Cleaning Cedar Shingles, The Products And Methods
John Redihan
Cedar Shingles or Cedar "shakes" are used as a roofing material or for siding. Cleaning is necessary to extend the life of the shingle and also to keep them looking new. Cleaning them the wrong way, which most people do, could shorten their life. Why clean your cedar shingles? What cleaning product will do the best job? What equipment do you need? How to clean? Let's take a look.
Reasons to clean your cedar shingles; A new wood roof for an average size home could run close to $25,000, to side a medium size home with cedar shingles is easily $15,000, that alone should be enough reason to clean your shingles. Natural wood products are food for mold, mildew, algae, moss and lichen, when these types of fungus are attached to your shingles they are feeding on them, causing them to curl, crack and dislodge. Fungus also holds water and their roots could lead to leaks. To the eye, you want to keep your home looking new and clean, a clean exterior will add to the home's value.
The tools that you will need, I'm sure that you already have. A "garden style" pump sprayer, hose, a ladder (put on stabilizer bars for safety) and a medium bristle scrub brush. What you do not need is a pressure washer; this is a common mistake when it comes to cleaning wood shingles. High pressure loosens shingles, cuts a layer of wood off, which will lead to curling and also spreads and pushes the spores deep into the wood, only to come back worse.
The correct procedure; whether it is a cedar shingle roof or siding that you are cleaning, the first step is to moisten the area with regular water from your hose, not a soaking just enough to moisten the shingles. Then from your highest point start applying the shingle cleaning product with your pump sprayer. Only coat an area big enough to clean before it dry's, get your scrub brush and work the product in to the wood. Once you have scrubbed the area that was coated rinse thoroughly with your hose and then move to the next section. You will see all the mold, dirt and algae run off the shingle. Your roof or siding will continue to clean with the next few rain storms.
Finding the right cedar shingle cleaning product; Believe it or not this is the toughest part of the job. I strongly believe that if there is an environmentally safe cleaning product available then we should choose that one. Hazardous cleaning products such as bleach, TSP or chlorine based products will clean your shingles but there are more disadvantages to these products the advantages. First of all, they kill surrounding flowers, grass and shrubs. Secondly they severely dry out the wood shingles. Another reason is that they do not clean evenly, you will end up with some real light; almost white areas and some not so light. It will not look natural when you are finished. The smell from these products linger for weeks, if they drip on any painted surfaces, it will leave a stain. There are many reasons not to use toxic products. What you want to use is a product that is the opposite, environmentally safe, won't harm the plants, cleans evenly, and is non-staining with no strong fumes.
Find the right product, clean regularly without pressure and your cedar shingles will last forever.
John Redihan is the owner of Wash Safe Industries of Brewster, MA. Wash Safe Industries manufactures http://www.wash-safe.com/shingle.html Cedar Shingle Cleaning Products, buying the right cleaning product can make the difference in how clean your cedar shingles come out. Wash Safe also has a "green" cleaning division
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