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After reading that post from the ex member leaving the forum in a huff, Martin quietly walks into the room not wanting to upset anyone or cause trouble, but with a small question on his mind that he would like to ask, quietly, in a soft voice he asks "has anyone used Cal-brite from Caltex International for cleaning roofs"? he asks this question because he believes that cal-brite is an acidic cleaner used by that company to clean roofs, and just out off curiosity would like to know how well a job it dose and if it works or not.

Martin takes two steps back and hangs his head in fear of retribution for asking such a question, but his need for knowledge over powers his fears as he waits for an answer.

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Martin, u da man, lol

I haven't used it and no one is after you lol

Is this one of the other formulas you have been investigating or is it something new??

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Trembling with fear Martin ads to the post,

Upon his experimentation's in regards to removing Aussie dirt form Tile and tin roofs he has found that Phosphoric acid works a treat but has some draw backs, His research has led him to products such as glycolic acid and urea hydrochloride both of which are organic, non toxic, environmentally friendly and safe acids to use and which provide excellent cleaning results and less corrosive then hypochlorite

he came across Cal-brite which he believes is used for roof cleaning and is an acidic product and then came upon this product http://www.leeffund.com/pdf/e03_Organic_lf.pdf although it is a domestic product if the strength was boosted a bit it could be used for roofs he thought, and he wondered if any one has tried such products.

this product contains Urea Hydrochloride http://athealaboratories.com/productdb/WebTech_PDFs/135web.pdf mold, dirt ???

Scurrying back his chair in the corner, Martin sits and contemplates why he has asked such a silly question that goes against the grain of his teachings and the thoughts of his superiors



-- Edited by idontknow on Friday 19th of February 2010 07:36:13 PM

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Martin, by all means experiment!
I was told by a chemist years ago to give it up cry
That SH was the gold standard for what we do.
I kinda got burned out looking.
I have been told by some old roof cleaning friends that hydrogen peroxide will clean.
I started to buy some 40 percent HP, untilI found out it can explode in sunlight!


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idontknow wrote:

After reading that post from the ex member leaving the forum in a huff, Martin quietly walks into the room not wanting to upset anyone or cause trouble, but with a small question on his mind that he would like to ask, quietly, in a soft voice he asks "has anyone used Cal-brite from Caltex International for cleaning roofs"? he asks this question because he believes that cal-brite is an acidic cleaner used by that company to clean roofs, and just out off curiosity would like to know how well a job it dose and if it works or not.

Martin takes two steps back and hangs his head in fear of retribution for asking such a question, but his need for knowledge over powers his fears as he waits for an answer.




Don't be afraid Martin...be VERY afraid LOL.

"Cal-brite from Caltex International for cleaning roofs"
This product is only useful on red dirt, as found on the planet Mars.  Maybe on Earth where the British colonized "Australia" ages ago, but surely, there is no life, much less roofs to clean there?

Just kidding bloke, the roofs you are trying to clean....what are they made of and what is on them that you are trying to get of?

KP


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KP wrote: This product is only useful on red dirt.

BINGO. It is in fact the red dirt I wish to remove and other dirts.

our Mars/ Aussie red dirt clay is a mongrel to remove, a pressure washer will not clean it off, degreasers do not work,Sodium hypochlorite will not remove it with out scrubbing, the only thing I have found that works is phosphoric acid

acid kills mold with in seconds but dose not bleach it, so you can still see it although it is now brown dead mold/algae, but if you wait 10 or 15 minutes you can hose it off with a regular garden hose the same goes for the red dirt, the acid seems to emulsify the red oxide dirt and it bubbles up.
the trouble is phosphoric acid can leave an acid burn (white film) if you use too much, hence my interest in Urea Hydrochloride which is spouted as an phosphoric acid replacement.

Cal-brite is an acidic cleaner that it seems is used for roof cleaning over your part of the world and I was just wondering if any one has used it on roofs and what happened

if it's not cal-brite that caltex use do clean roof, what do they use and what's in it?

-- Edited by idontknow on Friday 19th of February 2010 10:38:58 PM

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idontknow wrote:

KP wrote: This product is only useful on red dirt.

BINGO. It is in fact the red dirt I wish to remove and other dirts.

our Mars/ Aussie red dirt clay is a mongrel to remove, a pressure washer will not clean it off, degreasers do not work,Sodium hypochlorite will not remove it with out scrubbing, the only thing I have found that works is phosphoric acid

acid kills mold with in seconds but dose not bleach it, so you can still see it although it is now brown dead mold/algae, but if you wait 10 or 15 minutes you can hose it off with a regular garden hose the same goes for the red dirt, the acid seems to emulsify the red oxide dirt and it bubbles up.
the trouble is phosphoric acid can leave an acid burn (white film) if you use too much, hence my interest in Urea Hydrochloride which is spouted as an phosphoric acid replacement.

