"For your safety and the roofs"
First lets start off with your safety when doing any roof cleaning especially roof soft washing.
Any roof with a steep unwalkable incline, we suggest using a safety harness, proper boots like huks waterproof boots, cougar paws or any other versatile footwear that has grip and protects from any water or chlorine getting it. Crocs or sandals are a big no go. One wrong move and your slipping or in some cases I have seen peoples toes caught under the surface cleaner and have their toe nail ripped off.
Having a ladder attachment or tool like a ladder stabalizer help tremendously especially for the cost it is a small price to pay. Be sure to look into a goat steep assist. Depending on where you live the cleaning styles will vary. I personally like to learn about all the tools at my disposal and make a educated decision into what I truely need and wont waste money on.
We recommend using straps where needed incase of a slip or fall, a $100 rope strap can save your life.
We rarely use them in our case because in theory they sound good but in practice with a roof that has little to no slope it often gets in the way, becoming a tripping hazard, not to mention finding somewhere it tie off to is virtualy impossible. In many cases it is not possible to even create a harness point on someone roof and still be able to run a profitable business.
Here is south florida where we clean we have moderate sloped roofs that are easier to walk on, yet we still wear proper boots with grip. Remember we are cleaning organic material on roofs that when soaked in SH they become slippery when wet, especially with the slope factor taken into account.
In my business I use sperry cutwater boots because they look clean and professional when going to estimates. Customers continue to notice and compliment us on them. My crew wears huk boots, they are also great but I just got tired of the look and wanted to switch it up. DO NOT WEAR NORMAL SNEAKERS. Sneakers tend to absorb anything liquid so even overspray can make its way into your socks and burn your feet. Not a fun time. Most sneakers also do not have the grip as water boots do, made for being soaked salty ocean water while fishing.
Then we have PPE meaning special gear to personal protect you, hence the name. Personal Protective Equiptment. Saves you from deadly incidents, injuries, serious infections and illnesses.
The most common PPE for soft washing is a chemical proof mask, full covering eye protection and sun protection.
For me this gets me in the zone to knockout any pressure washing job. Once the mask, glasses and hat are on, IT'S GO TIME BABY.
Chlorine or sodium hypochlorite releases toxic fumes and when a hot surface containing organic growth is sprayed on you can literally see the fumes rise up. After pulling around a hose and climbing a steep roof you will be huffing and puffing, be sure your chemical mask is working properly. A $30 mask shouldnt be worth risking your health.
Next up we have eye protection, its funny to think of it now because when I started soft washing roofs I had these big scientist looking clear goggles, thinking that would help but instead they fogged up like nobodys business. Now I recommend using sporty sunglasses that cover your eye fully from top to bottom almost like big alien shaped almond eyes. Other glasses will have an opening in the very corner of your eyes or underneath, catching that beautiful mist of overspray. (sarcasm) I dont recommend spending an arm and a leg to buy fancy name brand glasses just to get damaged and scratched up.
Better to get quality sunglasses for good protection and throw away when used up with scratches.
Sun protection is important for the suns UV rays, a good sunscreen that is sweatproof can go along way, your spending all or most of the day out in the sun, increasing your chances of sun cancer. Keep this in mind. In addition to this you should use a wide fishing hat, long sleeve breathable shirt with shorts or long bathsuit like material. Comfortable, protected and still looking professional.
Then comes the importance in maintaining the cellphone on your person at all times. Not for listening to music, taking pictures of the roof or answering calls but instead to use in case of an emergency.
What if you fall and nobody can hear you? Likley machines will be blarring loud and nobody seems to notice your in need of help. Something as simple as your ladder getting knocked down leaving you with no way to get down is a possibility when out in the field, this has happened and will continue to happen to contractors out in the field pressure cleaning.
This is by no means intended to scare you but a reality we have to keep in mind when out cleaning.
The phone is your lifeline to 911, take it serious.
As part of proper attire and equiptment are included NO BACKPACK SPRAYERS FOR SOFT WASHING ROOFS. Often we hear new comers in the industry have the bright idea to clean roofs with a backpack sprayer in order to get into roof soft washing early with very little capital. The intention is well but the execution is not a good idea. DO NOT DO THIS. Save up some capital and buy or create your own soft wash set up. Safety is priority. The corrosive SH will quickly eat away at the pumps internals seals and begin to leakon you, causing terrible chemical burns. Forget about the fact youll be spending hours upon hours just to complete a roof, it doesnt make any sense. Carrying 32LBS in weight on your back up and down a ladder/ slippery roof isnt the best idea. Best to refer out the job or wait until you have a solid soft wash set up to tackle the job.
