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Cleaning Poly tunnels
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:39 pm
by Spike
I've a Solar Tunnel which is now about 4 years old. It stayed perfectly clean until last year and now has a pretty healthy growth of algae on the outer surface. Last year I cleaned it with soapy water/brush and sponge, but the algae is worse than ever this year. Any suggestions? Snow and frost would probably do it for me but no sign of any yet!
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:42 pm
by Allan
Wait until it rains then scrub it, it should come clean quite easily then.
Allan
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:51 pm
by peter
Allan wrote:Wait until it rains then scrub it, it should come clean quite easily then.
Allan
Allan, seriously, what should one use to scrub it?
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:41 pm
by Tigger
I clean my two tunnels, both inside and out, with a Disinfectant Solution. I do this once a year in January.
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:58 am
by Jenny Green
I use a soft headed indoor broom to brush my greenhouse clean. I use warm water with a couple of tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda in there. I've no idea why. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
It does work though.
mite killer
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:19 pm
by darrenc
having twigged what nearly killed my chooks this year i need to know what is suitable to clean the inside of my polytunnel with SPECIAL EMPHASIS on red spider mite. I nuked the chicken shed with JEYES and BARRIER spider mite killer are any of these suitable?
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:29 pm
by arthur e
Get yourself a raincoat, a souwester and a pressure washer, did mine last year about this time and it was great all summer. It still looks OK at this time but I think I will give it another going over, just used straight tap water.
Arther E
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:32 pm
by Allan
Our tunnels came clean with just persistent rubbing once they were wet enough.
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:17 pm
by peter
Allan wrote:Our tunnels came clean with just persistent rubbing once they were wet enough.
What with?
Allan, I asked a serious, polite, on-topic question, it would be nice to have an answer.
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:31 pm
by Tigger
I use my backpack sprayer on the inside of the tunnels and the jet wash on the outside.
Cleaning Poly tunnels
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:14 pm
by Spike
All these replies sound like hard work, and no guarantee they will last!
There must be some environmentally friendly chemical that will do the job properly?
Armillatox?
Gill
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:53 pm
by Geoff
I haven't got a polytunnel but I clean the greenhouse by putting warm Jeyes fluid in a sprayer and leaving that on for a few days then washing down with a window brush that has an extending handle and hose connection. I guess it would work just as well on poly as on glass.
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:28 pm
by Tigger
It doesn't take long Spike - just a couple of hours and I only do them once a year.
Re what with
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:49 pm
by Allan
We used just water from the hosepipe but only after the rain had soaked the gunge. So we did the same as Arthur E.
No elbow grease/hosepipes needed!
Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:07 pm
by Mole
I have recently used a product called ALGON for cleaning the green stuff from our polytunnel. http://www.algonorganics.co.uk/
You spray it on and leave it. Thats it. Soft brushing may be needed to spread evenly - i didn't bother . After a few days the algae is gone. Do need to have 100% coverage like any product. It does work - I've used it. and is environmentally friendly.
One bottle (about a fiver ) did over 3/4 of our tunnel which is 100 feet long by 20 wide. Used in a backpack sprayer with lance.
Mole