Faqs

Roof cleaning (9)

Does pressure cleaning harm a roof?

Does pressure cleaning harm a roof?

It definitely can, as if done incorrectly i.e. wrong equipment, wrong pressure, it will remove a layer of the tile surface, which reduces the life expectancy of the tile.

Done properly (using a rotary cleaner, with the correct nozzles and pressure) the loss of the fines from the tile surface is minimised.

When pressure cleaning a roof it is essential that the person doing the cleaning does NOT use a hand held lance or wand (except possibly for valleys, gullys and verges), as the control of the water jet is not good enough and it is entirely possible that water could be forced under the tile and into the roof space.

As said already, the ONLY way to pressure wash a roof correctly is by using a rotary cleaner, controlled from the ridge, this achieves two main things, the application of high pressure water on to the roof surface is done at a controlled angle (ideally at about a 70 degree angle from the surface) which helps prevent water ingress, reduces damage caused by high pressure nozzles hitting the surface at 90 degrees, and no one needs to tramp about all over your roof, which can cause more harm than any pressure washer ever could!

Will moss damage a roof?

Moss in itself will not cause any great harm to a concrete roof tile in the short term, but certainly can in the,longer term.
One of the problems with moss is that it holds incredible amount of water (up to 30 times it’s own weight in some cases) and a roof covered in moss can put a huge strain on the structure of the roof when wet (which by it’s nature moss needs to be), and because moss retains water, when it freezes and thaws during the winter months, it can start to break up the tile surface, which obviously isn’t good.

Moss also grows under the roof tile and can actually lift the tile clear of the roof, this creates gaps in the roof surface and allows wind and rain to gain access to the felt, timbers and roof void, which also isn’t good.

Another often overlooked fact is that moss harbours many and varied species of insect life, which is what attracts the birds to it, the birds also defecate randomly all over the roof while attacking the insects living in the moss, not good for either appearance or the tiles themselves.

And yet another problem caused by having birds feeding on your roof is that they remove the bush part of the moss to get the insects, this moss then rolls down the roof, and either ends up in your gutters or on the ground around the house, which is not only messy, but causes blocked gutters, blocked downpipes, fascia rot, as well as moss growth on the ground around the property.

So is it a good idea to remove moss from your roof….yes!

Roof coatings are pointless, aren’t they?

If done properly good quality roof coatings can increase the life expectancy of the tiles, make your house more attractive from the roadside (a big plus for many reasons, not just when selling) and it will last easily ten years and beyond.

And what takes the wear and tear associated with UV rays, wind and rain, snow, hail, and frost? Thats right, the roof coatings!

Coatings are used to protect many different exterior surfaces including, wood, stone and concrete, roof tiles are no different, protect them and they will last longer.

So for those who say roof coatings are pointless, would they leave window frames, decking, facia’s fencing unprotected?

Very unlikely, so don’t leave your roof unprotected either, it just doesn’t make any sense

Roof coatings get dirty?

Yes they do, and so do bare tiles, and so do replacement tiles and full new roofs, nothing will stop this process from happening.

But guess what, your roof can be kept clean without the need for pressure washing it repeatedly, in fact whenever it requires it, and if done before it gets too bad it doesn’t even need to cost a lot!

Where the roof has been coated previously it can be even cheaper to clean up, like your car (which also uses a coating to protect the metal) you can simply wash it down, no high pressure wash required.

Do you clean up afterwards?

Always, no exceptions.

What happens to the moss removed from my roof?

All washed up moss is collected and bagged after the cleaning is finished, and while we can’t remove this for you (waste carrier licenses are very expensive, and would increase our overheads substantially) moss is regarded as organic waste, and as such you can ask for a free collection/uplift from the council waste department.

Who supplies the water?

We are fully licensed by Scottish water to access the street hydrants if required, so if you do not have an outside water tap, we can obtain the supply direct from the mains.

It is important to state this clearly when requesting a quote though, as we need to confirm the location, and the operation of the nearest hydrant.

Why should I demand the use of a rotary type roof cleaner?

Our rotary surface cleaner effectively deals with the problems associated with traditional hand lance tiles cleaning activities

i.e:
Men tramping all over the (often delicate) roof tiles is not ideal and will cause breakages and often unseen damage to the roof tiles and structure
Surface damage caused by the high pressure lance being used at too steep an angle
Extreme quantities of moss debris blown all over the immediate surroundings (to a distance of 20-40 metres, depending on roof height and wind)
Poor and inconsistent cleaning of the tiles due to the exhausting nature of controlling a lance while standing on steep, slippery roof tiles
Slip and fall danger to the operators cleaning the roof.

Our rotary cleaner is safely operated from the roof ridge, has precisely controlled water jets on a spinning head which reduces the impact of the water jet without losing the cleaning efficiency.
Every tile receives the exact same cleaning process, there is little to no debris blasted off the roof, and the operator has a much easier and safer job.

How long will my roof stay clean after pressure washing?

If the roof is just pressure washed with no biocide or sealer protection applied, then it can take as little as one year before it starts to accumulate grime/moss/algae again.

If cleaned and biocide treated, easily three years, and possibly much longer (it really depends on the location of the property), before it starts to look dirty again.

If cleaned, biocide treated, and sealed, it could be anything up to ten or more years before it requires attention.

Although roofs that are heavily shaded, surrounded by tree’s or with an open country aspect will always deteriorate faster, unless subject to ongoing maintenance procedures.

Drive cleaning (7)

Why can’t I just use my K*rcher to clean the drive?