We only use backpack sprayers in certain situations and rinse then out completely.
Side Story: My father who does landscaping recently used a backpack sprayer to apply insecticide for a customer when he started to feel a burning sensation down his lower back down to his socks. The backpack sprayer has begun to leak and was burning his skin. Luckily it was not anything life threatening but it was painful laying down to sleep or sit.
Proper technique is next for knowing how to walk on a roof. Everybody seems to have their own theory on what is the best way. I say the best way is the way that keeps you safe without damaging anything. When we walk on roofs for cleaning we place our feet on the top rounded portion of the roof tile where the tiles meet (usually pertaining to barrel tile roofs) As you walk if you can feel the tile is brittle or about to crack, stop immediately and walk around it, making sure to make a mental note of what area to watch out for during the cleaning. Our trucks always have roofing glue on hand incase we break one during the cleaning. (Please ensure you have the proper lic and insurances to do so in your state or county).
In addition to that you should be taking advantage of every angle when spraying a roof, meaning for those tough to reach spots that are difficult to hit use another angle of attack. For example on a two story roof it is easier to spray the first story section of tiles from the top and hit at an angle instead of close up and personal. The spray distance of your soft washing set up helps to walk much less on the roof or cover a wider section of tiles without stepping all over the roof.
Safely cleaning the roof requires quality tarps, gutter downspout bags, water and in some cases granular fertilizer/ bleach neutralizer. These should all be in your arsenal of tools and tricks to "WOW" your customer. Buying a medium thickness tarp and cutting it into the desired pieces makes your cleaning much easier and efficient than having to stand their drenching the plant as usual. Same goes with the gutter bag downspouts, collecting all that runoff by the gallon is easier to dispose of instead of allowing it to soak into the landscape or spill out. Using water to dilute the chemicals concentration cancels it out to practically nothing. Spray water all over the affected landscape as well as the hardscape when finished to get some of the harsh bleach smell out. Adding a good granular fertilizer to help in replenish any nutrients lost from the cleaning or on a very sensative plant is key to getting a late text or early morning phone call on how you killed their landscape. Proper tools and technique go a long way. Bleach neutralizers seem to help but in my experiance I prefer to tarp, water and put fertilizer where needed. Some plants will wither even by looking at them the wrong way. Bleach neutralizers can aid but are costly so we like to use them on big ticket jobs or a expensive sensative plant.
Then we have, using the elements to aid in the cleaning process. Im sure you have noticed when roof cleaning in a dry and very sunny day the mold and mildew (Organics) on the roof soak up the soft wash mixture like a sponge, but a wet roof in cold conditions is more of a slower reaction.
For days where the sun is out the roof cleans happen faster but when it rains the SH doesnt have enough dwell time to kill off the mildew.So another coat has to be applied. At times in our cleanings with the professional experiance we have we can cut the water back a bit (raising the softwash mix to a higher precentage) to clean faster incase we see a heavy rainstorm coming, this way by the time the heavy rain comes pouring through, we are off the now clean roof, watering the plants and allowing the rain to help us rinse faster. Positioning yourself with where the wind blows helps alot instead of walking to a spot on the roof, use the wind to carry the product. Never spray against the wind, it will throw the SH right into your face. Use the wind to your advantage or in certain situations where the wind is way to intense the only choice is to reschedule the cleaning or changing your tip to a bigger orifice for more volume. (Harder for the wind to push up and away).
The stop and spray is a simple technique to walk on the roof , stop and spray an area that is reachable. The reason why this seemingly stupid technique helps to keep you safe is by maintaining focus on where you spray while walking up and down a roof is asking for trouble. Like trying to shoot a basketball while running compared to shooting it when standing still. More focus, more safety.
Lastly for proper technique you should always respect the roof and not get to comfortable up there. The person who fears a roof slip up is the one who airs on the side of caution. The falls I have heard of happen when the roof technician is way to comfortable saying in their minds " I have done this many times over, I will be fine"
Your safety is nothing to play with.
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