How To Clean Your Roof And What To Watch Out For
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by: JohnRedihan
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It is time to clean your roof, it has become and "eye sore" and you are not sure what you can do about it.
Other homes on your street seem to have the same problem. When you searched the internet, the problem seems to be everywhere.
What is it? The black stains that you see is a form of black algae, it is a living organism feeding off of your roof. It generally can only survive on the north facing roofs or on heavily shaded sections of your roof that is because the ultra violet rays from direct sunshine will kill the spore and direct sun light dries out your roof not allowing moisture to congregate. The exact opposite happens on the north facing and shaded sections of your roof. Moss, algae, lichen or any fungus needs three things to survive, air, food and water. We discussed the water source being on the north side or under shade, the food source comes from the shingle contents, if you have wood shingles the wood is the obvious food source, if you have asphalt shingles, then the limestone that is used as a thickening agent is the food source.
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.
There are three options when it comes to roof cleaning. You could have the entire roof replaced with new shingles, buy a specialized roof cleaning product and tackle the job yourself or seek out a roof cleaning company.
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.
When cleaning is complete, there is only one proven way to keep your roof clean forever, and that is by applying a strip of zinc flashing across the ridge of your roof. Examples of how well this works are everywhere, just look at any dirty roof and you will see clean areas underneath any metal objects that is because when it rains, metal ions flow off of the metal coating the roof below it, the ions in the metal will not allow fungus growth. Boat motors have zinc on them to prevent algae growth, the theory has been proved for years it is highly effective and zinc is cost efficient only costing about one dollar per foot. When buying zinc, you will need a product that is at least 3 1/2 inches wide, a rule of thumb is one inch for every 10 feet of roof below it, the wider the better. Keep safety in mind when cleaning, John Redihan
About the Author
John Redihan is the owner of Wash Safe Industries of Brewster, Ma. Wash Safe produces roof washing products , purchasing the correct washing product can make the difference in how washed your roof comes out, zinc ridge stripping is also available through Wash Safe
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