Welcome to the NW - Certified SoftWash Roof Cleaning

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

Welcome to the NW

Vic Irish · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

Wow, Brandon, that last picture makes me wonder what is left underneath the moss.

Like to know about how much life is left in those shingles. Have you treated it yet?

When is it lost cause, anyway?

Can you use a partner in the Spring? <grin>

vic

Mario Ciottariello · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

Wow that would make a great before and after pics

Lee Kendall · Junior Member

holy smokes batman! Run and call a roofer lol Im curious to whats growing under the shingle as well.. Usually we would coat the roof 2 times.. the moss realllyy absorbs the mix. Let it sit for a bit the use push brooms and lightly go across the shingles and the moss rolls down the roof to the gutters. Then we re-spray a 3rd time... But I haven't seen a roof that bad

Edward Yackenovich · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

Brandon, found this on you tube...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JyORa9HjuM

John Aloisio · SoftWash Systems 5-Star Professional

Brandon,

have your guys go up and take all the moss off carefully and dry it out, then place it in clear plastics bags and sell to AC Moore and Michaels. They sell that stuff for $4.00 a bag!!!

Vic Irish · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

Edward Yackenovich wrote:
Brandon, found this on you tube...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JyORa9HjuM

I lost count on the PPE violations, LOL!!

Hank Timmermann · Junior Member

Brandon Vaughn wrote:
Here's a job I bid yesterday. This is a pretty common sight out here. Moss grows before GM does.
Thought I'd share some of my challenging jobs with you guys.
Just curious if anyone out there deals with this and how you go about tackling it.

Brandon,
We run into this quite often up here because many of the older established vacation homes are buried in the heavily wooded communities.
First we will manage the customer's expectation level. They have to realize that allowing the moss to get that far out of control will leaves it's mark. Based on similar conditions we have encounted here we would offer several options. The first is to spray the roof twice and leave it for mother nature. Second option is for us to spray it twice and rinse it off once it dries out(return trip). Our last option is to to gently brush off that top heavy moss, which comes off in clumps and exposes the root system. Then we spray the roof twice if needed. When I first started I was always told to never do this but everyone does it wether they admit it or not.
The last option is because most of these customers have received letters from either their insurance companies or the homeowners association dictating the roof must be cleaned immediately or within a short time span and they have no choice.
Hank

Steve Salley · Junior Member

++
Heavy Moss will require some added persuasion. Everyone has to figure out their customer's needs. You have to price accordingly, and plan on monitoring these jobs. They can still be profitable, and the word of mouth once the full cycle of removal is completed, is very strong. We are not surprised that we may need to do additional treatments for a complete kill.

Hank is so right, manage the customer's expectations. You did not cause the mess, and their may very well be granule loss and some bare areas, but the alternative is do nothing and accelerate the death of the shingle and replace prematurely.

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

John Aloisio wrote:
Brandon,
have your guys go up and take all the moss off carefully and dry it out, then place it in clear plastics bags and sell to AC Moore and Michaels. They sell that stuff for $4.00 a bag!!!

I can always count on you John for thinking outside the box. Lol

Brandon Vaughn · SoftWash Systems Pro Staff

These roofs are not uncommon out here. Most of the roofs I get requests to clean have excessive moss growth. When I have a roof that only has GM growing on it and no moss - it's like the jackpot!

Still trying to dial in my system for cleaning these roofs and making a decent profit. Since I've only been doing SoftWashing for less than 6 months, I have yet to see a roof weather the moss off by itself. I have a few of my first roofs that I continue to check back in on.

Dan Dykstra · Senior Member

Brandon
We have done a few like these. After speaking with the homeowner about the issues with the roof getting this bad we would brush off the whole roof to remove as much of the moss as possible, then hit it with a 4% mix, plan on a return visit in 6 weeks. On the return visit there are usually just some small areas that need a respray. Price accordingly.