sodium hydroxide - Power Wash Network "The Power Wash Contractors Forum"

blackjack21 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-29-06

I have seen a few roof cleaning products that are sodium hydroxide based. Does anyone know what to mix sodium hydroxide with if I buy the raw material.

I'm assuming I can dilute it with water but how much?

I saw Pressure Pros recommend sodium hydroxide and butyl(for concrete I believe). Is butyl the full name for a chemical?

I would love to hear from anyone, especially Pressure Pros and Carolina Pro Wash. I've been reading these boards for awhile now and you guys really seem to have your @#$* together.

delam · #2 (**permalink**) 02-04-06

Being pure lye I would be extremely careful mixing it with any thing! There is however a wood paint and varnish remover I sometime use which includes: Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Hydroxide and Sodium Metasilicate. Don't know the exact %. If you get this stuff in you eyes, have some one find you a good seeing eye dog quick!

CaroliProWash · #3 (**permalink**) 02-04-06

Carolina ProWash piping in here!

Our personal preference and suggestion is to buy cleaners manufactured specifically for a purpose. Chemists design these products because they know every ingredient needed to make it work. There are components that you won't see on an MSDS because they're not hazardous, but they are important to the functionality of the product. When you make your own brews, you won't have a proper MSDS (BIG OSHA problem), nor will you have the proper product liability insurance.

This remark is not intended to be rude - just point blank. If you have to ask what a chemical is, what needs to be mixed with it, or how to use it....you'd be well served to pay the guys with the education to take care of the mixing.

Celeste

Oh, yeah....this could always go the direction of should you use sodium hydroxide on asphalt roofs to begin with or would you have better results with sodium hypochlorite!!

blackjack21 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-06-06

point well taken; thank you. i normally use sodium hypochlorite but i like to offer the other for people who insist on not using bleach. most of the other products i have seen are sodium hydroxide and or potassium hydroxide. you have a point in that it's best to pay someone who knows and understands chemistry and the essential non hazardous materials to make the stuff work. i wonder tho, how complicated it can be to come up with something compatible, much cheaper, and still be within the parameters of the law. am heading down a long dead end road? is this gonna be a deal where I find out it takes a chemistry degree and I'm better off just paying someone? I think you've already answered that.

Some store brands are just too expensive for me to be competitive. Case and point- oxalic acid. If I had to buy Rust Away or some other rust remover instead of mixing my own I wouldn't even be able to offer rust removal.

I'm sure there are lots of suppliers and people in cahoots with suppliers on this board who have nothing to gain giving up this sort of info. I'm guessing there's probably people who have invested lots of time obtaining this info and want to keep some hard to come by knowledge to themselves; can't blame em.

Thank you for the reply; you are always informative. Your web site is lookin pretty fresh; I'm especially impressed with the brick buildings. NMD80 I presume?

CaroliProWash · #5 (**permalink**) 02-06-06

Thanks Blackjack

Yes, NMD80 - we have had nothing but success and more jobs coming in because of that stuff! Give me a few more weeks and that website is going to be top notch!

As far as some of your chems, I still stand by the stuff others make for the reasons I put above. When you say you can't afford to do a job because of the cost from a box store, a couple of things are taking place....(1) you are not exploring buying larger quantities of chemicals to the point that you feel comfortable making the initial investment or (2) you gotta get some more work!

I'm in the office most all the time (especially during cold weather - I hate to be cold!) Give me a call if you like

336-261-3051

Celeste

grasshawg · #6 (**permalink**) 02-06-06

The Asphalt Shingle Manufacturers Association recommends 1 to 2.5 gals bleach, 2.5 to 5 gals water, and 1 cup trisodium phosphate. I understand it's readily available at Home Depot in 5 gal buckets in powder form.
Tim Aselton turned me on to the article by giving me a link to the article. It's on this forum somewhere (I just looked for it, and couldn't find it).
Here ya go. www.softwashing.com/docs/guidelines.pdf

Mark · #7 (**permalink**) 02-07-06

Randy,

Thanks for sharing that post.

Sounds like maybe shooting the bleach / TSP onto
the roof with an X-Jet might do the trick.

How about it roof cleaners any thoughts?

squirtgun · #8 (**permalink**) 02-07-06

Mark

We use an xjet to clean roofs,but we use straight 10.5% chlorine with a soap added.Regular household bleach through teh xjet would not be strong enough to get the job done.Although,the method mentioned in the article above would work with a pump sprayer.
Cleaning roofs with an xjet isn't the easiest method.Using a shur-flo pump with a PVC wand seems to be most effective for residential.Also,a small gas engine with a pum may be used as long as you are careful about run off.

delam · #9 (**permalink**) 02-07-06

Go to chemistrystore.com and look for Oxalic acid and also, try Sodium Percarbonate. There are recipes for concrete and vinyl siding cleaning. You can buy 50 lbs for around $1oo.oo as well as smaller amounts. These are the safer bleaching agents that work quite well. Oxalic Acid is as it is called an acid. This is the stuff you see on infomercials as "Oxy-Clean. Sodium percarbonate is an alkaline cleaner, probably best used for roof shingles.It will also nuetralize Oxalic Acid for areas in which they may apply a sealer or finish. Dont want it reacting with the sealer! I always start with the safest product I can use then if that fails, consider the stronger stuff. The thing is, these are safe for you to mix and effective to use. Plus, you are not paying for some one else's corvette if you do it yourself!

blackjack21 · #10 (**permalink**) 02-07-06

Thanks again Delam; I'll check that out. I currently pay $55 for 50lbs of oxalic (powder). I will definately look into sodium precarb tho.