Got acid on my roof.

[barchetta1]

Im an idiot.

I mixed up a batch of commercial grade ac condensor cleaner and climbed up the ladder with the spray bottle and hose in one hand. When I reached the top I set the spray bottle on the roof and it was leaking a very healthy 2-1 batch of cleaner. I went to spray the roof real quick with the hose and realized to my shock I had forgot to turn on the water.

After nearly breaking my neck scrambling down the ladder and returning I sprayed it with the hose as quickly as possible.

to my shock I watched as the coating the previous owner just pulled away from my rubber roof.

In my rage I went ahead with my "project" and sprayed the condenser. While it was fizzing away I watered down the roof like a fireman would a fire. I know I should have stopped right there but I was angry as hell and determined to finish the job. If course now I realize I need to go back up and do the evaporator as well. But Im gonna cool off first and re-assess.

Blah blah.. went back to the spot that I ruined and rubbed my hand on it to get the rest of the roof covering material off.. there is now about a 2 sq foot area of exposed old rubber roof. Its probably not a "bad area" but now I need to fix it.

I have no idea what he used. All I remember him saying is was "I acid etched the roof first"... so it could be anything.

As I continue to beat myself up after what I did I thought Id post and ask what you all thought I should use to repair this area. I dont want to use something and have a reaction of some sort.

Something else I noticed.. on my slide out I noticed there is a pool of water right in the center near the outer edge. I dont like the looks of that and wonder if while Im doing this if I should do my slide out for good measure.

Based on what the previous owner told me Id say this was done maybe 4-7 years ago. should I just suck it up and do the whole thing? I just moved into my unit because Im going through a financial down turn and the LAST thing I need emotionally is a leak.

Please be nice to me. thanks.

[barchetta1]

Charlie D. wrote:

sayoung wrote:

barchetta1 wrote:

sayoung wrote:
If it's the PINK stuff will cause problems if not rinsed away. Why I switched from the acid to the " brown root beer alkaline " a long time ago.
To the OP, you said you were going to clean the evaporator. Do not use the outdoor cleaner on the evaporator . Get the green indoor.

The colors you are speaking of are product specific.. color has nothing to do with the chemical composition. I think I know what company you are referring to.. nucal or something like that. they make many products for the purpose and I now know I should have gone with something more environmentally friendly on my rv roof.

No, the pink in any brand of pro coil cleaner is pink & the alkaline base is brown. The alkaline is safer to use and doesn't damage other things or kill grass/flowers . I probably don't know what I'm talking about as I only had 31 years running my hvac business

I have a bottle of Airtron High-Foaming Clinging Coil Cleaner. Says it is Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Gluconate and Phosphate Ester. Color is blue. That tends to make me think barchetta1 is correct on being brand specific.

Thats funny, mine is Gold/Yellow and acidic as hell. Did a great job on my 96 corvette aluminum radiator and my hvac at my condo.

[Charlie_D_]

sayoung wrote:

barchetta1 wrote:

sayoung wrote:
If it's the PINK stuff will cause problems if not rinsed away. Why I switched from the acid to the " brown root beer alkaline " a long time ago.
To the OP, you said you were going to clean the evaporator. Do not use the outdoor cleaner on the evaporator . Get the green indoor.

The colors you are speaking of are product specific.. color has nothing to do with the chemical composition. I think I know what company you are referring to.. nucal or something like that. they make many products for the purpose and I now know I should have gone with something more environmentally friendly on my rv roof.

No, the pink in any brand of pro coil cleaner is pink & the alkaline base is brown. The alkaline is safer to use and doesn't damage other things or kill grass/flowers . I probably don't know what I'm talking about as I only had 31 years running my hvac business

I have a bottle of Airtron High-Foaming Clinging Coil Cleaner. Says it is Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Gluconate and Phosphate Ester. Color is blue. That tends to make me think barchetta1 is correct on being brand specific.

[sayoung]

barchetta1 wrote:

sayoung wrote:

Charlie D. wrote:
I was under the impression that coil cleaner is a caustic based cleaner. I know several AC guys who stopped using it because any residual will eat away the aluminum. Takes a lot of water to remove all of it. The no use Dawn in a soapy mixture to spray and let it sit before rinsing.