Cal-brite is an acidic cleaner that it seems is used for roof cleaning over your part of the world and I was just wondering if any one has used it on roofs and what happened

if it's not cal-brite that caltex use do clean roof, what do they use and what's in it?

-- Edited by idontknow on Friday 19th of February 2010 10:38:58 PM




Ever try Oxalic Acid Martin ?

Or Limonene Maybe ? 



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The mix I have been playing with contains: Water, phosphoric acid, Glycolic acid, a few drops of Orange power (a d-limonene product) and some ammoxy type surfactant. I must say that this mix smells really sweet and fresh, it's like a sweet sugar, orange, flower scent, you could work with this stuff all day and come home smelling like pot purie.

I want to try some of that Urea stuff and substitute the phosphoric acid but have not got my hands on any yet.

what I have found is that to kill the mold and clean you only need a small percentage of the acid mixed with water, about 15% dose the job. I have only been trying it on some old dirty moldy tiles I found laying around

If that urea stuff works in my mix I possible could end up with a product that kills mold, cleans, is non toxic, dose not corrode, dose not kill plants is safe to use and smells like a flower farm

or I could just be an idiot playing home chemist and end up with nothing and go back to SH

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Man if you really come up with this
"I possible could end up with a product that kills mold, cleans, is non toxic, dose not corrode, dose not kill plants is safe to use and smells like a flower farm"
It truly would change the game!!

Do you really have lots of mold on the roofs there?? We don't see a lot of Mold here in MD on a roof, just GM, Moss and fungus really.

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dosent hardly seem fair that a mars like place of the earth would have a roof cleaner that can have it that easy to clean roofs! We should be the advanced ones living in a civilized country! just picking on ya Martin

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"I must say that this mix smells really sweet and fresh, it's like a sweet sugar, orange, flower scent, you could work with this stuff all day and come home smelling like pot purie.

I want to try some of that Urea stuff"

In my experience, and I'm not really sure why, anything that smells very good never works very well on tough jobs...And urea is derived from (you guessed it) urine!  Get ready to mask that smell?ashamed

Martin, what are these roofs made of?  Clay, metal, stone?

Keep in mind that there can be two houses side by side in Florida.  Same age, same environment.  Only difference is one has asphalt shingles and the other has clay tile.  The clay is much harder to clean and requires a more potent mix, more applications, more time to clean etc.

I'm not sure what exactly you are dealing with there, maybe send along some pictures?  Lots of things can kill organic stuff (acid, alkaline, acetone, ammonia, gasoline, Jack Daniels)  Just make sure that while you are playing chemist that you are careful, especially with acid and SH.  I cleaned an aluminum-sided house years ago with a heavy duty acid to remove oxidation as a prep for paint.  As I let it dwell for a spell, I decided I would remove the mildew with SH on the rain gutters.  Even diluted down through down-streaming, the two DID NOT like one another.  The fumes were very toxic.

I wish you luck my friend and admire your tenacity.  Perhaps this red dirt from hell will always require a bit of pressure to remove it?  For instance, my damn Lamborghini drips oil on my garage floor.  I would love to just spray that spot and have it disappear, but alas, it still requires some pressure to remove it.  Even our touch-less car washes STILL require some pressure to clean and that is just dirt and film bonded on the surface via static electricity, nothing organic with 'roots' to remove.



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I am sure most of us know about all this, but for the sake of the newcomers, I am posting this information.
Sometimes, when a football team is losing games, the coach will get the team back to basics like blocking and tackling.
Good, basic infohere.

In household cleaning formulations, the surfactant (surface active agent) is often the most important single component. One or more surfactants are present in most all-purpose and specialty products. Other ingredients soften water, provide alkalinity, bleach, destroy microorganisms, and provide a wide variety of specific cleaning and aesthetic functions.

Surfactants are organic compounds whose molecules consist of two parts: a water-hating (hydrophobic) part and a water-loving (hydrophilic) part. When a surfactant molecule is introduced into water, the water-hating part tries to escape by attaching itself to any available surface other than water. At the same time, the water-loving part tries to remain in water. As a result, surfactants tend to strongly "adsorb" or cling to many surfaces, such as fabric, soil, glass, and where the water and air meet (the water/air interface).
  • When they adsorb to a surface, surfactants can loosen and remove the soils from the surface.
  • When they adsorb to soil, surfactants hold soil particles in suspension and help prevent them from redepositing onto the surface from which they have been removed.
  • When they are adsorbed at the water/air interface, they reduce the surface tension of water and allow the water to spread out. Without the use of a surfactant, water tends to "bead up" in droplets. This beading slows down the wetting of the surface and inhibits the cleaning process. Surfactants make water "wetter."
Surfactants are classified by their ionic (electrical) charge.

