# Cleaning tile roofs with chlorine?



## Corrado

I was wondering whats others opinions on this...

I live in Florida where it rains a lot. 

We soak the roofs with the chemical and then rinse it down

Question is, should I be wasting time rinsing down the roof with water? I've asked a couple other companies and they said they don't, but some do.. What's your opinion? Only tile roofs, not the asphalt ones.


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## PressurePros

You could probably sell it either way depending on expectations and budget. For a thickly covered roof, I would wash/rinse it. Just black streaks and minor growth, I would just chem treat it and let mother nature do the rest.


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## stelzerpaintinginc.

This is a topic I've been doing a lot of reading on over the past 2 years, since I'm about to add roof cleaning to my services. Seems the majority of members on the roof washing forums do not rinse, (unless, as PressurePros said, to remove heavy debris, or those times when you've got a customer that just can't take your word for it that the roof WILL look great after a few rains). Rinsing can easily double your total time, and other than the initial aesthetics, I've yet to learn many advantages of rinsing. I'm sure I've got a lot to learn on the topic though.


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## johnnyb

just like pressure pros said, depending client expectations you could sell it either way.

where i'm at in south florida there's variables if i rinse or not

-hypochlorite % needed to clean & how saturated are shingles
-gutters or no?
-how delicate are plants/grass/surrounding areas
-are we getting lots of rain that day
-how hot is it/(how thirsty are plants)

ideally i give the client a heads up to run their sprinklers that morning (this has nothing to do with rinse or not, but just figured I'd mention that tip for chemical roof cleaning, plants are less thirsty)


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## stelzerpaintinginc.

johnnyb said:


> just like pressure pros said, depending client expectations you could sell it either way.
> 
> where i'm at in south florida there's variables if i rinse or not
> 
> -hypochlorite % needed to clean & how saturated are shingles
> -gutters or no?
> -how delicate are plants/grass/surrounding areas
> -are we getting lots of rain that day
> -how hot is it/(how thirsty are plants)
> 
> ideally i give the client a heads up to run their sprinklers that morning (this has nothing to do with rinse or not, but just figured I'd mention that tip for chemical roof cleaning, plants are less thirsty)


You don't have a ground guy doing the watering? If there's one thing that's almost unanimous with roof cleaners, it's the importance of a ground guy pre-wetting and wetting as you go.

How would the % of the mix determine whether or not to rinse? Actually, if you didn't have a ground guy, I could see how all of those factors you listed could affect whether or not to rinse, but if you DID have a ground guy, I'm confused.


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## PressurePros

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> You don't have a ground guy doing the watering? If there's one thing that's almost unanimous with roof cleaners, it's the importance of a ground guy pre-wetting and wetting as you go.
> 
> How would the % of the mix determine whether or not to rinse? Actually, if you didn't have a ground guy, I could see how all of those factors you listed could affect whether or not to rinse, but if you DID have a ground guy, I'm confused.


Tony, what he said about already having the ground wet prior really is a best case scenario. If you come up with pricing for your service, I suggest adding 5%-10% to keep as a "slush fund" for replacing plants an sod here and there. If you have 10+ days of high heat, sun and no rain, those plants will drink up way more than a ground guy can spray. I think his point was to give the landscaping time to absorb water so they don't take in the mix of sodium hypochlorite/water that will hit the soil on a job. Unfortunately, not everyone has a sprinkler system especially north of the Mason Dixon line. Or, they would just forget unless you called them at 6 am. 

We usually don't have major issues but some species of plants (especially roses that drink through their leaves) you'll brown in spots. Most times, they recover fine on their own. Other times, they dont.. thus the 5% contingency fund. Make friends with a landscaper.


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## johnnyb

Like pressure pros said, great idea of the plant petty cash fund, and knowing a good landscaper.

And yes, if I'm chem cleaning anything, most of time someones getting paid to squirt water before, during, and after each zone.


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## Ultimate

The biggest determining factor in costs for me to my customers in roof cleaning is gutters and downspouts or lack thereof. If you can bag downspouts and control runoff, you can probably get away with not rinsing the roof if you plan to come back for the bags. If there are no gutters, I would not consider it a waste of time to rinse the roof following application of soap to clean the roof. That would make the most sense I think. Having someone water before during and after is good insurance.


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## deck restoration

Ultimate said:


> The biggest determining factor in costs for me to my customers in roof cleaning is gutters and downspouts or lack thereof. If you can bag downspouts and control runoff, you can probably get away with not rinsing the roof if you plan to come back for the bags. If there are no gutters, I would not consider it a waste of time to rinse the roof following application of soap to clean the roof. That would make the most sense I think. Having someone water before during and after is good insurance.


Yeah i 100% agree with this! I have a coworker who preaches this same thing and as much as i hate to give him credit it really is true.. I would also suggest someone watering before during and after! http://www.deckrestoration.org/


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## tigerwashnola

I always rinse because there's too many variables involved when you let the chem just fall down on its own (plants, contact with siding, etc.). Just spend the extra 30 minutes or whatever to make sure it's all rinsed thoroughly and there's no damage to siding, paint, or plants.


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## stanleyowen

I prefer to rinse. The smell of chlorine is just too strong and not good for your lungs. Much more if theres a baby in the house.


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