What are the best products and methods to use for cleaning our grimy roof?

RustyRuss

RustyRuss

Joined
Sep 9, 2019
Posts
992
Likes collected
2,193
Location
Runcorn
Funster No
63,956
MH
Autotrail Apache 632
Exp
Since Sept 2019
Hi Funsters, pretty sure this has been asked before but I bet there are lots of newbies out there wondering the same thing. The roof of our coach built Autotrail Apache is covered in nasty green and black algae that is really difficult to clean off and is super slimy when wet, so really dangerous to walk on. There is lots of it under our solar panels and the unused tv/satellite aerial. What cleaning products do you use? How do you access the roof safely? What cleaning tools do you use? Post pictures please, drop in links for cleaning products and cleaning kit if you can/know how, you’ll really help me, but you’ll really help lots of others too!

Cheers!

Russ
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Cranky got it right 👌 G101 is the best all round multi cleaner on the market, and it's cheap if you buy it in bulk, say 10/20 ltrs. I've come across a company called Jennychem online (Google it) I have converted a lot of froends and all the family use it on all surfaces, Inc: upholstery . . . Just spray it on any stubborn stains Inc: oil based etc and scrub off with a micro fibre cloth. As for the moho roof I use a garden sprayer mixed 10/1 with warm water, dpray whoke surface and leave for 10 mins and watch the crap dissolve then either swill it off or wash n wax over the top before swilling off !
Jennychem fo all the known products you will ever need, and as like most you're new to this and unsure, they offer a trial pack of 8 product's for under £30. Buy in bulk and sabe a fortune, they even do adblue cost's me approx £12.50 for 10 ltrs. I have attached some photo's to help you guy's 👌
P.s. If you wondering what the weird pattern on the roof is after I ceramic coated it. You work it out why when it's wet you get this 🤷‍♂️

Screenshot_20230727_080230_Chrome.jpg 20230525_172148.jpg 20230709_185032.jpg 20230706_124337.jpg
 
Upvote 0
SAMSTAR 2023 said:
Cranky got it right 👌 G101 is the best all round multi cleaner on the market, and it's cheap if you buy it in bulk, say 10/20 ltrs. I've come across a company called Jennychem online (Google it) I have converted a lot of froends and all the family use it on all surfaces, Inc: upholstery . . . Just spray it on any stubborn stains Inc: oil based etc and scrub off with a micro fibre cloth. As for the moho roof I use a garden sprayer mixed 10/1 with warm water, dpray whoke surface and leave for 10 mins and watch the crap dissolve then either swill it off or wash n wax over the top before swilling off !
Jennychem fo all the known products you will ever need, and as like most you're new to this and unsure, they offer a trial pack of 8 product's for under £30. Buy in bulk and sabe a fortune, they even do adblue cost's me approx £12.50 for 10 ltrs. I have attached some photo's to help you guy's 👌
P.s. If you wondering what the weird pattern on the roof is after I ceramic coated it. You work it out why when it's wet you get this 🤷‍♂️

View attachment 787348 View attachment 787350 View attachment 787355 View attachment 787356
Click to expand...
What's it like on pigeon poo and lichen?
 
Upvote 0
My photo of front end was after travelling to Isle of Whight, over 3 hours of driving and a heavy downpour just before getting on ferry at Portsmouth, notice any road kill disappeared. My lad ceramic coated the roof and front end day before, then left in sunshine to seal paintwork 👌

20230709_185032.jpg

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
It dissolves bird poo etc and stains they leave underneath 👌 You can mix it as strong as you want to, even removes the black streaks you get just below the roof . . .
 
Upvote 0
Emmit said:
"And a hose for swilling off."

But not in the South West Water billing area.
We're still on a hosepipe ban. Oh please.
Click to expand...
I nearly drowned there a couple of weeks ago and you have a hosepipe ban you could not make it up
 
Upvote 0
pagey said:
I nearly drowned there a couple of weeks ago and you have a hosepipe ban you could not make it up
Click to expand...
Our 'problem' can be compared to the motorhomer who has 300watts of solar on the roof but only equipped with a 75ah battery in the box.
Add to that the fact we are the No. 1 venue for Summer holidays and you can see the problem.

Put simply, we haven't got enough storage for the population.
 
Upvote 0
Emmit said:
"And a hose for swilling off."

But not in the South West Water billing area.
We're still on a hosepipe ban. Oh please.
Click to expand...

South East Water is reviewing its hosepipe ban tomorrow (28 July)

It's ridiculous. Since the ban went in, it has rained nearly every day.
 
Upvote 0
Emmit said:
Our 'problem' can be compared to the motorhomer who has 300watts of solar on the roof but only equipped with a 75ah battery in the box.
Add to that the fact we are the No. 1 venue for Summer holidays and you can see the problem.

