# What are the non-toxic algae/mold cleaners?



## Thunder Johnson (Jul 30, 2004)

What are the main ingredients the non-toxic algae/mold removers/preventers companies sell for shingle roofs? Is it just a basic non-toxic cleaner you can buy at any store or is it something different?


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## vandiesel99 (Oct 5, 2004)

*I am a pressure cleaning contractor*

I specialize in roof cleaning. What I have been using for years is sodium hydroxide(lye). Bleach works but not was well, plus I have heard it voids termite warranties and it also causes the shingle to curl up on the ends.


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## Richard_GL (Aug 25, 2004)

M-1 Roof cleaner...Sold at Home Depot....Its in concentrated form, so must be diluted with water..We use it exclusivly....


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Can any of these products be used on drywall/insulation? Does it take direct contact to work? 
I am currently trying to save a wall that is almost 400 ft. long by 25 ft high. Exterior is concrete block with metal lath, fiberglass insulation and 5/8" drywall. So far I have black mold which has been resealed, grey, green and yellow molds as well, these have been left open.
BTW, my recommendation was to remove everything but I am between two national corporations and a very large landlord. THEY are the ones determined to save this wall.
Has anyone ever tried oxygen deprevation? Would it work? A few small holes and flood the space with Nitrogen or Argon. Just thinking outside of the box.


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

I am not a fan of cleaning shingle roofs because they are granular and a power washer will wash away alot of granuals. I will wash cedar roofs, however.

I've done quite a few attic mold remediations. We usually use Clorox Biocide. It is a bleach with some agents mixed in to kill fungus and mold. This can be used as a typical cleaning agent to clean just about anything, but mix if 25/75 and it will kill just about anything!


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

One more thing. Granual loss is commonly mis-diagnosed as fungus (black discoloration).

Shingles are made of asphalt, some asphalt with fiberglass reinforcement. Regardless asphalt is black and when your granuals start to wash away in high water traffic areas, it looks like stains, when infact it is a lack of granuals. Washing it, in that case, will only make those stains worse.


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## vandiesel99 (Oct 5, 2004)

*Wrong*

I am sorry but you are completely wrong. Ist pretty obvious if you had EVER cleaned a roof CORRECTLY that the cleaning removes VERY FEW granules. If you use too much pressure which is probably the cases(use around 500psi), of course you will damage the shingle. I have never seen a roof where it looks like fungus but is actually granule loss. The only way you could misinterpret this is if you were looking at it from the ground. If you cleaning a roof you will instantly be able to tell that it was a fungus you cleaning off, because the black "stain" fades away completely. I am curious about your method of cleaning wood shakes. You don't use high pressure on those too do you?


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

"I" have never cleaned a roof but "I" have replaced many roofs that have been cleaned and damaged because of the cleaning.

"I" also have been called out to quite a few roofs where the home owners asked how they got all that algae and when "I" got ON the roof it was incredibly apparent it wasn't algae at all, and was really excessive granule loss.

Roof cleaning is something I am looking into offering as one of my services. I have come to learn that you want no pressure above 800 psi on the roof. While I have read many hours of literature at many sites, and even watched quite a few videos.... I am STILL not a fan of cleaning asphalt SHINGLE roofs. I do understand the cleaners do the cleaning and then you rinse the cleaners away. That's still not the point, as I have seen misdiagnosis and seen damage caused by cleaning of roofs.


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## vandiesel99 (Oct 5, 2004)

I am sure that you have seen damaged roofs due to cleaning, because anyone with a pressure washer thinks they can clean a roof. I have also seen many roofers in this area tell people that what is truely algae is actually the roof deteriorating and that they need to have the roof replaced. It sounds like there is someone in your area parading around as if they were a roof cleaner, giving us who make our living doing it a bad name. I don't mean to be antagonistic but I have to defend what I do when someone questions the processes or the purpose. If I were you I would find a roof I could test out what I have learned, find out what a difference it makes when you do it correctly and start marketing the hell out of it. Because it sounds like you have a eager market for someone who knows how to clean roofs. The best way to market for this service is to educate the customers and the whole process.


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

vandiesel99 said:


> The best way to market for this service is to educate the customers and the whole process.


