protecting HO vegetation

N

ncarr

New member
I see countless comments about protecting the plants/etc around the house, by wetting them down, etc when doing a roof wash. Call me ignorant, but if done carefully, doesn't everything get pushed to the gutters where they contain all the chemicals? Then you could collect the water at the down spout? Or is the purpose of wetting them down for overspray or wha?

Not questioning anyones skills, I'm truly curious! :eek:

Nathan
 
Wetting down is for overspray and run off, not all roofs have gutters. You can bag, devert, tarp, or flood gutter drops depending on the layout. We sometimes tape gutter drops to detour cleaning solutions to a specific drop location if it is an option. This prepwork only takes a few minutes and will help to keep plants safe. We use lots of water to dilute and it helps a great deal also.
 
Even if the cleaner never hits the plants, homeowners LOVE to see you taking the extra precaution.
 
We rinse out the gutters as well once we are done. That way we know that all of the chem is gone. Takes about 5 minutes.
 
taselton2 said:
Wetting down is for overspray and run off, not all roofs have gutters. You can bag, devert, tarp, or flood gutter drops depending on the layout. We sometimes tape gutter drops to detour cleaning solutions to a specific drop location if it is an option. This prepwork only takes a few minutes and will help to keep plants safe. We use lots of water to dilute and it helps a great deal also.
Click to expand...

We leave the gutter bags for the next day for pick-up. I never thought about taping the downs for a prefered location. Great idea! :D

It looks like I may confuse some people.... Leave bags and rinse gutters <---- that'd get heavy

Not all situations are the same.
 
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We water everything and work with very weak %'s..
not suggesting that any of you don't.

I couldn't think of going back and getting bags etc...we did 14 roofs last week all over tampa. The gas just get around to the roofs was enough!!


Work in the weak range and PRE wet everything and rinse during/after.....everything will be fine.

What I have experienced...

You will learn what plants need special attention and what plants are warriors.

When I do an estimate I look at the plants and where they are in relation to the roof and what size/kind of plant it is.

Be HONEST, tell the HO that is .89 cent annuals in the drip line are going to die. Want to really impress him? If they have those tiny annual flowering plants in the dripline of say a Big Dirty Tile Roof, show up with 10 bux worth of new plants and leave them in the container not the poisoned soil.

We have done that a time or two on some very high end jobs that fell into those circumstances.

CUSTOMER SERVICE.
 
Rinse everything very very very very well! But my chemist has told me to hook up to a mirical grow sprayer and spray mirical grow on all the vegitation! It will eat all the harmful salt the the Sh leaves behind!
 
Peerless said:
We water everything and work with very weak %'s..
not suggesting that any of you don't.

I couldn't think of going back and getting bags etc...we did 14 roofs last week all over tampa. The gas just get around to the roofs was enough!!


Work in the weak range and PRE wet everything and rinse during/after.....everything will be fine.

What I have experienced...

You will learn what plants need special attention and what plants are warriors.

When I do an estimate I look at the plants and where they are in relation to the roof and what size/kind of plant it is.

Be HONEST, tell the HO that is .89 cent annuals in the drip line are going to die. Want to really impress him? If they have those tiny annual flowering plants in the dripline of say a Big Dirty Tile Roof, show up with 10 bux worth of new plants and leave them in the container not the poisoned soil.

We have done that a time or two on some very high end jobs that fell into those circumstances.

CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Click to expand...

Hit the nail on the head, well put.
 
Can others elaborate on which plants you see being more chemically resistant?

Peerless said:
We water everything and work with very weak %'s..
not suggesting that any of you don't.

I couldn't think of going back and getting bags etc...we did 14 roofs last week all over tampa. The gas just get around to the roofs was enough!!


Work in the weak range and PRE wet everything and rinse during/after.....everything will be fine.

What I have experienced...

You will learn what plants need special attention and what plants are warriors.

When I do an estimate I look at the plants and where they are in relation to the roof and what size/kind of plant it is.

Be HONEST, tell the HO that is .89 cent annuals in the drip line are going to die. Want to really impress him? If they have those tiny annual flowering plants in the dripline of say a Big Dirty Tile Roof, show up with 10 bux worth of new plants and leave them in the container not the poisoned soil.

We have done that a time or two on some very high end jobs that fell into those circumstances.

CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Click to expand...

I am very curious what other southern roof cleaners have defined as "hardy" chemically resistant plants, flowers and shrubbery and which Southern climate plants are sensitive to our various cleaning agents, be it S-Hypochlorite or S-Hydroxide, TSP or Borax or even oxy-bleach based products.

I know box azaleas and dwarf pine and most grasses fair pretty well when rinsed with clear water while most perennials, and some annuals in the flowering plant segment do not fair well even with watering and a 15% SH ratio and at 20-25% SH if the perimeter is not flushed extremely well. There are some plants and flowers that tend to yellow at times but most come back strong with a thorough clear water rinse before during and after.

My question to OTHERS is what plant names and categories do you find in your neck of the woods that you find are more "hardy" or "less hardy" that can either "handle" or "not handle" our roof cleaning agents. Also, what do you specifically do to counteract this or how do you tarp or redirect liquid flow in sensitive areas?

Also, if anyone care to expand on this topic, please, If you know the plant names or the horticultural name please use it.

Thanks
 
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