Hey, what's goin' on up there?

It's funny how it happens. You don't notice your roof until suddenly one day you look up and realize that moss, fungus, algae, dirt and/or general grime have gained a foothold--and then some. Maybe it's time to clean your roof.

We clean composition shingle roofs, metal roofs and tile roofs. We have discontinued cleaning of cedar shake roofs (except for loose debris).

We use two well known techniques to clean roofs: Brushing and pressure washing. Choice of technique depends on what needs to be cleaned and on your preference. Some pros and cons of each technique follow.

Brushing

Used on composition and tile roofs

Pros: Is generally a more gentle procedure and is the procedure we prefer. This technique cleans the vast majority of moss, lichen and dried goop infesting edges of shingles. Can be used selectively and in areas around flashing and other areas where pressure washing cannot be used.

Cons: Brushing is not effective against algae, dirt and grime on the surface of the shingles. In particular, when moss is growing on the surface of the shingles and not just at the edges, then brushing tends to remove more gravel than does pressure washing! It's more time consuming, thus more expensive than pressure washing the same area.

Pressure Washing

Used on: Composition and tile roofs

Pros: It's the most thorough procedure. It gets your roof as clean as practically possible.

Cons: Pressure washing requires skill and judgment. Lack of same is a major cause for skepticism as its usefulness on composition roofs. Safety considerations aside, pressure washing roofs or other surfaces is not for amateurs. The trick is to apply enough pressure to clean without applying so much pressure that excess gravel is lifted from composition shingles (Please understand that gravel will ALWAYS be removed from a composition roof by ANY cleaning method. In fact, just walking on a composition roof will loosen some gravel).

When pressure washing, entire roof faces should be done at once. It can be done on a spot basis but the cleaned areas look stark in comparison to the areas skipped.

When we pressure wash a roof, we brush and scrub for a distance of at least 12 inches from joints, flashing, and other things that stick through the roof. We use a high flow rate "40 degree" wand tip, which delivers just enough pressure to do the job while avoiding excessive concentration of the stream. We test a small area of the roof before beginning. If we discover that too much gravel is being removed with the moss, then the crew stops and calls the office. We then call the client and discuss the options.

Other Techniques (Proprietary)

Used on: Composition, tile and metal roofs.

General info: We have developed some other options for difficult to clean roofs and which promise to offer excellent quality without the traditional tradeoffs. We are happy to discuss these with you but have decided not to post them for competitive reasons. Please contact us for details.

A word about safety:

Roof cleaning is subject to more safety concern than any other service we offer. There are roofs that we will allow the crew to work FROM in order to, for example, clean gutters but which we will not allow to work ON for extended periods of time.

All jobs of any kind are subject to safety evaluation by the foreman on the day of the job and this is especially important for roof cleaning jobs. It is rare for the foreman to reject a job but it can happen when there is a safety issue that is discovered when the crew gets on the roof, or discovery of a reason that the service ordered could cause harm to the property. We are constantly looking for ways to improve safety and all our workers are covered by Workers Compensation Insurance!