What to do about this crud on hydraulic hoses?

[jymbee]

This crud (algae? mold?) Has been slowly building up and I've been putting off doing something about it. But coming back from several months away this Spring, its gotten significantly worse with more build up. Time to try and remove it. Any suggestions?

 

[grsthegreat]

It will power wash easily. Just pressure wash with water.

 

[lman]

Park it in the barn and you won't see that.

 

[old and tired]

It's Lichen like you see growing on trees...

 

[ponytug]

I would suggest applying "Wet & Forget" algae and lichen cleaner on a dry day when there is a forecast of a dry day or two afterwards. A week or two later, hose it off or use pressure washer. If you use a pressure washer, I would use a 25 degree nozzle, and don't get the nozzle too close to avoid damaging the hydraulic hoses.

Wet And Forget Simply Spray And Forget Outdoor Cleaner

Just wet the surface and forget it! Clean Any Exterior Surface.

landing.wetandforget.com

All the best,

Peter

 

[nyone]

I would suggest applying "Wet & Forget" algae and lichen cleaner on a dry day when there is a forecast of a dry day or two afterwards. A week or two later, hose it off or use pressure washer. If you use a pressure washer, I would use a 25 degree nozzle, and don't get the nozzle too close to avoid damaging the hydraulic hoses.

Wet And Forget Simply Spray And Forget Outdoor Cleaner

Just wet the surface and forget it! Clean Any Exterior Surface.

landing.wetandforget.com

All the best,

Peter

Typicaly all that outdoor cleaner stuff is just a strong bleach. You can also find it in the pool section called "chlorinating liquid"..for about 1/4 the cost.

 

[dadster4]

This crud (algae? mold?) Has been slowly building up and I've been putting off doing something about it. But coming back from several months away this Spring, its gotten significantly worse with more build up. Time to try and remove it. Any suggestions?

View attachment 865427

Wipe off what you can and spray with vinegar, then pressure wash.

 

[EddieWalker]

Pressure washers scare me. I've seen a lot of damage from them!!!

There are three levels of bleach at the box stores to chose from. Laundry bleach is the safest, and the weakest. Outdoor cleaning bleach has a green label and it's twice as strong. I'd probably start with that. Lowes and Home Depot have it in their cleaning section.

If that doesn't work, and what I use for black mold is Swimming Pool Shock. Inside a house, it will make your eyes water, but it will also kill everything growing in there, and bleach all the lumber clean.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pool-Essentials-1-Gallon-Liquid-Pool-Chlorine/5001527059

Be careful not to get any of it on your clothes, they will be ruined in seconds!!!

 

[ponytug]

Typicaly all that outdoor cleaner stuff is just a strong bleach. You can also find it in the pool section called "chlorinating liquid"..for about 1/4 the cost.

Wet & Forget has no bleach, and the active ingredient is pretty benign, which is why I suggested it. Basically, it is a detergent with specific efficacy at disrupting lichen and algae cell membranes.

Here is the MSDS;

https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/ac/acab0d02-ed3b-4421-93c5-c553198e4474.pdf

If you value your hydraulic hoses, you never want to use chlorine on hydraulic hose rubber. It isn't formulated for bleach resistance, unless you have really pricey hoses (CPE, PTFE, Hypalon)

https://www.coastalhydraulics.net/technical-library/Gates%20Hose/Chemical%20Resistance%20Ratings%20for%20Gates%20Hose.pdf

If you want to use chlorine compounds (hypochlorite) to bleach your brick, or concrete, that is a different story, although I personally prefer TSP, or its relatives.

All the best,

Peter

 

[grsthegreat]

a pressure washer set with a wide spray pattern is my go to cleaning device. i agree a tight pattern can eat thru alot.