How To Clean Your Roof And What To Watch Out For
John Redihan
You are not sure what is on your roof that makes it look so dirty, you see stains and different growths, and so what are your options?
Other homes on your street seem to have the same problem. When you searched the internet, the problem seems to be everywhere.
I will start by explaining what actually is on your roof. If you are seeing growths of fungus, these can be easily identified as either moss or lichen. If your roof has "black roof stains" this is a form of black algae. Direct sunshine normally will not allow roof growth, that is why you probably only can see it on one side of your roof, the north side or possibly in a tree shaded area. These areas are perfect for growth because they hold moisture due to lack of sun. These types of fungus also need food to survive and have great supply coming from the limestone which is an ingredient in asphalt shingles; they also feed of off wood if you have a wood shingle roof.
Is it damaging my roof? Yes, I have seen moss eat through two layers of shingles right into the wood underlayment, black algae is a surface feeder, eating the shingle granules, while spreading over the roof. Just look in your gutter of the infected side, I guarantee it is full of discarded shingle granules. So, yes it can cut a 40 year shingles life expectancy in half or worse.
What can I do about it? 3 choices here, clean it yourself, hire a professional roof cleaning company or replace it. Let's examine these three options.
Replace it - If you have that kind of money, great! Here is the bad news, even though the new shingles on the market are algae resistant, buyer beware! Read the warranty they only guarantee them for an average of 10 years, it takes that long before visible signs, from the ground, confirm that algae is present. If you have the money and want to buy yourself 10 years of a clean roof, go for it.
Roof Cleaners - These are professionals who specialize in "roof cleaning". If you are unsure about your own "handy man" skills, then this option may be for you and it usually cost about 10% the cost of replacement. It is very important, as with all contractors, to check their insurance policies, "roof cleaning" is specialized insurance. Also inquire about the product that they will be using, make sure it is non-chemical and "environmentally safe", there are too many products out the labeled "bio-degradable" that just is not safe enough for me, and it should be a "green" product that will not harm your lawn or plants. As always, ask for references and take the time to call and also drive by a completed job.
Clean it yourself - Dangerous work! But achievable if you consider yourself the "handyman" type and the most cost efficient solution. Buying the right product is the trick; don't even consider bleach it is a disaster waiting to happen buy a product specially designed for roof cleaning. Don't fall for the "just spray it on and nature will clean it" product sales pitch, that's BS, it might work but it would be years before it would be clean and you would have to keep reapplying it. No, there is only one way, get up there, stage the roof safely along the bottom even if it is walk able the roof will become incredibly slippery, spray the product on, usually through a "garden style" sprayer, take out a medium bristle scrub brush and scrub the infected area keeping the area moist while scrubbing then take a regular garden hose and wash it off, it may only become 80% clean at first but all the loose, dead fungus will wash off with the next rain.
The final step to keep your roof clean forever is to apply a strip of zinc along your roof line. One inch of zinc will cover 10 feet of roof below it; I recommend buying zinc flashing that is at least 3 1/2 inches wide, more being better. Zinc for years have been applied to boat bottoms to keep them algae free. You can see for yourself how effective this works by looking at any dirty roof, below any metal objects should be clean roof. Metal ions flows out of metal as it rains washing down over the roof, this coating will not algae to grow. Be careful up there and good luck, John Redihan
John Redihan is the founder of Wash Safe Industries of Brewster, Ma. Wash Safe produces http://www.wash-safe.com/) roof cleaning products , purchasing the correct cleaning product can make the difference in how clean your roof comes out, zinc roof flashing is also available through Wash Safe
|
