I have a potential project that is currently in the sample stage. I initiated contact for this one, and with perfect timing. The property management had this roof cleaning in their scopes.
This is an iconic dome roof, laid with fabric and coated with Hydro-Stop. Some areas of the Hydro-Stop have failed and other minimal areas the coated fabric is lifting. The growth on this roof is hard and dense and contains cooking greases as well. It does not have the appearance of other spore based infestations. Up close it looks more like flaky, dehydrated, cracked, desert soil. (photo 5 but not a great pic)
Leaks in this roof are occasionally a problem and apparently a major headache to deal with. The decision makers involved don't want to use pressure but are also concerned about the bleach odor or any other chemicals. CATCH 22!
As of now I have performed 3 tests.
- 1% SH Solution, at night, rained 15 min after application, accomplished almost nothing. (3rd photo)
- Power washing with a surface spinner, 8gpm @1700psi, over the area tested with 1%. This was effective in removing everything, and in my opinion left a perfect situation to begin the repairs of failed fabric and coating. (4th photo left side)
- 5% SH Solution, lightened the color of surface contaminant, still hard, crusty, build-up. (4th photo right side)
I am not yet prepared to spray CH however it is my next investment, and next test for this roof.
Maybe a good opportunity to try augmenting?
Original tests were performed in January, I need to get on it, before I loose this opportunity!
Thank you in advance for any input on this project.
-- Edited by Darryl Freeman on Thursday 3rd of March 2016 06:53:51 PM
If that roof is leaking I'd be very careful because you will be liable if water seeps inside.
Tim Teed said
Mar 4, 2016
You are prepping for the the contractor that will be doing the repairs. You probably should have him involved in your tests so that however you prep, it will meet his standards and figure out who is responsible for scheduling to get repaired after you are done and then have a signed release
Troy Layman said
Mar 4, 2016
Darryl Freeman wrote:
I am not yet prepared to spray CH however it is my next investment, and next test for this roof.
Maybe a good opportunity to try augmenting?-- Edited by Darryl Freeman on Thursday 3rd of March 2016 06:53:51 PM
Darryl,
CH has its benefits, but overall for people doing this full time and higher volume, SH is usually the preferred option unless you have a system set up like the on AC sells.
Much longer shelf life than SH when in the dry, powdered form
You remove the salt content that is poisonous to plants, and replace it with calcium, which is a plant fortifier, so you have fewer plant defoliation issues
You can store/carry enough CH to make much more than 119 gallons of bleach, where you can only carry 119 gallons of SH per the DOT rules
Depending on location, may be a cheaper option
You can have CH shipped to a residential address
You don't have to make frequent trips to buy SH if you are not able to have it delivered to you
CH has almost no bleach type odor - it is very faint when compared to SH
A roof strength SH mix can burn or kill grass if not rinsed, where the same strength CH mix may not even cause any problem, or maybe just a slight burn/browning on the edges of the same grass
Con's of CH:
Takes much more time and effort to get CH mixed, more so with colder water (requires measuring by weight, thus a scale)
Most use a paint sock and basket strainer to add the CH to the tank, then you have to stand at the tank spraying water over the granules until it is all dissolved
You need to keep surfaces wet or rinsed (such as window's, skylights, solar panels etc.) as CH will leave white specs on surfaces that take a lot more effort to remove once dry
You will end up with a chalky residue on the bottom of your tank - although this can be removed with a wet/dry vac and is the left over chemicals that pool companies add to keep pool water crystal clear
Both SH and CH have a higher specific gravity than water so the hypochlorite mix will sink to the bottom of the tank and require agitation/mixing to keep the mix a constant strength from top to bottom, but CH settles much faster and requires more agitation than SH, otherwise the top of your tank will be watered down and the bottom of your tank will be stronger than you originally mixed
This extra agitation requires frequent manual agitation or a second pump dedicated to agitation
CH degrades much faster than SH once it is mixed in water
Bottom line:Most people use SH because it is easier to mix, faster to mix (time=money), degrades much slower than CH once mixed, and you don't have to worry with the white specs if you accidentally let an area dry before rinsing.
That being said, unless he has made a change recently, Brandon Vaughn uses CH almost exclusively, but he is one of the few high production companies to do so. I use CH exclusively for the time being, but a part of that is the extra safety factor with no salt and bleach. My ground person has more experience now so I may start using SH to minimize time on jobs as I'm not that far away from a place I can get fresh 12.5% SH so I can get it per job.
AC Lockyer said
Mar 6, 2016
That is soooooo badly stained that you will likely need to go 3 to 4% on it.
AC
Robert Baxter said
May 15, 2016
Greetings all ...
Need some advise ... I have been asked to clean the outer fabric on an air supported dome. First, however, I need to do a demo.
What advice can anyone give me on sh mix and green/terra wash?
By the way, I'll be taking the Certified test this week. Hope all goes well.
Anyone ever clean a air-supported fabric dome roof?
I need to do a demo.
Help.
Brandon Vaughn said
May 17, 2016
Robert, I'd use a 2% mix, with a little extra Green Wash mixed in. It should be an easy clean.
AC Lockyer said
May 17, 2016
Robert,
Great to chat by phone about this the other day. So everyone else can see how I advised here is another mix ratio.
2% SH softwashing mix with a 1oz/gallon Green Wash and a 1oz/gallon Terra Wash coctail.
Thanks,
AC
Chad Eneix said
May 17, 2016
FYI, those inflatable things dry REALLY fast. If you can pick a cloudy, cool day it would be ideal.
