Here is 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 )
Can this be used on Fiberglass roof shingles? or a molded brick patio?
Fiberglass shingles is what we’re cleaning in the video. And yes you can clean the moldy brick.
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
hi can you email me the name of the liquid pool shock brand name please and a bottle of that is already mix with water. do i have to add more water ….and i want to know for 10 gallons of water i will have to put 5 gallons of liquid shock for pool and thats gonna work to clean the black mold and the algae on a roof
There is no brand name. It’s SH aprox 12 % Just follow how I show you.
Do you rinse the roof after applying? if so how long after?
Yes and not very long. You don’t always have to.
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..
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
great site Dominick! I live in central Canada where it is now 10C-15C during the daytime. It gets close to 0C at night.
I plan on applying your solution to my roof this weekend. questions: Do I need to rinse it off, or just wait for mother nature to do her magic with rain? Will the strength of the SH just dissipate over time and not harm my grass if I leave it on the roof without rinsing? If I do have to rinse, how long do you leave the SH on before the rinse? Can I use cold water from the tap?
I am a lady afraid of heights trying this myself, so the least amount of time on the roof the better!! Thanks.
Yes to a extent, but you wouldn’t want it to dry on the roof. So rinsing it is always a better choice.
this will get rid of moss on the roof also?
Yes but you will need to help it off.
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.
I know it was asked but if im using sh do I need to rinse the roof? I don’t want any plants or landscaping to die when it rains and all the dired sh runs off the roof. Dried bleach is still salt and salt kills plants and grass I think. Thank you for your input on this. George
No not really. Unless it was super dirty. Just make sure you rinse the plants very good. And yes very true about the salt. But with a kick LOL..