pump it up and spray it on your siding (vinyl or aluminum), shingles, lawn furniture, grill, bricks, concrete, windows, screens, gutters, facia boards, soffet - whatever and it will clean it and kill the mold... use a garden hose to rinse it off. I have done this for about 14 years and have had no problems...
If you do your siding - let the solution stay on for about 3-5 minutes before you rinse it - it lets the bleach kill the mold and loosen up dirt... DO NOT let it dry or you will have a mess... keep it wet and like I said, use a garden hose to rinse it off. The green mold on your siding might take a couple of applications BUT it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the cleaners at Lowes that really does not work that well... Most of the "dirt" you actually see on siding (if you look REALLY close) are little black dots - this is black mold... bleach will kill it!
You use a straight stream on the sprayer to get high and just "paint" the areas to be clean! Use the fan for when you are down low on the ground and up close... you will see the crud just run off..
This should also clean your roof as well...
Wear old clothes and try not to be in direct sun, so it does not evaporate, make sure the surface is not hot to the touch - use common sense!
Take a 2 gallon pump sprayer - add 1/2 gallon of bleach, rest water, 1 cap full of liquid clothes detergent. The bleach kills the mold, water thins it, liquid soap lets the solution "cling" to the surface...
Pump it up and spray it on your siding (vinyl or aluminum), shingles, lawn furniture, grill, bricks, concrete, windows, screens, gutters, facia boards, soffet - whatever and it will clean it and kill the mold... use a garden hose to rinse it off. I have done this for about 14 years and have had no problems...
If you do your siding - let the solution stay on for about 3-5 minutes before you rinse it - it lets the bleach kill the mold and loosen up dirt... DO NOT let it dry or you will have a mess... keep it wet and like I said, use a garden hose to rinse it off. The green mold on your siding might take a couple of applications BUT it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the cleaners at Lowes that really does not work that well... Most of the "dirt" you actually see on siding (if you look REALLY close) are little black dots - this is black mold... bleach will kill it!
You use a straight stream on the sprayer to get high and just "paint" the areas to be clean! Use the fan for when you are down low on the ground and up close... you will see the crud just run off..
This should also clean your roof as well...
Wear old clothes and try not to be in direct sun, so it does not evaporate, make sure the surface is not hot to the touch - use common sense!
Ok - I have a secret concoction;
Take a 2 gallon pump sprayer - add 1/2 gallon of bleach, rest water, 1 cap full of liquid clothes detergent. The bleach kills the mold, water thins it, liquid soap lets the solution "cling" to the surface...
Pump it up and spray it on your siding (vinyl or aluminum), shingles, lawn furniture, grill, bricks, concrete, windows, screens, gutters, facia boards, soffet - whatever and it will clean it and kill the mold... use a garden hose to rinse it off. I have done this for about 14 years and have had no problems...
If you do your siding - let the solution stay on for about 3-5 minutes before you rinse it - it lets the bleach kill the mold and loosen up dirt... DO NOT let it dry or you will have a mess... keep it wet and like I said, use a garden hose to rinse it off. The green mold on your siding might take a couple of applications BUT it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the cleaners at Lowes that really does not work that well... Most of the "dirt" you actually see on siding (if you look REALLY close) are little black dots - this is black mold... bleach will kill it!
You use a straight stream on the sprayer to get high and just "paint" the areas to be clean! Use the fan for when you are down low on the ground and up close... you will see the crud just run off..
This should also clean your roof as well...
Wear old clothes and try not to be in direct sun, so it does not evaporate, make sure the surface is not hot to the touch - use common sense!
do you do this. or do you know the guy who does this. or where did you find this info.
GWguy
*
Ok - I have a secret concoction;
Take a 2 gallon pump sprayer - add 1/2 gallon of bleach, rest water, 1 cap full of liquid clothes detergent. The bleach kills the mold, water thins it, liquid soap lets the solution "cling" to the surface...
Pump it up and spray it on your siding (vinyl or aluminum), shingles, lawn furniture, grill, bricks, concrete, windows, screens, gutters, facia boards, soffet - whatever and it will clean it and kill the mold... use a garden hose to rinse it off. I have done this for about 14 years and have had no problems...
If you do your siding - let the solution stay on for about 3-5 minutes before you rinse it - it lets the bleach kill the mold and loosen up dirt... DO NOT let it dry or you will have a mess... keep it wet and like I said, use a garden hose to rinse it off. The green mold on your siding might take a couple of applications BUT it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the cleaners at Lowes that really does not work that well... Most of the "dirt" you actually see on siding (if you look REALLY close) are little black dots - this is black mold... bleach will kill it!
You use a straight stream on the sprayer to get high and just "paint" the areas to be clean! Use the fan for when you are down low on the ground and up close... you will see the crud just run off..
This should also clean your roof as well...
Wear old clothes and try not to be in direct sun, so it does not evaporate, make sure the surface is not hot to the touch - use common sense!
I use the powerwasher on the siding for the algae, don't have much problem with mold. That usually lasts for a couple of seasons before I have to do it again. I have a lot of chlorine in my water....
