Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

njacobson · Veteran Member

surfactant

Bryan P · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I've got 10 gallons of Snotmenade so I'll let you know how it works. My skid shipped Friday so I'm pretty close to getting started. Might be a while for I get a roof cleaning job though. Everything lined up is house washing right now.

njacobson · Veteran Member

ok yes, please give some feedback. dragon grip works great. i like the idea of snotmenade for the scent. i know there are other options out there. and by the time i pay the 80 for the bucket plus 50 for shipping...i wish i could walk into a local shop and pick up some industry specific detergent. but, i guess if its in my surfactant tank before i get on site, thats not that important either, as long as the results are there.

agent green claims to have a chlorine booster, any ideas what that may be??

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I started looking into SLS powder (sodium lauryl sulfate ) both because it's highly concentrated and shipping liquids is cost prohibited.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

The NSWA Blend

Eric Schnaible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

"Snotmenade"? That's rich, I gotta check in more often.
I use Cling on from ptek, works great, way cheaper shipping.

Eric Schnaible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Ok so back to the great surfactant discussion.
I need another order so I though we could update our thoughts.

I'd like to try the Agent green but have a couple issues.
1) The info I find on it does not say it is SH stable. I would think that it is but want to confirm.
2) Shipping is almost as much as the product. Thats a killer for me.

I'm really want to het the odor masking in with the surfactant. Snotmenade is on I would like to try as well but again the shipping cost $60 for 5 gallons.

I have use 8 gallons of the citrus boost scent cover and am thoroughly unimpressed.

Any good/updated experience with the products you guys are using?

Bryan P · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I'm going for a one soap solution, so gonna use Agent Green this fall. I like it for roofs and for house washing. I do find that the cover scent isn't very prominent. Snotmenade smells good with house wash, but less effective with roof mix.

Shipping to CA. wow. I wonder if you'd be better off to a freight delivery on a 55 drum? I could almost do that. I'm using a lot more soap with the booster pump vs. 12v.

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I have decided to stay with easy! No shipping costs and a little chemistry. Gain and Arm & Hammer Laundry detergent then we add Gain dish soap to help with stick. Shipping is crazy and local cheap surfactant works for us well. House wash we use PinAlan, another inexpensive soap that rinses well. I gave up on the next best surfactant due to shipping and don't care about how much they use now. This has worked well for us and as Bryan stated, "I'm using a lot more soap with the booster pump vs. 12v." Cheap soap that works is what I will keep using.

Eric Schnaible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I like the scent of Pinalen original (pine) Its a mix killer though. Do you use one of the floral ones Doug? Those are pretty pungent.

Jason Watkins · Exterior Cleaner

I just ordered some Slo Mo from Pressure Washer Products. It has gotten a huge amount of praise since it has been out. What's most impressive is how little is required... the recommended dosage is 8 oz or less per 100 gallons for roofs, and 1 oz or less per 5 gallons for downstreaming. Also, it works well with the proportioner, from what i have heard.

As far as scent, if you go on the PWP website on the Slo Mo page, they have links to 3 different scent manufacturers where you can get free samples from to try out.

There is a video on one of the facebook groups where a guy mixed only 3 oz into 100 gallons and was spraying it live on a roof... it foamed great, and stuck great, and he said it was his favorite over all the other soaps he had used. PM if you want a link.

Here's a review from Michael Kreisle.

www.youtube.com/watch

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Still using the Max. No shipping and waiting HO love the smell

Steve Salley · Approved Exterior Cleaner

We have spent this season "hearing" what veterans have been doing. I still believe in professional level chemicals, but we have done a lot of homes this year with Pinalen Max Floral Scent and are very impressed. Our customers comment on the nice smell too.

We like the ease of rinse and the the fact their is no film on the windows when we are done rinsing, so we were happy to used it.

The fact I walk into Wally Mart and walk out the door with the product is a tremendous benefit for us.

It does not clean everything we touch, but for house washing we give it thumbs up.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Over at HD the American brand "Flash" is a dollar cheaper for 178 Lt. They have it in Sea Breeze and Lavender.

Eric Schnaible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Funny you should mention that Art, I bought some today and tried it out. It worked fairly well and covered the SH smell pretty good too. I really didn't like the strong fabric softer smell though.
I tried to get some of the Pinalen as well. It appears they have rebranded their original and it's not pine anymore.

Admin · Head Quarters

I'm getting low. I have to go to my HD and see if they have it. I will be lost without it.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Checked out the FLASH at HD today different kind of mix went with the MAX

Jason Watkins · Exterior Cleaner

I'll have to pick up some of this Pinalen to give it a try... how much you guys adding for a 5 gallon downstream mix?

A while back i read about people using Mr. Clean, but i think that was as a finishing treatment... to give it a nice smell, and a little gloss. Going to pick up some of that as well, to try to give some shine to metal roofs after cleaning, and might try on vinyl. Summer citrus scent seemed to be a popular fragrance.

Admin · Head Quarters

a good splash

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

We have been getting the floral at Family Dollar in the largest container it comes in for around 5.00. We add about 1 cup in a 15 gal. down stream mix. We quit using 5 gal buckets so we don't have to remix while doing a large home.

As to surfactants, I have tried so many all new and improved. Every year someone comes out with a new one that will be the best. After shipping it's somewhere around 100.00. It is never all new and improved. I have been using Arm & Hammer/Gain laundry detergent and adding gain dish soap. That is working well. I will be getting 5 gals. of the foaming agent I got a simple of a few weeks ago and will be experimenting once again to come up with a mix that will stick using local soaps and additives. My last experiments with the additive was stopping at about three shingles. More updates on the additive as I fine tune it.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I'm in at about 3 cups to 7 gallons. I like the cover sent and it cleans the windows up nice.

Admin · Head Quarters

Found this soap over at the old RCIA. I bought a bottle of the lavender today and mixed it with Max Lavender. I will see what happens tomorrow. Not cheap, like $3.79 a bottle.
roof-cleaning-institute.activeboard.com/t63774994/im-no-chemist-anything-in-this-soap-that-in-not-compatible-w/

Fred W · Guru

I always go back to something AC said. "We are not chemists". I'm just in the solid camp of not mixing stuff with bleach that I don't know is safe.

Maybe you know so its all good but mixing different stuff is just out of my desires....:}

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

All the soaps the venders sell, who's to say they are any safer then Gain or any other soap out there. Your wife does laundry. She puts beach and Tide in the washer. Has she ever blown up the house?

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Boom is the fun part of this biz.

J/k

-- Edited by Maverick Contracting on Wednesday 13th of September 2017 11:47:15 AM

DirtyRoofcom · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Art O wrote:
I'm in at about 3 cups to 7 gallons. I like the cover sent and it cleans the windows up nice.

Art this is for downstreaming? How much are you adding to your roof mix? i think im using too much for housewashing, "max" is still not fully masking smell of roof mix

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

DirtyRoofcom wrote:
Art O wrote:
I'm in at about 3 cups to 7 gallons. I like the cover sent and it cleans the windows up nice.
Art this is for downstreaming? How much are you adding to your roof mix? i think im using too much for housewashing, "max" is still not fully masking smell of roof mix

I'm using an Injector for my roof mix. Been adding some dish soap to it. I found some Lavender 7 dish soap at CVS, been adding that to the Max. All I do is smell bleach all day, can't tell whats going on. I also don't hide the fact that my mix has SOME Bleach in it. No real reason for it.