how would you interpret this link?

[PA Dutchman 14]

I rediscovered this link over the weekend. Adds to the confusion I think.

http://www.moldadvisor.com/bleachmyth.html

[FCPWLLC 233]

These people have the same thing going on. I couldn't get anyone here to anwer the phone.

http://www.normi.org/articles/bleach-mold.php

This company told me the same thing about bleach. However they were elusive to questions about how well it wold clean compared to SHC on a roof.

http://www.moldcareer.com/micro-store.php?CategoryID=27&Parent=2

Always learning and looking at options.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Interesting reading...

Beth

[James 624]

This is directed more for interior problems where very expensive products are being marketed.

[Don M. 14]

Is there a solution for exterior problems on vinyl besides a wax coat?

[FCPWLLC 233]

This is directed more for interior problems where very expensive products are being marketed.

Very expensive. Which is why you see them bad mouthing bleach. I could't get straight answers from them on how well it cleaned. I wanted to know about dwell time, rinse methods etc. So far, none can show me how I can increase my bottomline with anything other than SHC. (of course charging more) No doubt that the products all work. They just don't do it within the same margins that SHC does.

[PWkid 79]

There a lot of guys in FLORIDA that clean roofs daily (with success),with bleach,chlorine, sodium hypochlorite. Companies think they have the ROOF CLEANING phenomenon. I know gary in PA thinks sodium hydroxide is the ticket. There are proven results in Bleach,Chlorine,Whatever you want to call it. It is up to the person who is running his or her business to decide what they want to use. Sodium Hydroxide with pressure or Sodium Percarbonate, Sodium Hypochorite. I will go back to the old saying there is more than 1 way to skin a cat. I have found that using a product that provides me with results is what I am going to use.It is the way I decide to run my (successfull) business of roof cleaning.

[PressurePros 248]

The first link Michael posted brings me back to the Wendy's commercials of the 80's. Where's the beef? Lots of links bit no facts. For instance, a cooperative study is mentioned. There's a link to the university, but not to the results of the study itself. Another link the author used to support his case against sodium hypochlotie had this to say:

Chlorine can be added in low concentrations to water as one of the final steps in wastewater treatment as a general biocide to kill micro-organisms, algae, etc. It is often impractical to store and use poisonous chlorine gas for water treatment, so alternative methods of effectively adding chlorine are used. Adding hypochlorite solutions to pools, etc. is one possible solution. Hypochlorite can gradually release chlorine into the water. Even more convenient for some users are compounds such as sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione (dihydrate or anhydrous), sometimes referred to as dichlor, and trichloro-s-triazinetrione, sometimes referred to as trichlor. These compounds are stable while solid and may be used in powdered, granular, or tablet form. When added in small amounts to pool water or industrial water systems, the chlorine atoms hydrolyze from the rest of the molecule forming hypochlorous acid (HOCl) which acts as a general biocide killing germs, micro-organisms, algae, etc.

So I am to conclude that it is an effective enough biocide to purify drinking water and the pool which my kids swim in but not the right chemical to kill mold on my siding or roof? Please.

The assumptions this wave of "no bleach roof cleaners" is making is not based on empirical data. Yes, quats may kill mold and prevent regrowth for a longer period. Their appeal is in preventing the regrowth. Making an assumption that hypochlorite is not an effective mold killer based on the fact that mold regrows sooner is hocus pocus manipulation of the facts.

So, if quats work, they don't kill plants and they keep a roof clean longer why not use them?

1) They are expensive

2) They don't work like we need them to. Mel comes in and sells a roof clean for $400. I come in and want to sell the same roof clean for $800. When Mel collects his check, that roof looks great. Customer received his value. Mel shakes the customers hand and says, "see ya in two years." My job was completed in 45 minutes. The roof still looks like crap and now I wanna get paid. "Trust me Mr Customer, in 30 days and a few rainfalls, your roof will look great"

Final note: I find it real convenient that at the end of the article Mr Hoffman says, "I wish we had known about these kinds of technologies ten years ago when we were cleaning roofing systems. Instead of spending so much time protecting the landscape, we could have done an additional job or two. We could have completed more jobs and our subsequent warranty workload would have been reduced."

How this translates to me: We ran a successful business utilizing sodium hypochlorite to clean roofs. We maybe made some promises we couldn't keep but now that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain because I sell products not service, its safe for me to say we would have used quats to clean roofs.

Where is the credibility in that? Quats were around ten years ago. This isn't new science.

[PA Dutchman 14]

I just saw the irony in their statements about its ability to clean mold...didn't mean to strike a nerve with anyone south of here.

I don't care what people use to get the job done, I DO care how people represent an industry that has yet to mature, with all the homebrew recipes and advertising claims by products it makes each market susceptible to slanderous claims towards legitimate methods.

Our advertising takes no jabs towards anyone elses method, we promise to deliver the results they expect and to do no damage whatsoever to the surface we are cleaning.