We did one of these in the dark ages of Water Dragon, before SoftWashing. It took a lift and 3 days with brushes on poles.
If it was me, looking at the photo, I'd still get a lift, if you're insured for it. The 50' articulating ones you can tow with a 1/2 ton truck are like $250/day. I would just add it in to the bid. Otherwise, I'm not sure how you'd get the top, other than spraying a bunch up there and hoping you got it all.
I have a potential project that is currently in the sample stage. I initiated contact for this one, and with perfect timing. The property management had this roof cleaning in their scopes.
This is an iconic dome roof, laid with fabric and coated with Hydro-Stop. Some areas of the Hydro-Stop have failed and other minimal areas the coated fabric is lifting. The growth on this roof is hard and dense and contains cooking greases as well. It does not have the appearance of other spore based infestations. Up close it looks more like flaky, dehydrated, cracked, desert soil. (photo 5 but not a great pic)
Leaks in this roof are occasionally a problem and apparently a major headache to deal with. The decision makers involved don't want to use pressure but are also concerned about the bleach odor or any other chemicals. CATCH 22!
As of now I have performed 3 tests.
- 1% SH Solution, at night, rained 15 min after application, accomplished almost nothing. (3rd photo)
- Power washing with a surface spinner, 8gpm @1700psi, over the area tested with 1%. This was effective in removing everything, and in my opinion left a perfect situation to begin the repairs of failed fabric and coating. (4th photo left side)
- 5% SH Solution, lightened the color of surface contaminant, still hard, crusty, build-up. (4th photo right side)
I am not yet prepared to spray CH however it is my next investment, and next test for this roof.
Maybe a good opportunity to try augmenting?
Original tests were performed in January, I need to get on it, before I loose this opportunity!
Thank you in advance for any input on this project.
-- Edited by Darryl Freeman on Thursday 3rd of March 2016 06:53:51 PM
Darryl,
CH has its benefits, but overall for people doing this full time and higher volume, SH is usually the preferred option unless you have a system set up like the on AC sells.
http://www.jracenstein.com/item/150-0817/softwash-systems-powdered-bleach-module/
This is not a 100% comlete/exhaustive list...but
Pro's of CH:
Much longer shelf life than SH when in the dry, powdered form
You remove the salt content that is poisonous to plants, and replace it with calcium, which is a plant fortifier, so you have fewer plant defoliation issues
You can store/carry enough CH to make much more than 119 gallons of bleach, where you can only carry 119 gallons of SH per the DOT rules
Depending on location, may be a cheaper option
You can have CH shipped to a residential address
You don't have to make frequent trips to buy SH if you are not able to have it delivered to you
CH has almost no bleach type odor - it is very faint when compared to SH
A roof strength SH mix can burn or kill grass if not rinsed, where the same strength CH mix may not even cause any problem, or maybe just a slight burn/browning on the edges of the same grass
Con's of CH:
Takes much more time and effort to get CH mixed, more so with colder water (requires measuring by weight, thus a scale)
Most use a paint sock and basket strainer to add the CH to the tank, then you have to stand at the tank spraying water over the granules until it is all dissolved
You need to keep surfaces wet or rinsed (such as window's, skylights, solar panels etc.) as CH will leave white specs on surfaces that take a lot more effort to remove once dry
You will end up with a chalky residue on the bottom of your tank - although this can be removed with a wet/dry vac and is the left over chemicals that pool companies add to keep pool water crystal clear
Both SH and CH have a higher specific gravity than water so the hypochlorite mix will sink to the bottom of the tank and require agitation/mixing to keep the mix a constant strength from top to bottom, but CH settles much faster and requires more agitation than SH, otherwise the top of your tank will be watered down and the bottom of your tank will be stronger than you originally mixed
This extra agitation requires frequent manual agitation or a second pump dedicated to agitation
CH degrades much faster than SH once it is mixed in water
Bottom line: Most people use SH because it is easier to mix, faster to mix (time=money), degrades much slower than CH once mixed, and you don't have to worry with the white specs if you accidentally let an area dry before rinsing.
That being said, unless he has made a change recently, Brandon Vaughn uses CH almost exclusively, but he is one of the few high production companies to do so. I use CH exclusively for the time being, but a part of that is the extra safety factor with no salt and bleach. My ground person has more experience now so I may start using SH to minimize time on jobs as I'm not that far away from a place I can get fresh 12.5% SH so I can get it per job.
AC
Greetings all ...
Need some advise ... I have been asked to clean the outer fabric on an air supported dome. First, however, I need to do a demo.
What advice can anyone give me on sh mix and green/terra wash?
By the way, I'll be taking the Certified test this week. Hope all goes well.
Bob
Anyone ever clean a air-supported fabric dome roof?
I need to do a demo.
Help.
Robert, I'd use a 2% mix, with a little extra Green Wash mixed in. It should be an easy clean.
Great to chat by phone about this the other day. So everyone else can see how I advised here is another mix ratio.
2% SH softwashing mix with a 1oz/gallon Green Wash and a 1oz/gallon Terra Wash coctail.
Thanks,
AC
We did one of these in the dark ages of Water Dragon, before SoftWashing. It took a lift and 3 days with brushes on poles.
If it was me, looking at the photo, I'd still get a lift, if you're insured for it. The 50' articulating ones you can tow with a 1/2 ton truck are like $250/day. I would just add it in to the bid. Otherwise, I'm not sure how you'd get the top, other than spraying a bunch up there and hoping you got it all.