Before & After — What Soft Washing Achieves
Real results from a recent job. Soft wash kills biological growth at the root — results last 12 to 24 months, not the 3 to 6 months you get from pressure washing alone.
Your Roof Is Part of Your Drinking Water System
For the thousands of Queensland homes on rainwater tanks — particularly across South Burnett, Somerset and rural Redlands — your roof isn't just a structure. It's the first point of contact for every drop of water that ends up in your tank, your taps and your family's glasses. What grows on your roof doesn't stay on your roof.
What Grows on Uncleaned Roofs
Gloeocapsa magma — the cyanobacterium responsible for the distinctive black streaking on Queensland roofs. This organism produces toxins as part of its biological cycle. When it washes off your roof into your tank during rain, those toxins enter your water supply.
Lichen root systems penetrate into tile and colorbond surfaces and harbour bacteria, fungal spores and organic debris that wash directly into gutters and downpipes with each rainfall event.
Moss retains moisture and debris against your roofing material and acts as a filter bed for airborne contaminants including bird and bat droppings, insect matter and leaf decomposition — all of which accumulate in your tank.
Bird and possum activity is dramatically increased on roofs with established moss and lichen growth — providing nesting material and food sources that further contaminate your roofwater.
Queensland Health Guidelines
Queensland Health recommends that rainwater tank systems used for drinking water include first-flush diverters, tank maintenance and regular roof cleaning as part of a comprehensive water quality management approach.
The National Health and Medical Research Council's Australian Drinking Water Guidelines specifically identify roof-collected water as requiring treatment and management to maintain safe quality for human consumption.
Regular professional roof cleaning is the first and most effective line of defence in protecting the quality of tank-sourced drinking water on rural Queensland properties.
How We Protect Your Tank Water During Cleaning
Tank water roof cleaning requires a different approach to standard suburban roof cleaning. Our process is specifically designed to protect the integrity of your water supply throughout the entire clean.
Rural Queensland Properties We Regularly Service
Tank water properties make up a significant proportion of our South Burnett and Somerset workload. We understand rural Queensland properties — acreage blocks, long driveways, large roof areas on sheds and homes, tank systems, and the unique biological growth patterns that come with being surrounded by native bushland.
Kingaroy · Nanango · Blackbutt · Yarraman · Kumbia · Benarkin · Maidenwell and all surrounding rural properties. High lichen growth rates due to native tree coverage and subtropical humidity. Travel surcharge applies for remote properties — confirmed upfront in your quote.
Esk · Lowood · Kilcoy · Fernvale · Toogoolawah · Harlin · Moore · Linville · Coominya · Atkinsons Dam · Wivenhoe Pocket and surrounding acreage. Somerset's tree canopy and high rainfall make it one of the fastest-growing biological growth environments in SEQ.
Sheldon · Burbank · Mackenzie · Mount Cotton and larger Redlands properties with tank water systems. Redlands coastal humidity combined with native vegetation creates rapid biological growth on roofs — particularly on the south-facing elevations of large rural homes.
Sodium Hypochlorite and Tank Water — What You Need to Know
Some homeowners are concerned about the sodium hypochlorite (bleach-based) cleaning solutions used in professional soft washing and their potential impact on drinking water quality. Here's the honest, accurate information you need.
With Tank Disconnected — Safe
When tank downpipes are disconnected before cleaning and reconnected only after 2–3 rainfall events have flushed the roof surface, there is no pathway for residual chemical to enter your tank. This is the standard and only approach we use on tank water properties. Sodium hypochlorite also degrades rapidly in UV sunlight — breaking down to salt and water within hours of application on an exposed roof surface.
Without Disconnection — Risk
Cleaning a roof with tank downpipes connected and active is a risk we will not take. Any operator who does not disconnect your tank before applying chemical cleaning solutions to a tank water roof is not following proper procedure. Always ask any cleaning operator whether they will disconnect your tank before starting — and walk away if they say it's not necessary.
Tank Water Roof Cleaning Costs
Rural and acreage properties typically have larger roof areas than suburban homes and may have multiple structures — main house, sheds, water tank covers. We quote each property individually based on roof area, access, level of growth and travel distance.
Single storey home, standard roof area, moderate growth, tank disconnection included
Large roof area, acreage property, heavy lichen growth, multiple tank disconnections
Main house plus multiple outbuildings, large colorbond shed roofs, all tank systems disconnected