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Biocide what is it!

doug atkinson

Well-known member
Messages
1,468
Location
Fife
Have had a few customers pick up equipment to spray this stuff.

Anyone used it yet and how effective is it.

Does this mean these £1000 system people have purchased this does the same job.

 
I believe Biocide kills living organisms like moss and algae but it takes months to work. The manufacturers will tell you that it keeps working to prevent regrowth but I'm not sure on the long term effects. Plus it's not cheap stuff at all.

If the £1000 systems are for hypo then that gives almost instant results but it does bleach anything it touches which might be an issue?

 
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It depends what you are trying to do with it it’s a quats based product @kevinc250 is the expert with this kind of thing and will be able to explain it far better than me 

 
Funnily enough I was supposed to spray some for a customer today, I was going to use my old backpack but as it turned out the mixing instructions were in German so it didn't happen.

He had previously sprayed his gable up to the top of first floor level with a pump sprayer and the wall is free of any green where treated, a big contrast to the triangular bit above.

 
I believe Biocide kills living organisms like moss and algae but it takes months to work. The manufacturers will tell you that it keeps working to prevent regrowth but I'm not sure on the long term effects. Plus it's not cheap stuff at all.

If the £1000 systems are for hypo then that gives almost instant results but it does bleach anything it touches which might be an issue?
£27.00 treats 100 sq metres which seems reasonable price. 

 
I use wet n forget  Costco sells it about £23 for 5litres, makes 25 litres of solution, supposed to cover 200m2, but I overdo it.

I sprayed a fairly new patio last week to kill green algae, killed it n looks clean already. You do have to wait for it to self clean patios that are more 'dirty'

Benz softwash are good chemicals.

Algoclear pro is good. 

Are you going to start supplying the equipment Doug? As I want a 20ltre 12v diaphragm pump n controller:) 

Gardiners backpacks do the job, but really not enough litres per min to spray quickly.

 
I use wet n forget  Costco sells it about £23 for 5litres, makes 25 litres of solution, supposed to cover 200m2, but I overdo it.

I sprayed a fairly new patio last week to kill green algae, killed it n looks clean already. You do have to wait for it to self clean patios that are more 'dirty'

Benz softwash are good chemicals.

Algoclear pro is good. 

Are you going to start supplying the equipment Doug? As I want a 20ltre 12v diaphragm pump n controller:) 

Gardiners backpacks do the job, but really not enough litres per min to spray quickly.
The problem is using bigger pumps you need  to use bigger hose right up to the nozzle that’s awkward to fit inside wfp and heavy .

 
Didn't think of that, have been looking at the warrior 12lpm pump, but not in stock, think you said you had that and rate it well.

 
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Wet n forget do a 2litre high concentrate that you attach to garden hose n shoots up about 16ft, great idea, I had contacted them to see if something could be done to attach it to wfp via hose, but they said no, but if your clever enough you could work it out. Quite pricey think its £45 for bottle.

 
Didn't think of that, he been looking at the warrior 12lpm pump, but not in stock, think you said you had that and rate it well.
Yes I have got two of them not impressed with battery life think the pumps to big for a small battery ??? , the problem is if using 6 mm pole hose you can only push so much water through it so you don’t get much more on the building with the 12 ltr pump than you do with a Gardiner back pack , when I have time Ime going to try larger  hose I have it in the garage but not had the time to sort it out , as using larger hose needs different fittings and fitting it inside a pole is fiddley , Ime thinking of getting a pure freedom nano trolly with a chemical rated pump again Ime going to have a chat to pure freedom about it when they phone about my new reels . 

 
I will just stick to the backpack just now.
I like the convenience of just putting the pick up tube in a row barrels rather than pouring stuff in a backpack saves lot of time and you can switch chemicals much easier , but the Gardiner backpack  at around £115 is amazing value for money and if softwashing one job and it’s more than paid  for and they last at least 3 years 

 
Our neighbour bought some stuff from b&q about 4 years ago and asked me to spray the back roof side that had an issue with moss. 

