Why You Should Keep Your Roof Clean

Protect Your Roof System

Your home’s exterior can have just as much personality as the interior. It says a lot about yourself. But, your home’s curb appeal it’s not the only important thing but also keeping your entire roof system in excellent condition, internally and externally.  

Generally, your roof faces common issues such as: 

• Lifted nails or shingles
• Debris from nearby trees
• Clogged gutters
• Leaking
• Pooling water
• Shrinking
• Cracking
• Poor maintenance
• Algae, moss, and lichen growth

Debris on your roof and gutters can cause water to pool, cause leaks, or other problems that could damage the interior living spaces below. This could include the electrical systems, which can lead to fires if not dealt with quickly enough. Also, this can lead to pest infestations, or attract animals such as birds or termites, causing worse damage to your tiles.

How to clean your roof?

Some of the most used methods are the soft wash using chemicals or the pressure wash utilizing highly pressurized water to strip away dirt and grime. But either the way you choose to clean grime and debris off your roof, keep in mind that the cleaning needs to be done thoroughly, including:

– Black stains or GM algae bacterium that can be grown on asphalt roofing by a mixture of trisodium phosphate (TSP), bleach, and water

– Lichen or fungus that has the ability with its roots in moisture absorption as well an adhesive-like quality which helps them stick tightly on any surface they grow onto by scrubbing away at them using soap water followed up by cold weather exposure

– Mold that is considered the most dangerous and weakens the structure of your roof quickly. To remove it, you can rinse your roof with 1 part bleach or sodium hypochlorite solution every 60 minutes while letting it sit for up twelve hours before repeating the process. Or you can get a commercial cleaning solution in the market. (Be sure it’s the right one). 

To avoid any of the above cases after cleaning, we recommended:

• Repeat the cleaning process every year and half 
• Trim back overhanging tree branches and wash them with a chemical cleaner 
• Install algae-resistant shingle manufacturers that have mixing copper granules.
• Clean your gutters habitually. 
• And schedule a bi-annual inspection to identify any problems before they become too costly or time-consuming, and can help prevent leaks in the future!

When cleaning is not enough, perhaps it’s because your roof is old, or you are missing shingles so, here is when you need to change the whole rooftop.  

Your roof is the crown jewel of your home, so it must be in good condition. Keep all weather elements at bay and protect you from what lies above. Contact us now for a free estimate!