That's exactly the founsation of all my sales. Educate the customer who not to do business with and what to look out for in unskilled or shady contractors and why they should pay more to hire me.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2005)

Grumpy said:


> Roof cleaning is something I am looking into offering as one of my services. I have come to learn that you want no pressure above 800 psi on the roof.



800 PSI?

Deleted.


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

500 psi is alot? Doesn't seem like all that much. I was told 500 psi isn't much more than the strength of the average garden hose. Anyone know the PSI of a standard garden hose?


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## AaronB. (Oct 6, 2004)

OOH OOH OOH I don't. LOL


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2005)

Grumpy:

A lot of people use 500 psi - give it a shot.


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## wasdifferent (Dec 18, 2004)

Grumpy said:


> I was told 500 psi isn't much more than the strength of the average garden hose.


WTF?  

Get a copy of _Don't Let Go of the Hose_. I think it was written by Dale Carnegie...


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Roof-A-Cide is correct. Pressure at a water plant or near a tower should be about 80 PSI. Pressure is lost through use and time of day is the largest factor. More water is used in the morning and early evening, this is when you get your largest pressure drops.


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## AaronB. (Oct 6, 2004)

So my 3000 psi pressure washer set on high would be too much? How about a 3000 psi elastomeric spray rig? Would that be too much for applying the algicide?


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## AaronB. (Oct 6, 2004)

Sewell, house jacking isnt cool. Poor folks come home and their house is gone


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## wasdifferent (Dec 18, 2004)

Aaron, 
You ought to see the looks on their faces. No matter how hard you try to prepare them for it, when they get home from work, they still look like this:  I love doing foundation replacements. Sometimes I think it's more for the fun, than it is for the money.  

Aaron, you and I had a discussion a while back about cheap ba$tard General Contractors who mistreat their subs. Here's a good reason for not doing that: Last night, the contractor who has been doing my reinforced concrete work called to tell me that he just poured the footings for a $500,000 addition. The Owner is looking to dump his current GC, and wants to meet with me. I guess that my mason friend is happy about the way that I have treated him in the past.

Best wishes,


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

Grumpy said:


> 500 psi is alot? Anyone know the PSI of a standard garden hose?


Yeah, 500 psi is a lot. Way more than I'd want to hit my shingle roof with.


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## wasdifferent (Dec 18, 2004)

PipeGuy said:


> Yeah, 500 psi is a lot. Way more than I'd want to hit my shingle roof with.


Or my tulips. ROFLMAO.


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## AaronB. (Oct 6, 2004)

The industry would be solid if all GC's treated the subs fairly.

Whats the net percentage you will usually eran on a 500, 000 addition?


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## wasdifferent (Dec 18, 2004)

AaronB. said:


> ...Whats the net percentage you will usually earn on a $500,000 addition?...


THAT'S what we're meeting about.


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## Doofus Emeritus (Dec 18, 2004)

One way to eliminate moss and fungi from shingle roofs is to install a lead or copper skirt under the ridge caps and exposed a few inches out on the roof. The chemical reaction from the metal and rainwater kills the spores. Thats why you don't see much moss below lead or copper roof flashings.

Best regards,

DE


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## AaronB. (Oct 6, 2004)

Zinc works too.


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

Doofus Emeritus said:


> One way to eliminate moss and fungi from shingle roofs is to install a lead or copper skirt under the ridge caps and exposed a few inches out on the roof. The chemical reaction from the metal and rainwater kills the spores. Thats why you don't see much moss below lead or copper roof flashings.


I've always heard this is not strong enough to remove fungus and algae growth but will prevent it from growing. It's my understanding that a good washing with some biocide is necessary in the first place or the string (copper or zinc) might not help at all.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Tom, If you remember, I sent you something about this before as it related to boats. The black stuff on them is the same as on shingles.


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## Doofus Emeritus (Dec 18, 2004)

Grumpy said:


> I've always heard this is not strong enough to remove fungus and algae growth but will prevent it from growing. It's my understanding that a good washing with some biocide is necessary in the first place or the string (copper or zinc) might not help at all.


It will kill it, but existing fungi/moss will eventually fall off. Galvanized (zinc) flashing does work, but not as quickly as lead & copper. I have seen pvc sprinkler systems installed across shake roof ridge caps achieve the same effect. 