Anionic surfactants have a negative charge. Anionic surfactants are effective in removing particulate (dirt, dust, etc.) and oily soils. In hard water, they react with positively charged water hardness minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. Soap is the original anionic surfactant. In hard water it combines with calcium and magnesium salts to form an insoluble soap film or scum. In general, anionic surfactants tend to generate higher suds levels than other classes of surfactants. Cationic surfactants have a positive charge. In hard surface cleaners, they can be used as effective antimicrobial agents. Nonionic surfactants do not have an electrical charge. Because of this, they tend to be less seriously affected by water hardness. In general, they are low foaming and are especially useful in products which are designed to require little rinsing.

The major surfactants in cleaning products are biodegradable. This means that in sewage treatment facilities they are broken down by bacteria, first to smaller molecules and ultimately to carbon dioxide, water and minerals.

Builders follow surfactants in importance as ingredients in household cleaners, particularly in all-purpose cleaners. The most basic function of builders is to tie up the hardness minerals in water so they do not interfere with the cleaning action of the surfactants - they soften water. Some builders also aid in keeping soil particles in suspension, thus assuring that cleaned surfaces remain clean.

There are three types of builders.

A sequestering builder is, in many ways, the most effective type. Sometimes also referred to as a chelating agent (from the Greek word for crab's claw), this type of builder forms a tightly bound, water-soluble complex with calcium or magnesium ions. These water hardness ions are then removed in the rinsing operation.

Some builders also tie up the ions of heavy metals, such as iron and manganese. Heavy metal ions can form colored products when oxidized by air, oxygen or bleaches. Their inactivation thus contributes to good cleaning results. Complex phosphates, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and sodium citrate are common sequestering builders.

Precipitating builders also remove hardness ions. They do so by forming insoluble calcium compounds. In the cleaning process, this precipitate needs to be removed along with the other soils on the surfaces being cleaned. Sodium carbonate and sodium silicate are examples of precipitating builders.

Ion exchange builders function by trading electrically charged particles. Sodium aluminosilicate (zeolite) is an ion exchange builder.

Other ingredients are present in household cleaners to varying degrees, depending on the job the product is formulated to perform.

Abrasives contribute to the mechanical effectiveness of scouring cleansers. In general, abrasives consist of small particles of minerals. Among other properties, they are distinguished by their hardness, a property that is measured on the Moh scale. This scale ranks substances by their relative ability to produce a scratch. Diamond, with a value of 10 on the Moh scale, can scratch almost anything. Glass, on this scale, has a value of 7. The following are among the minerals used in scouring cleansers in order of decreasing hardness: silica (7), feldspar (6) and calcite (3).

Acids can dissolve calcium and metal salts and find use in tub, tile, sink and toilet bowl cleaners. Phosphoric acid is a common ingredient in such formulations. Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid used in some toilet bowl cleaners. As an organic acid, hydroxyacetic acid is milder than hydrochloric or phosphoric, but one which provides a measure of sequestering effectiveness. Vinegar (acetic acid) is the weakest acid in this series.

Alkalis ensure that pH is maintained at a desirably high level during cleaning. Sodium hydroxide and sodium metasilicate are strong alkalis which not only maintain a high pH, but also play a primary role in removing solid grease. Sodium carbonate, in addition to providing a moderately high pH, provides buffering to maintain pH levels when a product is diluted. It can also precipitate out water hardness ions and, thereby, provide some building function.

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) provides alkalinity at a somewhat lower pH. It is useful for buffering formulations which will contact the skin and for other uses where mildness is important.

Silicates perform additional useful functions. They provide corrosion protection, particularly on "white" metals like aluminum. They are also helpful in suspending fine particles and reducing the redeposition of soil that has been removed from surfaces. Ammonia is a particularly useful alkali in floor wax removers.

Antimicrobial agents can destroy bacteria and viruses by interfering with their metabolism or destroying their cell walls. Different chemical structures can serve this purpose, including alcohol, sodium hypochlorite, iodine, pine oil, phenolic and quaternary ammonium compounds. Such molecules act as disinfectants in household cleaning product formulations. Disinfecting products must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency before they can be sold.

