I got a PM from a very nice, very willing to help fellow professional roof cleaner. The subject of tarping and rinsing was brought up. This is my reply below. He thinks that plants should be watered, before tarps are put over plants. You can read my thoughts on the subject, after having starting out in 1991 doing what "seemed" logical and having to change my methods.
Here's my reply:
I don't water plants before tarping, because here in Florida, it adds to the "cooking effect" of plastic on leaves. Of course, I started out in 1991 in the "what would seem logical" way first and wet them down. 2 hours later in 96 degree beating sun and I had some steamed greens! Not so tasty and not good looking either! That's why I tarp them dry. The purpose of watering them after, is to perk up any wilting, caused by trapped heat. Also, to add large amounts of water to the ground, to dilute any chlorine that gets in the soil near the plants. The other option, of course, is to just water plants constantly throughout the job.
Chuck
-- Edited by Bergman Roof Cleaning Port Charlotte FL 941-698-1959 on Saturday 12th of February 2011 09:07:18 AM
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Serving Englewood Rotonda North Port Cape Haze Venice Port Charlotte Punta Gorda Boca Grande Charlotte and Southern Sarasota Counties in Florida.
Your method makes sence to me anyone who has had a home owner complain about wilted plants should do this
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When I used to tarp I always soaked down first then every twenty or 30 minutes depending on heat I would spray them down again, I even wet the tarp to keep it cool.It is suggested to use a dark colored tarp compared to a light colored,the heat builds up slower from what I read. I dont tarp anymore unless its some exotic shrub, a good soaking and a ground man rinsing during application and a good rinse at end eliminates tarps.
When I used to tarp I always soaked down first then every twenty or 30 minutes depending on heat I would spray them down again, I even wet the tarp to keep it cool.It is suggested to use a dark colored tarp compared to a light colored,the heat builds up slower from what I read. I dont tarp anymore unless its some exotic shrub, a good soaking and a ground man rinsing during application and a good rinse at end eliminates tarps.
Thats exactly how WE do it at Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa. But some are forced to work alone.
I agree with Chuck about NOT watering plants before Tarping. IMHO, this tells the plants it is "chow time", and wakes them up, maybe even opens their pores to "accept the water" ? Whatever, steamed plants were the results.
Bottom Line ? Plants need to breathe, suffocate them on a hot day, and you will be sorry!
Thanks guys! I use silver tarps now and I do wet the tarps down as suggested to keep them as cool as possible. I am in a different situation than some of you. I do not live in or near a big city. The nearest big cities are Sarasota and Ft Myers and I don't care to work that far away, so I don't advertise there and unless work is very slow, I don't go there to bid jobs. So, I try to stay a small business-father and son and usually don't have a ground man, as we are both working in different places. I not only have a roof cleaning business, I have a licensed painting & pressure cleaning business too. If any of you need a side business to keep you busier in the summer, you might want to consider mowing and landscape maintenance [I have about 28 jobs that I maintain landscapes on and only 8 lawns that I mow at present and that amounts to about $1800.00 a month and maybe 4 - 12 hours a week - depending on the time of year- in labor. Most lawns are like $100.00 a month year round. I do them 1 time a month Dec,-March and 2 x a month April,May,June & nov. Same with the weeding/landscape jobs-which are all seperate from the lawns. I'm building 4 seperate businesses and plan to sell the lawn business, when it reaches a certain value, then the Painting & Pressure washing business in 3 parts- Port Charlotte area-Venice area-then Englewood area. In the end, if I ain't dead first, i'm just gonna do roof cleaning and retire in a year and a half at 62. That's the plan, but you know what they say about "the best laid plans"
UPDATE March 2013 I SOLD OFF THE LAWN / LADSCAPE BUSINESS 2 YEARS AGO. HATED IT!!!!
-- Edited by Bergman Roof Cleaning Port Charlotte FL 941-698-1959 on Sunday 17th of March 2013 10:31:53 AM
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Serving Englewood Rotonda North Port Cape Haze Venice Port Charlotte Punta Gorda Boca Grande Charlotte and Southern Sarasota Counties in Florida.
In THIS Economy, we all do what we must to survive ! We only do roof cleaning in tampa area, have for 17 years. But we started non pressure roof cleaning in Tampa when no one did it. As a result, we have Thousands of repeat tampa area roof cleaning customers as our customer base. These happy tampa area roof cleaning customers return, and tell their friends about Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa. Thus, we survive JUST cleaning roofs. Many start out cleaning roofs as an add on to another business. For some, that is all roof cleaning will ever be. But once you get bitten by the roof cleaning bug, many elect to clean roofs full time.