If it's the PINK stuff will cause problems if not rinsed away. Why I switched from the acid to the " brown root beer alkaline " a long time ago.
To the OP, you said you were going to clean the evaporator. Do not use the outdoor cleaner on the evaporator . Get the green indoor.

The colors you are speaking of are product specific.. color has nothing to do with the chemical composition. I think I know what company you are referring to.. nucal or something like that. they make many products for the purpose and I now know I should have gone with something more environmentally friendly on my rv roof.

No, the pink in any brand of pro coil cleaner is pink & the alkaline base is brown. The alkaline is safer to use and doesn't damage other things or kill grass/flowers . I probably don't know what I'm talking about as I only had 31 years running my hvac business

[deltabravo]

barchetta1 wrote:
Something else I noticed.. on my slide out I noticed there is a pool of water right in the center near the outer edge.

Sounds like it's time for a slide topper awning now. slide topper awning now. I installed one about a month ago on my slideout.

[barchetta1]

sayoung wrote:

Charlie D. wrote:
I was under the impression that coil cleaner is a caustic based cleaner. I know several AC guys who stopped using it because any residual will eat away the aluminum. Takes a lot of water to remove all of it. The no use Dawn in a soapy mixture to spray and let it sit before rinsing.

If it's the PINK stuff will cause problems if not rinsed away. Why I switched from the acid to the " brown root beer alkaline " a long time ago.
To the OP, you said you were going to clean the evaporator. Do not use the outdoor cleaner on the evaporator . Get the green indoor.

The colors you are speaking of are product specific.. color has nothing to do with the chemical composition. I think I know what company you are referring to.. nucal or something like that. they make many products for the purpose and I now know I should have gone with something more environmentally friendly on my rv roof.

[barchetta1]

Charlie D. wrote:
I was under the impression that coil cleaner is a caustic based cleaner. I know several AC guys who stopped using it because any residual will eat away the aluminum. Takes a lot of water to remove all of it. The no use Dawn in a soapy mixture to spray and let it sit before rinsing.

Its caustic for a reason. Aluminum and copper both develop airflow impeding corrosion on the fins. You could take a brush to it but you can only go so deep. Granted, yes, one must be certain that all of the product is washed away. Dawn is great for "gunk" but to get a good transfer of energy you want nice shiny aluminum.

Most hvac companies are pretty lazy.. the show up with a spray bottle and use your hose to wash it away. Cover never comes off the unit and they never do the evaporator.. again, lazy.

I found my evaporator is caked with dust. I dont see any corrosion so I'll just be using a brush on a vacuum hose.

Do I guess no one has concerns about a new product reacting with former unknown product. I guess I will use the 2 part dicor.


To answer the question about the existing rubber roof condition.. it has some surface cracks.. actually many surface cracks.. I see why the former owner did the coating.

[sayoung]

Charlie D. wrote:
I was under the impression that coil cleaner is a caustic based cleaner. I know several AC guys who stopped using it because any residual will eat away the aluminum. Takes a lot of water to remove all of it. The no use Dawn in a soapy mixture to spray and let it sit before rinsing.

If it's the PINK stuff will cause problems if not rinsed away. Why I switched from the acid to the " brown root beer alkaline " a long time ago.
To the OP, you said you were going to clean the evaporator. Do not use the outdoor cleaner on the evaporator . Get the green indoor.

[Charlie_D_]

I was under the impression that coil cleaner is a caustic based cleaner. I know several AC guys who stopped using it because any residual will eat away the aluminum. Takes a lot of water to remove all of it. The no use Dawn in a soapy mixture to spray and let it sit before rinsing.

[westend]

It's not difficult to cover an RV roof with roof paint. Buy a couple of gallons and do the whole roof. The area that is acid drenched can be neutralized with baking soda, prior to painting. In fact, I'd suggest to clean the whole roof with Spic and Span or some other phosphate based cleaner.

[Chris_Bryant]

How bad does the old material look? Is it cracked at all? You might get away with just keeping an eye on it until you can do the whole roof.