It was a long term 'cure' and I wondered at the time how it would be accepted commercially @ched999ukas customers tend to expect instant results.

I wish I had made a note of the name of the product. That side of the roof is still clear today.

The instructions stated that it had to be sprayed on the roof after a few dry days. 

 
Have had a few customers pick up equipment to spray this stuff.

Anyone used it yet and how effective is it.

Does this mean these £1000 system people have purchased this does the same job.
y,know doug, thats a very good question.

biocides play a very important role in our lives such as, keeping the "fresh fruit" from morroco fresh we see in supermarkets as if its just been picked as in tomatoes or lettuce in fact any food that is out of season in the uk will be sprayed with a biocide to prevent it from going off, the fast food outlets like maccy d's and burger king also kfc will spray their potatoes with biocides to keep them from going off.

preservatives in canned food and jarred products such as chutneys or jam will have some form of a biocide in it, often called a preservative but it is a biocide non the less. 

within the softwashing business, both sodium hypochlorite and ddac also the bac range are all biocides-yes hypo is a biocide its just, that all the newcomers to softwashing and forums dilute and twist information and suddenly theres a two sided thing going on hypo and biocide when really if they knew what they were talking about they are both the same.

with yourself being in scotland, the likes of ddac or the bac range would be better for your customers due to your ph level being at best 7 or lower, hypo is about 12.5 the last time i looked and if you look up the logarithmic scale compared to your local tap water hypo may not well perform as well as it could whereas ddac would.

sorry i ranted on a bit doug, going back to your original question, softwashing can be done with a watering can, a mop and bucket (used that for around grassed areas and flower beds) a backpack,trolley or down stream with a pressure washer or high tech equipment designed for industrial use, horses for courses really and depends at what level you are at or more precisely the work you have to need such equipment, biocides are effective in doing what they do but sometimes the user gets it wrong (and i,m no exception from that) and the end results are not that perfect

 
y,know doug, thats a very good question.

biocides play a very important role in our lives such as, keeping the "fresh fruit" from morroco fresh we see in supermarkets as if its just been picked as in tomatoes or lettuce in fact any food that is out of season in the uk will be sprayed with a biocide to prevent it from going off, the fast food outlets like maccy d's and burger king also kfc will spray their potatoes with biocides to keep them from going off.

preservatives in canned food and jarred products such as chutneys or jam will have some form of a biocide in it, often called a preservative but it is a biocide non the less. 

within the softwashing business, both sodium hypochlorite and ddac also the bac range are all biocides-yes hypo is a biocide its just, that all the newcomers to softwashing and forums dilute and twist information and suddenly theres a two sided thing going on hypo and biocide when really if they knew what they were talking about they are both the same.

with yourself being in scotland, the likes of ddac or the bac range would be better for your customers due to your ph level being at best 7 or lower, hypo is about 12.5 the last time i looked and if you look up the logarithmic scale compared to your local tap water hypo may not well perform as well as it could whereas ddac would.

sorry i ranted on a bit doug, going back to your original question, softwashing can be done with a watering can, a mop and bucket (used that for around grassed areas and flower beds) a backpack,trolley or down stream with a pressure washer or high tech equipment designed for industrial use, horses for courses really and depends at what level you are at or more precisely the work you have to need such equipment, biocides are effective in doing what they do but sometimes the user gets it wrong (and i,m no exception from that) and the end results are not that perfect
Can you explain to @Chris Dall that hypo is a biocide he said I don’t know what Ime talking about ???? 

 
This morning before I begun the care home I sprayed my porch roof tiles with Q-clear and took some photos. Will be taking a photo each day to see how it turns out and the time frame. Will post them up if it makes a difference.

 
This morning before I begun the care home I sprayed my porch roof tiles with Q-clear and took some photos. Will be taking a photo each day to see how it turns out and the time frame. Will post them up if it makes a difference.
Post this in a new thread so we can watch the results. Post the results if it makes a difference or not please.

It would be great to see how it goes.

 

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