Chuck, I KNOW first hand that there is a LOT of roof cleaning work down your way. I predict as search engines find and INDEX you, you will be too busy to paint, and cut grass ?
You bring a lot of good stuff to our board, experience gained only by years in the hot Florida Sun.
Thank you for all your valueable posts here at RCIA
I would like to add to the tarp debate.. Learn from our mistake! Out here all these rich people have koi ponds and stuff. we always tarp them for obvious reasons but found out the hard way that you can still get screwed. the tarp apparently hadent been rinsed good enough and some solution(old) got in the pond. it killed the fish so we had to replace them. luckily they were only a few hundred bucs but that should have never happened. we have cleaned dozens of roofs with koi ponds right under them without problems until then. Now the guys carry a fish tank ph kit and have to thouroughly wash a tarp the day before a job and the day of. for some reason koi ponds are the new trend! Morale of this story is don't always trust your tarps and on a good note don't be afraid to clean around expensive ponds. with proper precautions you will be fine.
I would like to add to the tarp debate.. Learn from our mistake! Out here all these rich people have koi ponds and stuff. we always tarp them for obvious reasons but found out the hard way that you can still get screwed. the tarp apparently hadent been rinsed good enough and some solution(old) got in the pond. it killed the fish so we had to replace them. luckily they were only a few hundred bucs but that should have never happened. we have cleaned dozens of roofs with koi ponds right under them without problems until then. Now the guys carry a fish tank ph kit and have to thouroughly wash a tarp the day before a job and the day of. for some reason koi ponds are the new trend! Morale of this story is don't always trust your tarps and on a good note don't be afraid to clean around expensive ponds. with proper precautions you will be fine.
Good stuff! Koi Ponds can be a roof cleaning nightmare. The chemical can seep in from the ground, and kill the Fish. Having Chlorine Neutralizer handy is a great idea, as it checking water PH, And, like you said, be sure NO Puddles or residue are left in your Tarps.
I would like to add to the tarp debate.. Learn from our mistake! Out here all these rich people have koi ponds and stuff. we always tarp them for obvious reasons but found out the hard way that you can still get screwed. the tarp apparently hadent been rinsed good enough and some solution(old) got in the pond. it killed the fish so we had to replace them. luckily they were only a few hundred bucs but that should have never happened. we have cleaned dozens of roofs with koi ponds right under them without problems until then. Now the guys carry a fish tank ph kit and have to thouroughly wash a tarp the day before a job and the day of. for some reason koi ponds are the new trend! Morale of this story is don't always trust your tarps and on a good note don't be afraid to clean around expensive ponds. with proper precautions you will be fine.
Good stuff! Koi Ponds can be a roof cleaning nightmare. The chemical can seep in from the ground, and kill the Fish. Having Chlorine Neutralizer handy is a great idea, as it checking water PH, And, like you said, be sure NO Puddles or residue are left in your Tarps.
Be there also and have unfortunately done thatMescalera and Chris,
Years ago when I ran AAction Power Wash down in Miami,FL. we came across across our first very expensive home with a Koi Pond and about 8,500 sq. feet of Barrel Tile roof to clean.
We did a great job on the roof, it came out awesome and the customer was very happy but later we got the call saying their fish had died.
So,we made money on the front end but at the time didn't think about the runoff and so we ate it big time at the expense of the Koi Pond.
It was a definite OUCH! experience as we found out they had some RARE imported species of Koi that were pedigreed like they do dogs and cats and such.
The damn thing is the fish were worth about as much as the job and when it was all said and done we made about $300.00 for 1-1/2 days work with three guys, working like mad with hot water washers and bleach.
The moral of that story was I quickly became a lot better aquainted with my local pet store owner and bought some Koi pond books and a Ph TEST kit as Chris from Apple mentioned plus got some pool store chlorine neutralizer and carried both of those products from then on on every rig.
After that we never had to deal with a Koi pond as close to the structure or as big as this first one we did and never killed a whole pond of Koi again thank god.
After that we tarped when appropriate, rinsed the tarps after most every job as a matter of course and paid SPECIAL attention to the needs of those homeowners we did run into with landscapes with terrascapes in them. I got a lot better a reducing unecassary runoff and we found good use for flexible leech line and flexible gutter diverters, etc.
