cleaning near fish pond

[Mar McD]

HI! I'm Margaret, I'm new, and I need advice from experienced water gardeners. I have a back porch that is badly in need of cleaning. It has mildew on the ceiling, and I'd like to find or make a cleaning solution that would take that off. The problem: my koi pond is about 6' away. The porch has a cathedral ceiling, and the easiest way to clean it would be a pressure washer. Some of the spray will certainly get in the pond. It would be a very small amount, as we plan to be very careful to aim the spray back toward the house, but I need to be sure I won't poison my fish. Some of them have been there for years.

I know there are so-called "green" cleaners that are supposed to be harmless to children and pets, but that doesn't mean they don't contain things that might harm fish. I am thinking of using a solution of baking soda and water, or a solution of vinegar and water. I'm not sure either of these will take off all the mildew. Is there any commercial product that might be safe to use and also do a good job of cleaning?

I googled this problem, and the only thing I got was how to clean my pond, or how to clean my porch, but nothing about cleaning something NEAR a pond! I'd appreciate any advice you might give.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Hi Margaret, Welcome to the group.

I have a similar issue with my own pond being very close to the house and needing to clean the roof and siding.

I'm not sure the best way to go about it. And what would be the safest product to use. We have algae/moss? growing on the north side of the roof.

Hopefully others will have dealt with similar issues and have some advice for us both.

 

[MitchM]

Welcome Margaret,
The best treatment would be to cover your pond with a plastic sheet and pressure wash the surfaces that need cleaning with a 10:1 water and bleach solution.
If you have a lot of thick debris, like algae or moss, cover the pond with plastic and pressure with water only first.

 

[Mar McD]

Welcome Margaret,
The best treatment would be to cover your pond with a plastic sheet and pressure wash the surfaces that need cleaning with a 10:1 water and bleach solution.
If you have a lot of thick debris, like algae or moss, cover the pond with plastic and pressure with water only first.

Thank you Mitch. I feel really dumb for not thinking of covering the pond. The mildew on the ceiling is not bad, and there's no algae or moss on it.

 

[Lisak1]

We've used sodium percarbonate to clean mildew off the siding on our house and our patio. Works great and since it's the same thing we occasionally use in the pond to clear up overgrowth of algae, we don't worry about it getting in the pond.

 

[addy1]

sodium percarbonate to clean mildew off the siding on our house and our patio.

That stuff works great basically hydrogen peroxide. Does not harm the fish.

 

[Mar McD]

Thanks for the hints. I feel better now about cleaning. Now, if the weather will just cooperate...!

 

[addy1]

Thanks for the hints. I feel better now about cleaning. Now, if the weather will just cooperate...!

Good luck with the weather!

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

It's still too cold here so this will be a spring or even summer job.

 

[sissy]

I clean my porch and cover my pond with 4 sheets of plastic and 4 tarps .I put 2x4's over the pond first as that does not give you any sunken spots for the cleaning solution to collect .If I have sheets of of foam insulation I put that on top of the 4x4's before i put the plastic and tarps .The insulation is cheap and can come in 4x8 sheets and 4x12 sheets but you may need a rental truck to haul it .I make my list and for 19.95 I rent a moving truck ,the small ones are easy to drive With that stuff you do not still want a lot of it going in the pond

 

[Lisak1]

Here's my basic cleaning philosophy - if it's gonna kill my grass or my fish or my flowers or trees or my garden, eventually it will kill me, so I don't want to use it. I'll keep looking until I can find something safe for all living things. In my house I mainly use vinegar, baking soda and Dawn dish soap. If something needs bleaching, I use hydrogen peroxide. All safe and I don't spend a fortune buying a bunch of specialty cleaning products and having to find places to store them.

Sodium percarbonate is the basis of all the "oxy clean" products and pond algae cleaning products but I buy it 50 lbs at a time for pennies a pound. Great stuff.

 

[sissy]

sodium percarbonate dust is harmful if inhaled so be careful with the powder form

 

[Lisak1]

That's true - but it's not a real dusty powder. It kind of has the consistency of laundry detergent. Which in fact you can use it to make!

 

[j.w]

@Mar McD

 

[addy1]

Forgot to welcome you to our group!