How To Clean Roof Shingles
Cleaning your roof shingles doesn’t only make your roof aesthetically amazing, it also increases the longevity of your house. Besides, a clean roof is the first and foremost part that enhances the beauty of your house.
Over time, roof shingles may be affected by moss growth and dirt with permanent black shade. Extensive growth of mold can expose the interior also. Therefore, you should clean your roof shingles at least once a year.
But How To Clean Roof Shingles when there is a correct and incorrect way around? All types of roof shingles should not be cleaned in a general way. It causes damage to the material instead of cleaning properly.
Don’t fret, we have detailed guidelines on cleaning different types of roof shingles effectively. Let’s dive in to know the steps you’ll follow.
Why Do You Need To Clean Roof Shingles?
As a homeowner, you need to remember many things when it comes to home maintenance. Cleaning your roof shingles is one of them. It’s essential to keep your shingles clean from debris that often leads to permanent damage.
The main reason to clean off your roof shingles regularly is to make it look better. That way, you can increase the beauty of your house. Another reason to clean your roof is to get rid of all kinds of debris from trees and algae that are actually responsible for roof damage.
However, cleaning roof shingles can definitely save your money. An average 1000 square feet roof replacement costs up to $6000 when cleaning the same roof costs only about $260. Therefore, there is no absolute need of premature re-roofing when cleaning is much cheaper with Roof Cleaners In This Budget.
How To Clean Roof Shingles
Cleaning roof shingles like Asphalt shingles is a tricky task. Because you need to consider many things before starting the cleaning process. As those things are part of the cleaning process, let’s discuss them first before going to the cleaning method.
No pressure washing
Cleaning roof shingles with a pressure washer are common, as it makes the process easier. Though it has a perfect value for exterior cleaning, your roof is not a place where it suits to work.
These tools create tremendous pressure on the roof while working and lead to roof damage sometimes. For that reason, asphalt shingle roof manufacturers warn not to clean their products with pressure.
Select The Right Chemicals
Chlorine bleach is a common chemical to clean a metal roof, but it has some down back with asphalt shingles. Bleach may kill the layer of algae and brighten the black stains, but it won’t kill lurking algae spores.
Alternatively, Sodium hydroxide works better than bleach and is less harmful to any kind of roof shingles. But you need to wear protective gear as they are harsh chemical
Choose The Right Day
The weather has an immense effect on the way of cleaning your roof shingles. As you spray the cleaning solution, it needs time to soak deep into the algae colonies. Therefore, choose an overcast day so that bleach won’t evaporate quickly.
Experts suggest cleaning roof shingles in fall or early spring by analyzing the weather forecast. They recommend replacing shingles in the fall as it is the best time.
Things You’ll Need
To accomplish the cleaning process without any hassle you need the following listed tools.
- Hot Water
- Sodium Hydroxide
- garden sprayer
- Large Bucket
- Garden hose
- Supplemental water pump
- Soft bristle brushes
- Hard bristle brush
- Leaf blower
- Ladder
See Also: leaf guard reviews consumer reports
Step To Follow Clean Roof Shingles
After collecting the necessary tools you are ready to learn the process of How To Clean Roof Shingles. The process of cleaning needs to be completed in several steps. Here they are
Step 1- Climb the roof with a ladder to check affected areas.
Step 2- Wear protective gear such as gloves, goggles, and rubber shoes.
Step 3- Clean all the plants and vegetation from the roof and soak up all dry leaves with the leaf blower.
Step 4- Mix Sodium Hydroxide with clean hot water with a ratio of 20:80. Let the solution mix properly.
Step 5- Pour the solution into a garden sprayer and spray on the shingles.
Step 6- Leave the solution on the surface for 20-25 minutes and let them soak properly with the black streaks, blue-green alga, and green moss.
Step 7- Use Soft bristle brushes on the moss and algae growth area. With a hard bristle brush, scrub the excessive moss growth area properly.
Step 8- By using a garden hose rinse the surface with hot water. Any remaining algae or moss should wash away by doing a second-time cleaning.
Safety Tips For Cleaning Roof Shingles
Cleaning your roof involves a ton of safety hazards, and it’s not an easy task. If you are confident enough to do that DIY job, only then you should go off. Otherwise, you should contact a professional cleaner or a cleaner contractor. However, as a talk about DIY roof cleaning project, let’s see what precaution and safety you should take before starting the cleaning.
- Use a strong ladder to climb the rooftop. Besides as shingles become extremely slippery when they wet, you may need a special harness to avoid this type of situation.
- Use non-skid soles to avoid possible slip and falls.
- All the debris should be put in a garbage bag, thus harsh chemicals do not contaminate the surrounding areas.
- In order to protect your eyes and hands from contact with chemicals, wear protective gear properly.
- Brush the surface and black streaks gently thus no roof shingles became damaged.
- Be sure you rinse the entire roof surface properly, otherwise excessive chemical contamination may cause further shingles damage.
Final Thought
As your roof symbolizes the exterior beauty of your house, it should clean after a period of time. While there are many cleaning methods available, you should know How to Clean Roof Shingles properly without any shingles damage. Only then your cleaning will be effective otherwise it costs nothing for you.
Remember, one mistake can cause a serious accident that often costs your life also. So it is important to use reliable tools, not only for doing the job properly but also for your safety. If you take the above-mentioned precaution before starting the cleaning process, it will significantly decrease your possibility of an accident.