Bleaching agents act as soil and stain removers. They attack soil chemically, breaking it down to smaller units. Colored soils and stains are oxidized to a colorless, more easily removable form. The most commonly used bleaching agent is sodium hypochlorite, which is prepared from chlorine gas and a solution of sodium hydroxide. Sodium hypochlorite is an effective, relatively indiscriminate oxidizing agent. Not only does it attack soil, but it is also a disinfectant capable of attacking and destroying bacteria, viruses and mold. It is an important component in many tile and grout cleaners.

Colorants are present in most products. They provide a product with an individual characteristic and an appealing appearance. Often, they also act as tracers. In certain toilet bowl cleaners, for example, the disappearance of color indicates the product is exhausted. In other products, the tracer indicates the location of product and helps assure uniform product application, as in certain floor cleaners.

Enzymes break down soils into simpler forms that can easily be removed by the cleaner. They are proteins that are classified by the type of soil they break down: amylase works on starch soils, lipase on fatty and oily soils and protease on protein soils.

Fragrances cover the base odor of the chemicals used in cleaning products. They may also counteract any malodor inherent in soil itself and leave a pleasing scent after cleaning.

Polymers are compounds whose molecules are very large, compared to most of the other materials found in household cleaners. The molecules are made up of many (up to millions) smaller molecules, which may be identical or which may be of two, and sometimes three, kinds. Linking the smaller molecules to each other is a process referred to as polymerization. When polymers dry, they form films, much in the same manner in which paint dries to a thin film. This is particularly helpful in floor care products where the film protects the surface and may provide a shine as well.

Polymers can also be used as builders and can assist as thickening agents.

Processing aids are added to keep the product homogeneous under varying storage conditions, and to provide desirable dispensing characteristics. Such aids include clays, polymers, sodium silicate and sodium sulfate.

Preservatives protect the product against the natural effects that occur when a product ages _ decay, discoloration, oxidation and bacterial attack. Preservatives include ingredients such as butylated hydroxy toluene, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid and glutaraldehyde.

Solvents (organic) have a specific place in products where grease removal and cleaning without leaving a residue is important: window cleaners and products for removing finger marks on walls, for example. Since such products are generally liquids with water as the main ingredient, useful solvents must not only be able to dissolve grease, but must also be compatible with water. Organic compounds make up the solvents of choice in these products.



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Hay guys let me say I am just playing around with this stuff to see if it works, I'm not saying that I have found the Holy grail (far from it) our roofs are 80% tile roofs and 20% tin roofs, shingle roofs are few and far between, I can not under stand why someone would put a roof on there house that only lasts 20 years, a tile roof will last 100 years

My home is made from sand stone with a paperbark coloured corrugated tin roof (4 years old) which had mold on it from the trees, I wanted to clean it off and in my search for what to use to clean it I came across this site and thought wow here's an opportunity to make some cash, cleaning roofs, almost every house over 5 years old has a dirty roof most of which is mold plus some mars dirt.

SH can potentially corrode tin roofs (google colorbond roofs), all our homes have gutters made from tin, so they too can potentially corrode from SH (this is why you use special pumps to pump SH)

our tile roofs come in all shapes and sizes, similar to your tile roofs the difference is the type of dirt we have which is "red mars dirt" I have no problem with SH it kills mold (fact) but to really clean our tile roofs I think I need some thing more. Chris if you can remember the other Aussie guy on here, he tried to clean a tile roof with SH even went to straight SH with really strong hydroxide to try and clean it ended up pressure washing it because it was the only way to get it clean.
shingles and tile are two different animals and through trial and era I feel that I need more, this is why I keep bringing up all these new fangle dangle ideas, I just want to be able to do the best job that I can do

Thank's for all your comments, 2,000 roof cleaners in the USA, 2 in Australia, it gets a bit lonely down here.



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I like the odds. I'm moving to Australia

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Hey Martin,

{awakening from a coma}

I think I'm gonna be okay.....still have a few bump and bruises. Those Jersey boys beat me up pretty good (no insult intended here, lol).

Actually, I met with the guy from Caltex a few years ago. He did a demonstration and gave me a sample to take with me. I was looking into mold remediation at the time. If I remember correctly, it was a two part peroxide based product with an activating agent. It worked really well on mold and I would have tried to use it if he wasn't asking so much to buy into the business. At that time, I wasn't particularly looking at the roof cleaning aspect so I didn't do any research into that but the guys using for mold remediation said it worked really well.

BTW, I got a good laugh from your first post!!!

Scott

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Martin hasnt been on here sincr August of 2011.

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He did have an awesome avatar.

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Yeah that avatar was sweet. Third person was a little spooky at first.

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