What Is the Most Efficient Way to Clean Your Home’s Roof?
Keeping your roof clean is about more than just tidying your home’s appearance. You want to make sure your roof stays healthy and free of debris. This is especially the case in Washington, where roofs are constantly battling against the elements, from an overflow of rainwater to ice dams that create potentially dangerous icicles.
Maintaining a clean roof fortifies the strength of your home and prevents structural problems from appearing, such as roof leaks, warping or wood rot. Without proper cleaning, moss and algae can grow from excess humidity. Moss weakens your roof’s shingles, making them more vulnerable to damage caused by harsh weather conditions. Worse yet, mold and mildew also can develop and possibly infiltrate your home, resulting in expensive remediation and repairs that might not be covered by your insurance – not to mention the potential health hazards.
With that said, “washing” your roof in a traditional sense isn’t necessarily a good thing either. Abrasion can rob shingles of vital granules or cause other types of damage. We’ll outline step-by-step the best method for effectively and efficiently keeping your roof clean.
How to Best Clean Your Roof
The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) suggests having an equal ratio of water and bleach when cleaning your roof so that the mixture is strong without being overpowering. First, spray the mixture of water and bleach on top and let it sit for 20 minutes. If some of the algae hasn’t turned white five minutes after applying the rinse, rewash it. Then, wash it off with a sprayer attached to a garden hose. Do not use a pressure washer, as its water intensity can damage the roof’s shingles and even create leaks, especially if you have a metal roof. Any remaining algae will be washed away with the next rainstorm (which, as anyone in Washington knows, is always right around the corner).
Do not scrub your roof and minimize walking on your shingles as this can cause damage.
When’s The Best Time to Clean Your Roof?
In contrast to what you might think, you don’t want to clean your roof on a sunny day. While you may have the energy to do housework when the sun is out, sunshine will actually dry out the bleach solution too quickly, impeding the solution’s efficacy. Instead, wash your roof on a cloudy day without the risk of harsh winds or rain to allow the bleach solution enough time to thoroughly and effectively sanitize.
How To Protect Your Home From Bleach
Bleach helps kill off any algae on your roof that might have formed due to high precipitation. However, you don’t want to clean with only bleach, as doing so might deteriorate the shingles or lighten your roof’s color. Pure bleach might even corrode your gutters or create leaks in your roof or siding, allowing mold to seep into your home and grow from there.
Washing with a mix of water and bleach will thoroughly sanitize your roof without being so potent as to cause damage.
How To Protect Your Plants From Bleach
You also want to protect your home garden when washing the bleach off the roof. If left unprotected, even minor contact with a watered-down bleach solution can harm your grass and plants, causing them to wilt and decay. To prevent this, water your vegetation before shielding them in plastic. After cleaning your roof, you can water them again to reduce the risk that the grass and plants are damaged by the bleach mixture runoff.
We Are Available for Roof Cleaning and Maintenance in the Seattle Area
The reliable experts at Chet’s Roofing are always ready to help clean and maintain your roof. Instead of enduring the risks involved with getting on a ladder and climbing on top of your house (the CDC estimates there are 500,000 ladder-related injuries per year), our trained professionals will handle everything, making the cleaning process simple, safe and affordable with a quality guarantee.
Whether your roof needs cleaning, replacement or repairing, we will work hard to ensure it is always in top shape. Give us a call at (877) 611-1514 today or visit our website for an estimate or to schedule service.
