A little background on how I started Roof Sparkle. A company that’s making cleaning products asked me if I could make a video for some of their cleaning products. Now I won’t go into details on who they are but they had a roof cleaner that involved the use of a power washer. A big red flag in my eyes. Being a contractor for years, I knew right off the bat that was a big no-no.
So the next question I asked myself what’s that black stuff on the roof. Well, it’s mold. And what kills mold, bleach right. Well, as true as that is bleach is only made up of 5-6% Sodium Hypocrite. And that’s great for your whites and around the house but not on your roof.
For the roof, you will need something a lot more powerful. Some of you may know it as pool shock. This is made up of 12% by weight “Sodium Hypochlorite”. But because it’s as thin as the water it will run right off the roof and not really have the time (five minutes) to do its job. So we have to thicken up a bit. The best way, add some liquid dish soap to the mix to help the SH stick to the roof for more than one second. You can go into any pool supply and ask for a gallon of shock, for about $4.00 per gallon. This is just a heavy-duty version of household bleach. And no Walmart does not sell this or the big box stores. This method will remove algae from a roof.
Now, of course, we buy it from the manufacturer and by the truckloads at a time.
Applying It
When we started we used a regular bug sprayer. Use a three gallon pump sprayer, use one gallon of SH and two gallons of water (H2O) add about 4 oz. of liquid dish soap and spray from the roof top working your way down.
DON’T
- clean your roof when it’s super hot out in the baking sun. It will kill the SH and dry before it’s clean.
- Don’t touch the SH with bare hands. Wear gloves and eye protection.
- Don’t spray your roof down first with water to cool it off.
Comments ( 173 )
My question is regarding using the “pool shock” treatment on a low pitch, tar, pea gravel roof. I can’t just brush the moss off so do I leave it on until it’s dead and rake it out? Will that damage anything? Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
Brush the moss off, Then spray the roof with the cleaner then rinse after 30 minutes.
Question about clearing 2 years of moss and “stuff” from the roof…love the video… was in the mode to clean the roof 2 years ago, long story short, had cancer removal and was off my feet for about 2 years… and well… the roof needs help. I am not physically fit enough to scrub the roof, however, I an probably spray the roof … Here in Oregon, letting the rain was away the residual won’t be an issue, the question I have, this kills the moss and “over time” if left unattended.. mother nature should just “was the surface clean” right? or do I have to get someone to get up there with a broom? thanks
Hi, yes over time it will flake off. However moss can be a real bitch. A little help with a broom would be a big help. Glad to hear you’re better now.
What is the major difference between using Sodium Hypochlorite vs. Calcium Hypochlorite… other than one is sodium and the other calcium, will they have the same effect?… and you did specify using liquid , not mix your own from dry right?
Calcium comes in a dry form. SH does not. Calcium won’t do a thing as far as cleaning a roof. So yes you must use a SH.
What mix I need to remove this moss on cedar roof ?
It’s really the same mix. But I would remove the moss by hand first. All the mix is going to do is kill it and clean the roof.
I bought 12.5% SH today after watching your video. I have a 2 gallon sprayer what would be a good mixture to use ? Also I don’t have a lot of moss on the roof. Thank you for the awesome video!
1/3 sh 2/3 h2o
Will the SH solution be harmful to animals? If I leave the liquid on the roof and spray the moss off after it drys will it be safe for my dog in the yard?
Thanks.
I really can’t answer that. Your dog eat some rat poison the same time you’re cleaning your roof and it’s my fault. Sorry. Just spray and rinse well. SH is a high power bleach. And bleach would kill if you swallow it, right.
Sodium Hypochlorite 14-15% w/w 10 Litre (2x5L) Can I use this stuff I seen on e bay and do I have to dilute it with water an in what amount Thanks R m scotland
Sounds right to me. Can you send me the ebay link to it ?
Link Hidden
Try this ,gives you some options .do I have to dilute the stuff I mentioned as its for moss on roof tiles R m . thanks.
I really can’t say about that product but it does seem to be the right stuff at 14% so yes you would have to dilute a little bit more than shown in this page.
Hello Dominick. Did you get the link to e bay. if not you will find it on e bay under sodium Hypochlorite . I used to work in a carpet factory and we used to get industrial bleach for removing thick dye
from printing screens when washing. This stuff would set fire to cloth in its undiluted state Powerfull How much water do you recommend per ltr for the 14% I bought Thanks for your help Raymond
I didn’t like the feedback from buyers on ebay so I didn’t post the link. 2 gallons of H20 to one gallon of sh.
Dominick! Thank you for sharing your expertise! I will let you know how it works out for me!
Concerning the roof moss cleaner: when you add 2-gallons of water to the 1-gallon of 12% sodium hypoclorite isn’t it weaker than using 3-gallons of the 5 to 6% household bleach straight?
Tom Milam
NO, like I say. It’s measured by weight not volume.
I don’t understand “weight not volume”… isn’t 1 gallon SH and 2 gallon H20 both volume measurements? How do we get 1 gallon of weight for SH and 2 gallons of weight for H20? Sorry I just want to make sure I get it right. Thanks!
Weight and volume are two very different things. If you mix it like I show you you’ll have 42k PPM..
Hey, Dominick Great Video and info.
Just went through all your posts and reply’s.
Amazing that some people cannot follow simple directions?
You must have sore eyes and chest muscles since you have to roll them and sigh with frustration so many times.
Thanks for the good work.
Rich
You have no idea LOL.. Thank you very much..