Roof Cleaning With No Effect On Plants ?

Could we come a lil more east lol
 
I caught this lil guy last week 5' 2 Estimated over 120lbs. It was a lot of fun on a small spinning rod. Took us about an hr to land him. Damn good eat'n though. This is a Bull Shark.
 

Attachments

  • bull shark1.jpg
    bull shark1.jpg
    46.6 KB · Views: 75
  • bullshark2.jpg
    bullshark2.jpg
    35.3 KB · Views: 48
These are based on my own situation and findings and not meant to say this is the way it is across the board. Just thought I'd share my thoughts on this subject.

I tried his a couple of years ago,..and the liquid is a better option,(I think). But, I'm not saying the powder didn't work, because it did. I stopped using it because it was messy, doesn't dissolve very well. The powdered calcium hypochlorite does take a bit more work. I have seen where some have said it's not effective, which I believe was caused by maybe a couple of factors:


(1) Location, how tough is the roof algae where you live?

(2) It needs to be mixed as close to use time as possible.

(3) Was it mixed strong enough? I have mixed one pound (packet HTH 65%) to approximately 4 gal. water and used it right away and it worked real well. I Have no clue what percentage it was, and didn't really care. When you mix this stuff it gets very warm, just like you want,...but also believe it weakens as time goes by.

(4) Another factor is weather conditions,...I have found that using either type, liquid or powder the roof must be dry and preferably a warm day. 70 or above. The warmer and dryer,... the faster and more definite results. When all the conditions are met with the powder I believe it to work just as well as liquid. Where I live roof cleaning is an afternoon job, don't want to apply when the algae is damp with dew and not "thirsty". That stinks because I'm a morning person, and I've pushed the issue a couple of times last year and learned to NOT spray a damp roof, the algae will just not soak it up and then just run-off. So you spray more and more, resulting in more chance of plant damage, more cost and a ton of frustration. When done in the heat it disappears almost on contact. Really gotta keep up with the plants,..but I like the results. But you can also use a lower percentage when these warm conditions are utilized, so that helps with cost and damage control,...and may also explain why the powder works well under these warm conditions, as it doesn't have to be a strong as the liquid we're so used to.

I think it comes down to is trade-offs:

(1) Obviously cost

(2) Availability, right now I travel about 45 min. to get 12.5% liquid, and pay $3.77 per gal. Cut in half $1.88 gal.
Wal-mart is about ten minutes away with the powder.

(3) Powder is easier to store, space and the fact that it is more stable as a powder. At the mix I use it's approximately $.75 gal. of final product. $1.13 difference, considerable at the end of the year. Could help alleviate fuel costs. Also makes it nice to mix as you need it. Need to wear respirator when mixing though because it's easy to breathe the fine dust.

(4) Only way to use the powder is to mix it on site, but it really needs to be strained through something like womens nylons. Otherwise you'll end up with a tank full of white, undissolved powder that will take up precious volume. Need to deal with the strained mess right there, don't have that issue with liquid.

(5) How long is it good for once it's mixed. What do you do with leftover product,...does it degrade at the same rate 12.5% liquid? Could you throw in one of those big tablets to help maintain strength? From what I've found out it looks as though 12.5% liquid has a higher PH than powder, which I think means the 12.5% will degrade quicker, not sure about that though.

I think I will play a little with the powder once again and see what I find. I'll try and make it as user friendly as I can. Also I live in Central Pa so my previous success doesn't mean it will work for everyone, location is probably a factor.

Jeff
 
Last edited:
814jeffw said:
These are based on my own situation and findings and not meant to say this is the way it is across the board. Just thought I'd share my thoughts on this subject.

I tried his a couple of years ago,..and the liquid is a better option,(I think). But, I'm not saying the powder didn't work, because it did. I stopped using it because it was messy, doesn't dissolve very well. The powdered calcium hypochlorite does take a bit more work. I have seen where some have said it's not effective, which I believe was caused by maybe a couple of factors:


(1) Location, how tough is the roof algae where you live?

(2) It needs to be mixed as close to use time as possible.

(3) Was it mixed strong enough? I have mixed one pound (packet HTH 65%) to approximately 4 gal. water and used it right away and it worked real well. I Have no clue what percentage it was, and didn't really care. When you mix this stuff it gets very warm, just like you want,...but also believe it weakens as time goes by.

(4) Another factor is weather conditions,...I have found that using either type, liquid or powder the roof must be dry and preferably a warm day. 70 or above. The warmer and dryer,... the faster and more definite results. When all the conditions are met with the powder I believe it to work just as well as liquid. Where I live roof cleaning is an afternoon job, don't want to apply when the algae is damp with dew and not "thirsty". That stinks because I'm a morning person, and I've pushed the issue a couple of times last year and learned to NOT spray a damp roof, the algae will just not soak it up and then just run-off. So you spray more and more, resulting in more chance of plant damage, more cost and a ton of frustration. When done in the heat it disappears almost on contact. Really gotta keep up with the plants,..but I like the results. But you can also use a lower percentage when these warm conditions are utilized, so that helps with cost and damage control,...and may also explain why the powder works well under these warm conditions, as it doesn't have to be a strong as the liquid we're so used to.

I think it comes down to is trade-offs:

(1) Obviously cost

(2) Availability, right now I travel about 45 min. to get 12.5% liquid, and pay $3.77 per gal. Cut in half $1.88 gal.
Wal-mart is about ten minutes away with the powder.

(3) Powder is easier to store, space and the fact that it is more stable as a powder. At the mix I use it's approximately $.75 gal. of final product. $1.13 difference, considerable at the end of the year. Could help alleviate fuel costs. Also makes it nice to mix as you need it. Need to wear respirator when mixing though because it's easy to breathe the fine dust.

(4) Only way to use the powder is to mix it on site, but it really needs to be strained through something like womens nylons. Otherwise you'll end up with a tank full of white, undissolved powder that will take up precious volume. Need to deal with the strained mess right there, don't have that issue with liquid.

(5) How long is it good for once it's mixed. What do you do with leftover product,...does it degrade at the same rate 12.5% liquid? Could you throw in one of those big tablets to help maintain strength? From what I've found out it looks as though 12.5% liquid has a higher PH than powder, which I think means the 12.5% will degrade quicker, not sure about that though.

I think I will play a little with the powder once again and see what I find. I'll try and make it as user friendly as I can. Also I live in Central Pa so my previous success doesn't mean it will work for everyone, location is probably a factor.

Jeff
Click to expand...




It looks as though Univar carries calcium hypochlorite. Probably do a lot better on pricing this way,... once I'm comfortable with it. Does anyone know what the undissolved product in HTH pool shock is? Is it just calcium hypochlorite that didn't dissolve, which doesn't seem likey considering how fast the rest dissolves. I tend to think it's just cheaper filler. Although they should use something that will dissolve. Maybe it's a legal thing, maybe they can't sell it pure,...don't know though.

Jeff
 
ARC said:
I am in the process of editing a video from one of our Applicators

Here is the RAW version:

http://www.roof-a-cide.com/rac123.wmv
Click to expand...


well whats up John , good to see ya again brother ,thats a cool video ,do you mind sharing some technical info on wand ,tip size hose type with some of the folks here ? I know you said it was one of your applicators so if you dont know exactly what he has thats cool ,I just thought some of the guys would like to know.

come by more often and share when you get time
 
Russ
All of our Applicators use pretty muxh the same equipment:
The hoses & fittings are all 1/2 inch and the tip is a 4020

This guy has a 10 year old Udor Tao 35, but most guys use the newer Udor Zeta 40's
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top