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 )
Is the SH formula the same one you used to remove moss as well?
Yes very much so.
Hello, I was just wondering if this solution would work on any other type of roof, like clay tiles or cedar shakes and stone slate roofs. Thanks
Yeah sure. It’s all about the mold on the roof you’re cleaning. However on cedar you MUST really rinse it good.
Hello, Just wanted to let you know the roof cleaning solution worked great.
Two roof cleaning companies wanted to charge between $700-$800. Your method cost us a total $6.24 Thanks
Thank you for the video! My fear is that the roof will stain. I am more concerned about the shingles than the grass.
Will this work on siding as well? I have some green algae growing on my siding near the ac unit. Can i use the same spray, wait, and rinse method?
Yes and well.
For roofs that have a heavy buildup of roof moss, can you add some copper sulfate to the mix (aprox. 1/8 cup)to kill the roots of the moss so you would not have to scrub the roof but simply rinse with a hose.
Thank You
Derek
No not at all. Use the copper afterwards to help prevent future growth
this will get rid of moss on the roof also?
Yes but you will need to help it off.
Hi, could you tell me what mixture you use for power washing vinyl siding? Thanks
You would not use this in a power washer.
Hi,
I have a camp in a very remote area of Maine. It is covered with moss. I am curious, should I simply use your suggested solution (Pool Shock with Water and dish soap-surfactant) and then brush? I don’t have a hose and spigot handy, so I cannot rinse off the solution after spraying it on with a pump sprayer. Any other suggestions would be great. Oh yea, and I’m going to use the copper flashing for future moss elimination.
That would be Ok. However just be careful with getting in your eyes without water nearby to clean yourself.
We tried this technique over the weekend. I was amazed at how quickly the moss died. I left it on for a day. I used a brush to loosen some of it up. After I rinsed the moss off, there is still a fine light green ‘moss fuzz’ on the roof. Not sure if I should try and scrub it off? I don’t want to strip the rocks off the shingles and cause the roof to leak. Suggestions?
Now everything is dead. Give it time to dry up and fall off.