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Roof Cleaning Fort Myers FL 239-466-6980 wrote:

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Ugly Shingles wrote:

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aaron61 wrote:

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So your walkin backward down the slop towards the edge??

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Look at the picture I posted (above) you can see we go from the top down walking forwards stopping 2 foot from the edge...

Sorry Dave I still like your idea about using tent straps to hold the bags on

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You guys up north clean mostly shingle roofs. Down in south Florida the majority of roofs (that people will actually pay to clean) ate tile roofs. You can't walk from top down cleaning because you won't get all the faces of the tiles. Unless I'm missing something?? I don't like walking tile roofs to clean but end doing so anyway because it just seems quicker. I normally start at the top and walk forward side to side and then move down and do it again. Spraying from a ladder doesn't seem to work real good when cleaning barrel tile. You are always getting down to move the ladder a couple feet. Unless you just flood the roof but most don't have gutters and I don't want to risk killing all the landscaping. If there is a better way, I would love to know. Jon

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 When I was cleaning tile roofs, I always sprayed UP, against the face of the tiles.

This gets the edges better, and wastes less chemical doing it. Standing on top of a tile roof and spraying down, counting on run off to get edges is chicken chit. Many of my employees have been scared to be up on a tile roof. This fear must be overcome, or they must go. Some have admitted they do not like to go near the bottom of a tile roof, turn sideways, then walk up, spraying as they go, because of fear of falling.

The fact is tile roofs are slippery, so care must be taken when cleaning them. Home Depot used to sell a garden wand with a shower pattern that was great for tile roof cleaning. I have not seen THAT one in years, but I really liked it.  One must also be careful about surfactants, they can actually LUBRICATE a Tile Roof so u bust your azz ! Dawn is super slick to use on a glazed tile roof, for instance.

We prefer Ammonyx LO because it only takes a little of it, and my employees say it makes the tile roofs we clean less slick vs dish soaps like ajax and dawn.

Roof Cleaning New Braunfels TX 830-660-9849 wrote:

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I have yet to clean a tile roof but hopefully It will be soon. thanks for sharing Chris

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 1/2 of the roofs we clean are tile roofs, big ones too.

aaron61 wrote:

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Really....I must be using way to much sauce then. I seem to get allot of run off. Last shingle roof I did 3500 sqft. I probably took away 10 gls in run off. It always seems to take 2 coats to get these roofs where I feel comfortable leaving and I'm runnin a strong mix 50/50. Tile is the worst but shingles I like to get them wet enough to where it just starts to slide a little.

What am I doing wrong?

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AAron, 50/50 is too strong for shingles. 30-35% is all you need. You always have to hit roofs twice in some places.

To get a bucket under a downspout, you have to take it apart.

Chuck

Mr. Uglly Shingles, may I ask what you are using to make your misture white? I am using, on a 100 gallon tank 34 gal of Chlorine, 66 gal of H2O, and 50 oz of Simple Cherry. It cleans good but it runs off to fast on a 12/12 pitch and I end up with too much waste. Thanks for your advice. Don

This is directed at the guys getting one to three gallons run off.

I get way more than that. Recently, I tried a different method of spraying and got only one to two gallons run off.

I thought Great I figured it out. Then the homeowner called and said his roof was still dirty. I immediately went back. The algae was killed but could still be seen on roof where it had started to run off.

He suggested we wait until after a rain and see what happened.( this guy has a large property management group and was trying me out on his own house) It was a week before it rained and the stuff had time to bake. It didn't come off. So, I went back and hit it again with the stuff and then rinsed. Voila!! It came clean.

Now he wants me to clean a bunch of small roofs for 200-300 bucks a piece.

At that price I will HAVE to conserve mix. I told him I could do that provided we lined up 4-5 houses for each day.

I want low run off but, want them clean when I leave. Cannot asfford to make repeat trips for that price.

aaron61 wrote:

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How long does it take you to clean a 3,500 sqft roof with killer landscaping & no gutters??

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 Thats about right. probably closer to 3 hours than 4 but sometimes it takes a bit longer. Theres no reason to rush, thats when mistakes happen.