Several years ago, I did a roof inspection on a house built by George Vanderbilt in the 1930's. They used redwood shakes that were handsplit at 2-3" and laid at 15" exposure. Massive by todays standards. I took note that there was no fungi build-up below the copper plumbing vents and chimney flashing, but there was fungi everywhere else. I then dug out some roofing manuals (before Al Gore invented the internet) and found the lead skirt trick in a shake application guide. It showed a shake roof that was 15 years old and it looked like it couldn't have been more than a year old. 

Keep an eye out for roofs with a heavy moss saturation, then check and see what it looks like below the penetration flashing.


Best regards,

DE


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

PipeGuy said:


> Yeah, 500 psi is a lot. Way more than I'd want to hit my shingle roof with.


That's actually scary because I know of many peoples who clean roofs and use a full 3500 psi... and know the 3500 was high high high but thought 500 was reasonable because I have discussed this with many professional cleaners and this is acceptable to them.

They do all agree to use chemicals to wash the roof but stated 500 psi was acceptable to rinse.

I'm just recycling the information I was told by people who do this for a living.


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## AaronB. (Oct 6, 2004)

Most pressure washers have a varialble pressure valve thingy.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Anyone knows that the pressure diminishes rapidly with distance. Up close, 3,500 psi will go through a block wall in a few minutes. At 10 ft, it's not likely to damage anything.
I think that a skilled person using either machine would do an equally good job. The guy with the larger machine should be faster.


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## meiers (Jun 17, 2005)

Grumpy said:


> That's actually scary because I know of many peoples who clean roofs and use a full 3500 psi... and know the 3500 was high high high but thought 500 was reasonable because I have discussed this with many professional cleaners and this is acceptable to them.
> 
> They do all agree to use chemicals to wash the roof but stated 500 psi was acceptable to rinse.
> 
> I'm just recycling the information I was told by people who do this for a living.


Just use chlorine from a pool supply company at 1/1 with water, let it sit and rinse off with a hose or stand back with your pressure washer. We use 500 or less psi with dramatic results.


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

Chlorine is known to sometimes leave white blotches on wood roofs. I've read that a few times. Not sure if it was 100% chlorine or 50%, or what the mixture may have been.


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## fez-head (Mar 15, 2005)

I have used the pitch witch www.pitchwitch.com for years with 5% chlorine with a good squirt of dish soap for a surfactant. The coress wand that it is shown with is a must also. 



Best of Luck,

Jesse R. Kirchhoff

Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions LLC
*“Making Your Life A Lot Less Complicated”*
www.midmohandyman.com

Advanced Power Washing and Restoration Solutions LLC 
*Professional Products ~ Professional Service ~ Professional Results*
www.advancedpw.com


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## Minuteman (Aug 11, 2005)

Algarid is a non-toxic environmentally safe mold and mildew removal chemical. It is primarily used in the pressure washing industry. It is a spray on wash off application. You could use a pump up sprayer and then wipe off with a rag. It is about $30 per gallon and can be diluted 1:4. I do not recomend diluting it any more than 1:1 or just use it straight. If you want more info call or E-Mail me and I will tell you about the vendor.
281-793-1935
[email protected]


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## jproffer (Feb 19, 2005)

Wipe off with a rag....on a roof?...the whole roof???  

let's see, even at a modest $30/hour, that should only cost the customer....about.....  .....$9000 :cheesygri


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## CleanerToday (May 13, 2006)

Cleaner Today offers both Roof QSE (Sodium Hydroxide based fast and furious cleaner) and Roof OX (Sodium Percarbonate based non-toxic cleaner).

Both formulas include a proprietary blend of surfactants, and other detergents to power through roof cleaning.

Check out pricing cleanertoday.com


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## AC Lockyer (Sep 10, 2011)

Thunder Johnson said:


> What are the main ingredients the non-toxic algae/mold removers/preventers companies sell for shingle roofs? Is it just a basic non-toxic cleaner you can buy at any store or is it something different?


In the companies I owned I cleaned in excess of 50,000 roofs. We cleaned all of them with a process called soft washing. Here is what soft washing is, The Science & Technology of Soft Washing.

Hope this helps.

AC


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## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

Average GH pressure 30 -70 psi. Some as high as 120 psi. (Residential)

TSP is a GREAT cleaner.


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