Put simply, we haven't got enough storage for the population.
Click to expand...
Cannot believe the number of additional houses but no increase in capacity not only in storage capacity, but also in the treatment of effluent. Yet we pay the highest water rates in the country yanks to Clean Sweep, that worked as well as much discharge to open water as before.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
JohnFX said:
Cannot believe the number of additional houses but no increase in capacity not only in storage capacity, but also in the treatment of effluent. Yet we pay the highest water rates in the country yanks to Clean Sweep, that worked as well as much discharge to open water as before.
Click to expand...
Thing is, the infrastructure isn't capable of accepting the current should it be that there was a large influx of electricity back into the grid.
 
Upvote 0
HillRunner said:
I have used quite a few different methods (including a power washer and rotating brush) but found that it worked best when I just got up on the roof on my knees and did it by hand.
Access with a ladder leaning against the van with pipe insulation squeezed onto the sides of the ladder. I just did it last weekend in 2 sessions and it took 2 to 3 hours in total. The roof hadn't been cleaned since before the start of winter.
I used standard car cleaning products (Supernatural Shampoo), microfibre cloths and two buckets (shampoo and rinse). I also found that Wheel Woolies worked quite well to get the algae moving using a circular motion. They gave me some extra reach as well.
I worked in sections and dried (with mf cloth) when completed so that there were no slippery bits! You could probably use a stronger shampoo on the roof but it was what I had. Note my roof is GRP other roof surfaces may present different issues!
Click to expand...
This thought always concerns me,
'it worked best when I just got up on the roof on my knees and did it by hand'. I tend to think of motorhome roofs as not that strong but obviously i'm wrong. Ours is a Hymer B504. It would give me a great deal of comfort for any of you to say don't worry John, that roof is far stronger than you might imagine. Get up there and do it. Or something to that effect :giggle:
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
You will never regret it Russ, keep a handy small spray bottle in cupboard, mix least 10/1 or more as doesn't need be to strong you can spray and wipe all surfaces over with a micro fibre cloth, if you hot white in kitchen, re-wipe with a dry micro fibre for a glass finish 👌 light spray over seats, cloth or leather lifts dirt out, then swill cloth and rub

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
Merlyn17 said:
This thought always concerns me,
Click to expand...
I have a bdl504 so pretty similar. It has grp over the pual and it appears to be pretty strong. I have never sensed any problems when on the roof and walk around quite freely although there are quite a few openings to dodge!
 
Upvote 0
DDJC said:
South East Water is reviewing its hosepipe ban tomorrow (28 July)

It's ridiculous. Since the ban went in, it has rained nearly every day.
Click to expand...

SE Water review this every Friday. It is not that they don't have the water, they have plenty for months. What they are short of is the ability to purify it to a potable standard.

Absolutely disgusting. Do we get a reduction in our water costs? Nope.

Anyway,m surprise surprise, yesterday the useless ####s decided to continue with the hosepipe ban. I have raised this with my MP.
 
Upvote 0
just to put my 5p in on the topic.

I use Fenwick, I put it in a 2ltr garden spray bottle with a pump (i should say i think its that size) I use a ladder with sponge tie-wrapped to it and clime up the ladder. Normally i have assistance from Carol who has a bucket of clean water and a selection of microfibre clothes on hand. I give an area of the roof a good spray and leave for a minute or two. I then use a sort bristle brush to loosen up any stubborn bits and then wipe the area clean with the microfibre clothes. My helpful asistant cleans the dirty clothes while I move on to another area. I clean the solar panels of any bird poop and grime.

A few of you may have seen me at some of the funster meets doing the roofs of a few vans. It means I can give the area a inspection while I am up there. One thing I have noticed from using fenwicks the last few years is that the algae doesn’t grow back as quick and the roofs are a lot easy and quicker to clean each year. Just something i have noticed Not saying its fact.
 
Upvote 0
HillRunner said:
I have a bdl504 so pretty similar. It has grp over the pual and it appears to be pretty strong. I have never sensed any problems when on the roof and walk around quite freely although there are quite a few openings to dodge!
Click to expand...
Thank you hillrunner. That helps a lot (y).

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
This before you have cleaned it and left to stand till you can be bothered to cleaned it then this after you have cleaned it

www.costco.co.uk

Wet & Forget Concentrate Mould, Lichen and Algae Remover ...

Wet and Forget 5 Litre Mould, Lichen and Algae Remover is the perfect outdoor cleaning solution. It removes contaminants such as mould, lichen and algae, without using harsh methods. Free from harsh chemicals such as bleach and ammonia which can damage surfaces, Wet and Forget is suitable for...
www.costco.co.uk www.costco.co.uk
 
Upvote 0

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top