How to clean a Colorbond roof?

[foxhound]

Hi, 

Our roof has accumulated a lot of pigeon droppings, and I’m looking for a suitable method to get it cleaned. It is colorbond roof, droppings are dried to I don't think just rinsing them with water would acheive the desired result. Also, I would appreciate if anyone can suggest ways to keep pigeons away.

[AlanM52]

Hi @foxhound,

In a nutshell Pressure Washer.

We don't want to go up there make a mess by water blasting everything off the roof so let's do some prepping before washing.

Prepping:

Gutter scoop or pet food scoop or potting scoop.

Brush and pan.

Cordless blower.

Cleaning:

Pressure washer or

Water Jet Pressure Washer.

Safety and Protection:

Another person to assist.

Wear gloves, safety glasses and appropriate footwear.

Make sure ladder is secure.

Cheers

[JacobZ]

Hi @foxhound,

There's not too much I can add to what @AlanM52 has already said.

A pressure cleaner such as the Karcher K2 Power Control Pressure Washer will be your best option.

You could presoak the roof with warm water and a mild detergent such as dishwashing liquid to help loosen things up. You could both mix it in and spray it from a garden sprayer such as this Aqua Systems 15L Backpack Garden Sprayer. Allow it to sit for 5 or so minutes, then spray it off with your pressure washer.

As Alan also mentioned, keep safety at the forefront of your mind. Never work alone at heights, wear appropriate clothing and footwear and make sure your ladder is secure. Check out How To Use a Ladder Correctly and How to use ladders safely for some further guidance.

Keeping the pigeons away could be tricky, but these discussions have some ideas that could help -

• What is an effective bird repellent or scarer?
   
• How to stop birds landing on your patio?
   
• How do you stop birds nesting under solar panels?

Have a read and let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[foxhound]

Thank you I gave it a try today using Gerni Pressure washer, but I ended up creating more mess as I was blasting all the residual poop was sprayed towards walls and surroundings. I have a patio cleaner head attachment for my gerni washer, can I use that ? would the pressure from that not damage the coating on colourbond roof ?

 https://www.bunnings.com.au/gerni-classic-patio-cleaner_p0235530?store=8066&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=...

[JacobZ]

Hi @foxhound,

If you aim the pressure cleaner down the corrugations and work from top to bottom, you should be able to blast the buildup towards the gutters and roof valleys in a controlled way, and you should be able to avoid spreading things everywhere.

You could certainly give your patio cleaner attachment a try, but I'm not sure how effective it would be with the corrugations. As they take the pressurised stream of water and split it up, each stream would be less intense than a single one, so it shouldn't cause you any problems, but it would still be worthwhile being cautious at first. 

Give it a try and let us know how you go.

Jacob