5 Roof Pressure Wash Tips

You might not know it, but your roof needs to be maintained and cared for. After all, your roof is what covers and protects your family from the outside elements and is an essential part to the well-being of your house’s structure.

Traditional homeowners need to ensure that their roofs are maintained properly, including regular roof cleaning and washing, to avoid expensive, time-consuming repairs in the future.

Roofs are exposed to far more than just rainwater, snow, or wind. Your roof may soon become a petri dish of compounds as a result of wear and tear from outside conditions. Many roofs can easily develop moss and lichen growth, and when this happens, the roof requires immediate restoration services and needs to be cleaned right away to prevent further damage.

As a homeowner, maintaining and servicing the needs of your home is a cost-effective and responsible course of action. But knowledge about proper home upkeep isn’t easy to come by, especially when it comes to taking care of your roof. However, there are a few small tips that homeowners would not traditionally expect to know. Here are the top 5 tips for cleaning your roof.

Roof Cleaning Tip 1: Use a Professional to Pressure Wash Your Roof

With so many roofing contractors available, it has become common for homeowners to seek out roof cleaning services that use power washing as a method of roof maintenance. In hopes of saving money, many homeowners have sought out rentals to complete a roof pressure wash on their own. This can be dangerous for your roof and can actually worsen your problem without proper training.

Never Roof Pressure Wash Without the Help of a Professional 

This is by far one of the most common mistakes homeowners make when attempting to clean their roofs. Your roof is protected by a series of individual tiles or shingles that are held in place together by a complex system of organization. That’s why roofing takes time and costs a lot of money.

Professional roofers are required to be delicate and intricate in their work to ensure that roofs do not fall apart, have any loose openings, and stay in place to protect the rest of your home. Using a pressure washer can cause damage to your tiles. High-pressure can strip and break apart shingles and tiles on your roof, even removing protective layers that keep the shingles from doing their job.

Pressure washing your roof also becomes incredibly complicated if you have solar panels that provide electricity for your home. For solar panel maintenance, hiring solar professionals would be your best bet to ensure there are no complications with set up or cleaning.

Here are some of the issues that can arise when you attempt to complete a roof pressure wash without the help of a professional:

• The high-pressure breaks away the granules and layers of the roofing, making them degrade at a much faster rate than intended at production.
• Shingles and roofing materials can get displaced, creating openings that could allow for water and other substances to penetrate your household and ceilings.
• Tiles break apart, causing them to create debris and trash around your property.
• More openings in between roofing material could encourage the growth of moss and other bacteria over time.

For many new homes, insulated vinyl sliding panels are used for the outside of the housing unit and its roofing. A common issue consistently seen by roof cleaning contractors is that the adhesives used to keep the roofing or vinyl sliding panels have been damaged or loosened as a result of homeowners trying to power wash their roof or outside of their home.

But more importantly, proper roof cleaning and roof washing do not require you to pressure wash your roof.

Roof Cleaning Tip 2: Start with Detergent for Roof Washing

There are many affordable, safe biodegradable products out there that act as detergents that can serve as a great substitute for a roof pressure wash. These simple concentrated house and siding cleaners are professional grade compounds that are safe to use when looking to break down algae, bacteria, moss, or other lichen growths. They are easy to apply and easy to remove and will not cause your roofing materials to be damaged or to experience any movement.

Another helpful aspect of using a detergent is that it does not require you to rent a power washer or find the correct roof pressure washing equipment and settings. The low pressure of these sprays is gentle on your roofing shingles and when paired with a secondary cleaner like a foamer or shooter, can easily break away unwanted greeneries on your roof and complete the job with a simple scrub or washdown.

Roof Cleaning Tip 3: Find a Low Roof Pressure Wash

In addition to the second tip, many homeowners have found luck applying detergent or using a low-pressure wash. Most pressure washers will need to operate at 1500-3000psi in order to effectively wash tiles and shingles, however, they will end up removing or dulling the protective layer of glaze and covering that we mentioned previously.

Instead, try using a washer that operates at a power of no more than 30psi. Often, a simple low-pressure washer may have enough power to wash away unwanted items on your roof without causing any damage or deterioration to your roof.

Moreover, using a chemical compound or detergent with low-pressure washers that include a secondary valve to spray those compounds are very effective. However, success can also be found by applying a chemical compound and using a low-pressure washer to wash away everything else once the chemicals and detergents have done their job.

Roof Cleaning Tip 4: Make a Homemade Roof Cleaning Solution

Roof power washing might be tempting but might not be the best option for your home. One trick roof cleaners recommend is to make a homemade roof cleaning solution that consists of hot water, a small amount of bleach, and detergent into a garden sprayer. It’s important to clean shingles or roofing on a cooler day that is particularly overcast so that the mixture will not dry too quickly after application.

Apply the mixture to your roofing, let it dry for about 15-20 minutes, and then use your favorite scrub broom or brush broom to clean the areas that need attention. It is important for the roofing to stay wet until you finish scrubbing, otherwise, you risk damaging the roofing materials or causing them to move. Once you are done with your first round, rinse and repeat until the area of your roof is clean and complete.

This is one of the safest ways to ensure your roof is properly cleaned, and you can do it yourself. Although this option requires a bit more elbow grease, not many people realize how effective a small amount of bleach and a little bit of scrubbing can be.

Roof Cleaning Tip 5: Use a Reliable Roof Cleaner in Your Area 

For many families, taking the time to clean your roof might just not fit in the schedule. And, knowing your roof type and finding the solutions to care for your roof may not be something that some homeowners have time and energy for. Especially when it comes to finding the right solution for your roof type.

For example, a metal roof vs shingles presents its own challenges, like how shingles have a protective layer and risk of being broken while metal roofing does not. A roof pressure wash might be something you think will get every job done but not every roof washing project is the same. Knowing the different kinds of solutions available for every type of roofing, roofing material, and having the materials and equipment to finish the job is something the experts in your community know first-hand.

Billy.com works with some of the finest home improvement and contractor businesses in every community to serve families and the needs of their homes. Hiring a local roofing professional has never been easier. Billy.com will help you find the right kind of professional that specializes in the kind of house and roofing that you need cleaning.

Find the best local roofing contractor in your area today!