How to Clean Roof Shingles?
Roof shingles are widely known for gathering moss, algae and other unusual debris. This is mostly unavoidable and is bound to happen due to natural laws. However, it still damages the shingles and causes them to deteriorate, cutting their lifespans nearly in half.
To ensure that your shingles reach their age limits and protect you from bad weather, put your professional roofing mood on and start doing regular clean ups. Here is how you should do them:
Pre-Cleaning Phase
Before you start your cleaning adventure, you should prepare the sight. By this we mean, removing leaves and debris from roof and gutters; fix broken or loose shingles; remove nearby furniture and prepare a cleaning mixture. There are easy to do recipes for your cleaning agents and here is the most popular one:
0.95 liters of laundry bleach, 3.8 liters of water and 177.5 milliliters (a 1/4 cup) of non-ammonia heavy cleaner.
Additional Tips:
- Choose cloudy weather for cleaning since your cleaning agent will have enough time to dry out
- Use protective wear such as gloves since the cleaning agent can damage the skin (if it’s a lye product)
The Main Part
After you create your cleaning solution and prepare the ground, it’s time to start doing the actual cleaning. The first thing you should do is rinse with water. So bring a hose along with you on the roof and dip your shingles in water until it starts running off from the sides. This is done to prevent the cleaning agent from drying up too quickly.
After you rinse the surface, take the solution and spray it over the roof. To make things more practical, put the solution in a large sprayer. Don’t spray aggressively, but slow and gentle. When you are finished, leave the cleaning agent for 15-20 minutes. Afterward, rinse the surface again.
Additional tips:
- If you have stains which are more difficult to clean, apply the solution once more after the second rinsing. Leave it for 30 minutes and then rinse again.
- Some people even use brooms to apply pressure on the stain and this is very effective as well. Remember to use a broom of medium stiff bristles.
The Perfect Roof
You may be wondering how your neighbors don’t need to spray bleach on their roof that often. But what you might not know is that they regularly perform small maintenance procedures. To reduce the number of times you need to clean your shingles, simply do these simple life-saving tricks:
- Cut large tree branches that hang above the roof
- Regularly remove debris from your gutters (two times a year and after every storm)
- Apply stain blockers on your shingles which can last to 3 years
- Put metal wires or stripes below the shingles. This prevents moss and algae build up
Available Roofing
Available Roofing is your professional roofing company in Toronto & Oakville. With over 14 years of experience in Commercial & Residential Roofing, we are proud and dedicated to offering the highest level of quality and service.