Lilypad
Well-Known Member
The black algae that is feeding on the limestone filler in the shingles. There are 2 formulas of roof cleaner that work great. Roof OX and ROOF QSE. The QSE (Quick Simple Effective) is the stronger of the two, and is meant for extreme home owners, or contractors. Both are safe, and do not contain chlorine bleach ( which dries out shingles).
Roof cleaning removes roof mold. Roof cleaning uses the best roof cleaner & roof shingle armor. Your Roof, Cleaner Forever!
Roof cleaning removes roof mold. Roof cleaning uses the best roof cleaner & roof shingle armor. Your Roof, Cleaner Forever!
clevalley
...
I do this myself - my father-in-law owned a trucking company and used this "formula" to clean his semi-frames...
One day at the house he accidentally sprayed his siding and all the dirt ran off of it... next thing he knew he was cleaning his house!
He called and told me, so I cleaned mine!
I do this every 2 years - takes about 3-4 hours on my house (3000 SQ FT - 2 Story Colonial)...
If it is REALLY moldy or algae - you can mix it 50/50 (bleach water) but if you have any flowers at the base of the house, it will bleach them - found this out with Impatiens flowers one year!
No biggie though...
clevalley
...
I do - I do not use a 50/50 mix on the roof - for the roof I make sure I use about 25 bleach 75 water... I do not let it sit on there for hours - just long enough to see that the staining is lifting and I rinse it really good with a hose - but I am on the roof letting the water run down. I only have 3 areas where I have this problem... the rest of the roof is fine. I have to do it here soon and it will be my 3rd time in 6 years... no problems so far.
I just did a search, you can used Oxygen Bleach...
Cleaning Shingles - Algae / Mildew / Oxygen Bleach
Others use TSP and Chlorine Bleach mix...
Removing fungus, mildew, algae and more from roofs on the Natural Handyman home repair and do it yourself website
EDIT - TO ADD;
Cleaning Asphalt Shingle Roof
Last edited:
Tomcat
Anytime
Don't waste your time or money, do it yourself
Good advice, I like the links in your other post better
Neighbors thought I was crazy 2 years ago when I washed the roof on the house. I used a mixture of water, bleach, TSP, and liquid dish soap. (something like the above link) Worked great, got rid of the streaks, and hasn't come back yet.
clevalley
...
General Lee
Well-Known Member
Ok - I have a secret concoction;
Take a 2 gallon pump sprayer - add 1/2 gallon of bleach, rest water, 1 cap full of liquid clothes detergent. The bleach kills the mold, water thins it, liquid soap lets the solution "cling" to the surface...
Pump it up and spray it on your siding (vinyl or aluminum), shingles, lawn furniture, grill, bricks, concrete, windows, screens, gutters, facia boards, soffet - whatever and it will clean it and kill the mold... use a garden hose to rinse it off. I have done this for about 14 years and have had no problems...
If you do your siding - let the solution stay on for about 3-5 minutes before you rinse it - it lets the bleach kill the mold and loosen up dirt... DO NOT let it dry or you will have a mess... keep it wet and like I said, use a garden hose to rinse it off. The green mold on your siding might take a couple of applications BUT it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the cleaners at Lowes that really does not work that well... Most of the "dirt" you actually see on siding (if you look REALLY close) are little black dots - this is black mold... bleach will kill it!
You use a straight stream on the sprayer to get high and just "paint" the areas to be clean! Use the fan for when you are down low on the ground and up close... you will see the crud just run off..
This should also clean your roof as well...
Wear old clothes and try not to be in direct sun, so it does not evaporate, make sure the surface is not hot to the touch - use common sense!
Right on, bro. I do the same, except I'll have to try your detergent trick.
OP- the black stuff on your roof is mold, bleach will kill it but you generally have to scrub it and rinse. Be careful using a pressure washer on shingles, you don't want to remove the asphalt.
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GreenHornet
New Member
Glad to know I am not the only nutjob that does this!
Since you have to a nut job to do this I think I'm going to start washing my roof. It doesn't really need it since my home is still new but it will give the neighbors something to watch.
ImnoMensa
New Member
I bought some stuff that cost 35 bucks a gallond and wasnt worth a damn.
I like clevalleys plan I would be cautious about using a pressure sprayer as it might wash off the grit on your shingles if too much pressure is used.
I found that soap and bleach did a better job than the commercial stuff ,but you have to get it on evenly, I try to clean mine just before a rain. I use Greased Lightning on the Vinyl siding , it removes just about everything, even spider crap. ,but dont get it on aluminum soffix or it will take off the paint. I put this stuff on with a Garden sprayer.
I like clevalleys plan I would be cautious about using a pressure sprayer as it might wash off the grit on your shingles if too much pressure is used.
I found that soap and bleach did a better job than the commercial stuff ,but you have to get it on evenly, I try to clean mine just before a rain. I use Greased Lightning on the Vinyl siding , it removes just about everything, even spider crap. ,but dont get it on aluminum soffix or it will take off the paint. I put this stuff on with a Garden sprayer.
