The roof is the exterior part of your house and one area of the house that is exposed to continuous onslaught of nature. The environmental factors are always working against it. Some of the common factors that keep acting on your roofs are storms, plant and various other living things which may not be visible to your eyes. All these together make the roof appear very dirty and you may need to clean it. Roof shingles have to be cleaned whenever the rood appears dirty but it quite a tricky job. If you keep your roof shingles clean, then the life of your roof also increases manifold. On the other hand if you leave the dirt intact then there may be permanent damage done to the roof shingles. A severe storm may have left your roof undamaged but there may be debris strewn all over. You need to clean the debris.
It is quite simple to clean this type of debris. All that you have to do is use a washer pressure to remove it. However you must remember to start using the washer pressure from the top of the roof with the water flowing downwards. Otherwise the water may enter through the gaps in the shingles and there may be leakage. But if your roof shrinkages need more than simple cleaning then there are a host of other factors to be considered. How much you are successful in cleaning the roof shingles also depend on the type of the shingles that have been installed. The materials used in the making of the shingles influence the cleaning method. Most people use strong detergents and pressure washers for cleaning the roof shingles.
Roof Shingle Cleaning
If you see that there are black streaks on your roof then it is a sure sign of algae formation on the roof. It only means that the tar shingles have been invaded by algae and you need to treat it properly otherwise your roof will appear very dirty and stained. It will mar the entire look of your house.
The fiber glass shingles have sufficient moisture and environment which is conductive to the breeding of algae. Thus they breed really fast in the roof shingles. Washer pressure may not be sufficient to clean an algae infected roof. You need to clean the roof shingles with chemicals which are specially formulated for it. You may clean the roof shingles with sodium per carbonate and oxygen bleach. You must always keep in mind that you must use oxygen based bleach and never use chlorine based bleach. Chlorine bleach may permanently damage your roof shingles, plants and anything else that may come in contact with it. It may even harm you and any other parts of the roof like the roof gutters. Hence chlorine bleach is never recommended for cleaning the roof shingles.
Many house owners install copper shingles. They like the rich stately look of the copper shingles. The copper shingles do look great and marvelous when they are newly installed but they need maintenance. With the passage of time the natural elements play their role and the shingles appear dull and blackish or what we may also call “ugly”. It is very time consuming and tedious to clean and polish the copper shingles. You are not a professional and this job is not meant for you. You must always call a professional to clean the copper shingles. If you have spent a fortune getting copper shingles installed do spend a small amount in maintaining them too otherwise the fortune that you spent getting them installed will be a total waste!