Live and learn. You can't ever be lax around pets, plants or Koi.
Precautionary saftey measures are the rule now for Roof Clean USA of Thomasville, GA and Tallahassee, FL.
Up here in Georgia we don't have as many people with Koi but many have private lakes. Here in Georgia we pay special attention to minimizing runoff by properly mixing and applying roof cleaning chemicals to the appropriate strength to do the job with the first or at most the second application of roof cleaners. That is our main strategy to keeping enviro-friendly and keeping our KOI bill to a minimum.
Plan and prepare for the worst, and keep your options open and expect the best
Thanks again Mescalera and Chris and Chuck, Kevin, Jeff, Mike S., in fact everyone who posted on the subject of plant and landscape protection measures and what works in your part of the country.
This is a Learning forum. The Roof Cleaning Institute Of America is a platform of growth for roof cleaners near and far.
For me, I learned several things during this discussion on this thread. For that , I am grateful to evryone for all the experience and prospectives brought to this discussion tarping and watering do's and don'ts.
I appreciate ALL of you and your dedication towards being the best most well rounded roof cleaners in the USA and the world.
I have only run into maybe 3 Koi ponds and just built a nice tight tent over them and over extended away from the pond edge. Didn't have any problems, but the made me a bit jittery!
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Serving Englewood Rotonda North Port Cape Haze Venice Port Charlotte Punta Gorda Boca Grande Charlotte and Southern Sarasota Counties in Florida.
Great stories! We have our tarps marked so we try to have the affected side up always and rinse when at a secure location. What do you guys usually do when HOs have outside dogs?
I have been rinsing my tarps after use and tarping areas before watering. We have been using some clear plastic as well as blue and brown tarps. The plastic seems like it could bake em pretty quick so usually I have my ground man pull the tarps after an area is clear and tarp ahead of me. (Keeps him busier). Most of our tarps are only down for about 30 min, before they get moved. If I see a trouble runoff spot I have my ground man leave the hose there to saturate the area before any love may hit it. After completion we rinse everything, windows, plants, facia, equipment, etc.... As we work I try to have the ground man wet any siding, gutters and facia that may get overspray, to avoid cleaning large areas of the house for free.
I have been rinsing my tarps after use and tarping areas before watering. We have been using some clear plastic as well as blue and brown tarps. The plastic seems like it could bake em pretty quick so usually I have my ground man pull the tarps after an area is clear and tarp ahead of me. (Keeps him busier). Most of our tarps are only down for about 30 min, before they get moved. If I see a trouble runoff spot I have my ground man leave the hose there to saturate the area before any love may hit it. After completion we rinse everything, windows, plants, facia, equipment, etc.... As we work I try to have the ground man wet any siding, gutters and facia that may get overspray, to avoid cleaning large areas of the house for free.
Giving a FREE overspray house wash...hmmm that could be "a good Closing tool" LOL
Here is a post from 2009 I made about watering and tarping plants.
At that time, my online presence was not so good and I was more of a "Money Go-Getter" than I can be now [Health]
Chris Tucker said this "Chuck, I KNOW first hand that there� is a LOT of roof cleaning work down your way. I predict as search engines find and INDEX you, you will be too busy to paint, and cut grass ?"
BOY, WAS HE EVER RIGHT!
-- Edited by Bergman Roof Cleaning Port Charlotte FL 941-698-1959 on Sunday 17th of March 2013 10:34:56 AM
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Serving Englewood Rotonda North Port Cape Haze Venice Port Charlotte Punta Gorda Boca Grande Charlotte and Southern Sarasota Counties in Florida.
Bergman Roof Cleaning Port Charlotte FL 941-698-1959 wrote:
Here is a post from 2009 I made about watering and tarping plants.
At that time, my online presence was not so good and I was more of a "Money Go-Getter" than I can be now [Health]
Chris Tucker said this "Chuck, I KNOW first hand that there� is a LOT of roof cleaning work down your way. I predict as search engines find and INDEX you, you will be too busy to paint, and cut grass ?"
BOY, WAS HE EVER RIGHT!
-- Edited by Bergman Roof Cleaning Port Charlotte FL 941-698-1959 on Sunday 17th of March 2013 10:34:56 AM
 Yeah, this was an old old thread! If people look, there are several really good old threads at RCIA. Hey, I am all for making progress in roof cleaning, IF it works. But sometimes it is hard to beat the old, tried and true way of doing things.