Of course you can, no problem.

What size drive do you have though, 30m2, 50m2…100m2?

With a small DIY type pressure washer it would take you the best part of a day to clean 30-40 meters of mono block driveway, and I’m not talking about just blasting the surface, but a proper deep into the joints clean, removing all the old dirty sand, weeds and whatever else has taken up residence in there

Now that’s hard work, and the truth is that most people get fed up after the first ten meters or so, and the rest of the drive gets less and less of the proper cleaning that it needs.

And then you need to re-sand it all, which if you haven’t cleaned it properly may not take very long, or not at all in some cases!

But what you then have is a knock on effect, and a driveway that a year later is ten times worse and even harder to clean properly.

So while you can clean your driveway yourself with that little diy pressure washer, the question is, do you really want to?

What equipment do you use?

For cleaning drives and roofs rotary surface cleaners combined with 250bar (3600psi) commercial petrol & Diesel powered high pressure pumps.

The rotary cleaner is the quickest, creates less mess, and cleans better (no stripe marks, consistent clean joint depths, minimal surface damage) than is possible by any other method.

How do I know…simple, I’ve tried it all possible ways and this is the best!

 

 

Why is important to re-sand after cleaning?

The sand in a block driveway is the glue that holds it together, it binds the blocks to each other and stops movement, water and weeds.

Clean sand is not a hospitable environment for organic growth, keep it clean and refreshed regularly and nothing will grow there.

And the best way to keep it clean is high pressure water, properly controlled and directed by a rotary cleaner.

Do you clean up afterwards?

Always, no exceptions.

Who supplies the water?

We are fully licensed by Scottish water to access the street hydrants if required, so if you do not have an outside water tap, we can obtain the supply direct from the mains.

It is important to state this clearly when requesting a quote though, as we need to confirm the location, and the operation of the nearest hydrant.

Will pressure washing remove the weeds?

Yes and no
To explain, pressure washing a drive will certainly remove all visible weeds, but unfortunately will not remove the roots unless they are fairly shallow.
If your drive has visible weed growth we would recommend a professional weedkiller treatment before any pressure cleaning is carried out, this is the

    only way

to ensure no swift regrowth of weeds!

How often should I have my drive cleaned?

It depends on the type of drive, whether it is shaded, surrounded by trees/shrubs/lawns and lots of other variables that affect how long it will stay clean.
We generally recommend that a full pressure clean be carried out approximately every 2 yrs, or with maintenance cleans every year, this can easily be extended to 4-5 years.

General questions (4)

How long has the company been in business?

Powerclean Extreme is the trading name for Lantech Scotland Ltd, and as such, has been in business since 2003

Why are you so expensive?

The cost of pressure cleaning anything is based on a competitive hourly rate charge + equipment maintenance and consumables (fuel/oil) and travel costs.

Bigger areas obviously cost more than smaller area’s, although the per meter cost of larger area’s reduces, due to the inefficiencies of not having to pack up equipment and travel between sites incurred on smaller area’s.

The aim is to keep costs down and always to provide a competitive price for doing a professional job, and we won’t cut corners to make it cheaper, if you are going to do it, do it right or not at all!

Why are you so cheap?

The equipment we use is powerful, designed specifically to do the job, and allows us to cover large areas fairly quickly, making for good cost savings over more traditional methods of cleaning.

We have less overheads than many, and the boss (me) is an active part of the daily workload, meaning that prices can be kept keen.

What payment options can you offer?

Cash or cheque when the work is finished is preferred (a proper receipt will always be provided), simply because it saves time and helps with our cashflow and keeping our costs down.

But if this are not a good option for you, maybe you will be at work when the cleaning is done, or off on holiday, or would just prefer to pay via electronic means, in which case can send an electronic invoice which allows you to pay by credit card (paypal) or by direct bank transfer

The only requirement for the electronic  payments are that they are made strictly within two weeks of the work being done.

Sealers (2)

Sealer types

There are many different types of sealers available and a detailed description of them all is not the intention here, so the options for each surface type are detailed below:

Roofs:

Coloured Acrylic coatings – Used to re-colour and seal old roof tiles
Clear Acrylic coatings – used where the existing tiles are self coloured, or have retained their original factory coatings, and the requirement is to protect this.

Clear penetrating sealers – A more recent development in surface sealing, this type of product penetrates deeply into the material surface and coats the pores of the material, stopping the ingress of water, dirt, moss, mould’s and algae’s, can be very effective and long lasting

Block paving (monoblock)

Clear Acrylic: Acrylic based sealers are the most common, and can be either solvent of water based, some people prefer the solvent based option, believing that it provides a stronger bond to the material surface, but both water and solvent based products contain the same level of acrylic product, so in theory there should be little difference between the two. Water based acrylics can now come with weed inhibitors built in though, which offers a higher level of protection against existing and new weed growth.

Clear Urethane: Always solvent based and can be very tough and long lasting, but costs more and is more difficult to apply. It is also problematic to re-coat when it starts to wear away, and very difficult to fix should the application process not go to plan.

Why use drive sealers?

Drive sealers, when applied to a properly clean and weed free driveway, will not only enhance the look of the drive, but will solidify the jointing sand, provide protection to the surface of the block, and give a high level of resistance to weed growth from above.

They reduce the maintenance of the driveway, requiring only a regular hose down and a good brush to keep them clean (dirt doesn’t stick well to hardened sealer).

And depending on the type and quantity of sealer applied it can last anything between 3-7 years, so can be a cost effective way to keep your drive in good order