Decks - Certified SoftWash Roof Cleaning

Samuel Alan · Sophmore Member

Decks

Michael Derose · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

Pre wet the deck and then apply a 2-3% mix depending on the severity of algae. I would have a power washer on hand to remove any stubborn algae. We usually rinse with about 200 psi. After you would want to apply either ox acid or AC'S wood restore.

Samuel Alan · Sophmore Member

How long would you let the ac acid sit and would it restore the Wood some

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Samuel,

Wood Restore is a leave in Neutralizer / Conditioner / Sun Block for wood. You dont rinse it away.

Thanks,

AC

Samuel Alan · Sophmore Member

I know I need wood Restore but right now I'm trying to get my finances right again I'm just trying to do a very good job for the people

Troy Layman · Lead Tech

Well, you'll want to do something to halt the bleaching process on the wood. Wood Restore will do this for you along with other benefits. If you don't have Wood Restore, you could use Final Wash if you have that, and Plant Wash also has a bleach neutralizer. If you don't have any of the above the last option is to rinse thoroughly. Since you are on a budget you could start with a 1 gallon size and build bit by bit from there. Having the right chemicals is very nice, and also adds something to your sales pitch to help separate you from the competition to help you get future jobs.

-- Edited by Troy Layman on Wednesday 4th of May 2016 02:07:35 AM

Samuel Alan · Sophmore Member

I have a whole big bucket of plant wash so you're saying that will work

Troy Layman · Lead Tech

Yes Sam, I fairly certain the plant wash has the strongest amount of bleach neutralizer out of the products AC sells. Not to throw AC under the bus, but as an example AC was doing a roof cleaning for a friend of his down the road in trade for a grilled steak dinner and had a full tank of roof strength mix. He sprayed a little and realized his mix wasn't quite hot enough and came down to add a few more gallons of bleach to his mix and accidentally turned the wrong dial and pumped a few gallons of pre-mixed plant was into his bleach mix. It was only a few gallons, so he turned off the pump and switched to the SH tank and pumped in several gallons of SH. AC climbed back on the roof and sprayed some more, but he still wasn't getting the results he needed so he went down and added more bleach to his mix, which was getting pretty hot at this point. He agitated the mix some, then went back on the roof and the mix was still not cleaning the roof at all. That's when AC started laughing at himself and realized just how powerful the bleach neutralizer in Plant Wash was - probably less than 5 dry ounces of plant wash had neutralized his entire tank, plus the extra SH he had added twice. You mix 1 dry ounce of plant wash to 1 gallon of water and it will neutralize the bleach on any surface you spray it on. When you have the deck cleaned and at a color you are happy with, spray it with some plant wash and it will neutralize any remaining bleach instantly.

Here is the thread I mentioned above.

www.amazon.com/Chapin-G405-Fertilizer-Feeder-Hose/dp/B00UER1S14/ref=sr_1_7

The link above is the sprayer I use. It has a built in ball valve and a few spray options. You can also remove the sprayer tip and connect another hose if you wanted to use it to fertilize your yard while watering, or if you're not happy with the spray nozzle you can just put a garden hose nozzle on the end of the second hose and spray that way. Read up on the Plant Wash section. There is a lot of good information and general knowledge shared there.

Vic Irish · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

Troy Layman wrote:
Yes Sam, I fairly certain the plant wash has the strongest amount of bleach neutralizer out of the products AC sells. Not to throw AC under the bus, but as an example AC was doing a roof cleaning for a friend of his down the road in trade for a grilled steak dinner and had a full tank of roof strength mix. He sprayed a little and realized his mix wasn't quite hot enough and came down to add a few more gallons of bleach to his mix and accidentally turned the wrong dial and pumped a few gallons of pre-mixed plant was into his bleach mix. It was only a few gallons, so he turned off the pump and switched to the SH tank and pumped in several gallons of SH. AC climbed back on the roof and sprayed some more, but he still wasn't getting the results he needed so he went down and added more bleach to his mix, which was getting pretty hot at this point. He agitated the mix some, then went back on the roof and the mix was still not cleaning the roof at all. That's when AC started laughing at himself and realized just how powerful the bleach neutralizer in Plant Wash was - probably less than 5 dry ounces of plant wash had neutralized his entire tank, plus the extra SH he had added twice. You mix 1 dry ounce of plant wash to 1 gallon of water and it will neutralize the bleach on any surface you spray it on. When you have the deck cleaned and at a color you are happy with, spray it with some plant wash and it will neutralize any remaining bleach instantly.

Troy, wasn't it BleachWash that AC accidentally put in the mix?

Not PlantWash? If I'm incorrect may this message self destruct in 30 seconds :)

vic

Troy Layman · Lead Tech

Hey Vic, long time. I hope you're doing well and landing jobs this season!

ROFL...no, I'm pretty sure it was plant wash that he had premixed in the bulk rinse tank for spraying around the property when he was done with the roof cleaning job. The reason I feel sure about this is because I remember he said he saw a little purple puff of mix go into his SH/water mix tank, and he thought to himself, "Huh? That was weird!" I never did think to ask AC what he did to dispose of that expensive batch of self-made salt water.

Since your message may self destruct in 30 seconds, I'll be nice and not "QUOTE IT" and keep it here in my post forever where you cannot "destruct" it. :0)

Hey, look at that, I matched you in number of posts! Stop slacking off and get busy! :0)

Vic Irish · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

Troy Layman wrote:
Hey Vic, long time. I hope you're doing well and landing jobs this season!

ROFL...no, I'm pretty sure it was plant wash that he had premixed in the bulk rinse tank for spraying around the property when he was done with the roof cleaning job. The reason I feel sure about this is because I remember he said he saw a little purple puff of mix go into his SH/water mix tank, and he thought to himself, "Huh? That was weird!" I never did think to ask AC what he did to dispose of that expensive batch of self-made salt water.

Since your message may self destruct in 30 seconds, I'll be nice and not "QUOTE IT" and keep it here in my post forever where you cannot "destruct" it. :0)

Hey, look at that, I matched you in number of posts! Stop slacking off and get busy! :0)

Thanks, Troy!

Purple puff would be a dead giveaway, I stand corrected!

You have been making some excellent posts, and please keep it up. I try to read them all smile

I would love to make more posts, but I still have more questions than answers...

Hope to get going soon with softwashing. Still repairing and preparing my truck.

About all that's left is the Linex bed. I saw a Fox & Friends show last week in which they used a special Linex blend to spray things, and they didn't break when dropped from the top of a ladder. We're talking like watermelons, eggs and the like. It was amazing. Anyway, if God is willing, we'll be rolling out the CH in a month or two.

Keep the information pipeline coming, Troy and Community, you are all appreciated!

vic

Troy Layman · Lead Tech

Vic Irish wrote:

I would love to make more posts, but I still have more questions than answers...

Vic

Ask more questions, learn more answers, then post answers when new people ask. It's a great way to reinforce what you've learned. Well, it's been working great for me so far anyway. :0)

Glad to hear you're progressing and about ready to hit the asphalt! Looking forward to some good reports!