Spring is here and nothing welcomes the new season better than opening the windows, letting the breeze blow the dust away, and starting to clean your space after the winter. When cleaning up the inside of your house, do you think to clean the outside, specifically your roof? If you don’t think of it, is it a big deal? Why would it matter if we forgo cleaning a roof?
Tree branches, leaves, pine needles, and any other debris left on a roof can potentially lead to roof damage. Cleaning up the outside of your house is good not only for curb appeal but for practical reasons such as the maintenance of your roof’s health. If you want to clean your roof from the ground or without slipping, follow the following tips for specific types of roofing.
Getting ready – How to properly clean various roofing types
The method of cleaning the roof varies vastly depending on the type of roofing. But before cleaning your roof, ensure you have taken a few steps beforehand:
- Prepare safety cautions – Regardless if you’re simply getting on your roof to remove debris or to scrub metal roofing panels, ensure you have safety precautions set in place, such as having the cleaning supplies within reach, the right shoes with proper grip, etc.
- Tell a family member or friend – This ties into the last point, but for safety reasons, you shouldn’t get on a roof alone. Let someone know you’re going to get on the roof, or better yet, have them help to get the job done faster!
- Gather your cleaning supplies – If you’re getting up on your roof, avoid going up and down the roof over and over. Ensure you have everything out and near to where you are cleaning, either out on the lawn if you’re cleaning from the ground or up on the roof.
- To walk on your roof or not – Not all types of roofing allow people to walk on them. Don’t worry, we’ll cover whether or not you can get on your type of roofing material and how to clean it.
How to clean a metal roof?
With metal roofing, there is a potential for rusting after a number of years. The length of a metal roof’s life varies depending on the weather, but regular metal maintenance, such as cleaning, can help lengthen its lifespan. With regular maintenance, it is possible to clean a metal roof without scrubbing. However, if needed, ensure you clean your roof with the proper process and have the right cleaning supplies to prevent damage to the metal roof panels. The best way to clean a metal roof is to:
- Ensure all debris is free from your roof
- Remove large pieces of debris that may scratch the metal painting.
- Prepare your metal roofing cleaning supplies:
- Low pressure washer or hose
- Mild soap
- Cleaning brush
- Some brushes will have longer handles, enabling you to safely clean your roof by moving around as little as possible
- Wash the roof with water and soap
- Although you can walk on most metal roofing, there is an added risk of walking on a wet roof. Carefully get the metal roof wet in areas you do not intend to immediately walk on.
- Gently scrub the metal roofing panels with a non-abrasive brush and mild soap, if needed
- Ensure proper safety as you scrub, distributing your weight so as to not lose balance.
- Using the non-abrasive brush, lightly scrub dirt, residue, pine needles, or, in rare cases, mildew.
How to clean roof shingles?
Shingle roofing may be damaged as it is being cleaned, so proper care must be used when on a shingle roof. Again, regular shingles roofing maintenance and roof cleaning can help lengthen the lifetime of a shingles roof as well as enhance your house’s curb appeal. The best way to clean a shingles roofing is to:
- Start by removing all debris is free from shingles roofing
- Clean up large pieces of debris that may damage the shingles, such as tree branches, leaves, twigs, or pine needles.
- Prepare shingles roofing cleaning supplies:
- Low pressure washer or hose
- Soap specifically for shingles roofing
- It’s usually alright to use equal parts of chlorine bleach and water as a cleaning agent, but if you have concerns, you can talk to your local roofer. The roofers can also scope out any roof damage while providing a cleaning agent recommendation for your roof.
- Cleaning brush
- You can get brushes with longer handles, enabling you to safely clean your roof by moving around as little as possible
- Rinse the shingles roofing with water before scrubbing
- While you can walk on most shingles roofs, focus on getting the shingles that you don’t intend to immediately walk on wet. By working in areas you don’t intend to walk on immediately, you can be safe while cleaning your shingles roofing.
- Gently scrub the singles with a non-abrasive brush and soap, if needed.
- Although uncommon in Colorado, if residue or other natural growth has taken residence on your shingles roofing, light scrubbing can remove any growth on the shingles.
- Remember to distribute your weight so as to not lose balance while cleaning the roof.
How to clean wooden shake roofing?
Wood shake roofing often builds residue that adds to the charm of wooden roofing. However, debris and natural growth on a wooden shake roof may lead to roof damage and shorten the lifetime of the roofing. The best way to clean a wood shake roof and to prevent wooden roof damage is to:
- Regularly clear all debris off the wooden shake roofing
- Clear bigger pieces of debris that may damage the wood shake roof, such as tree branches, leaves, twigs, or pine needles.
- Prepare cleaning supplies:
- A pressure washer with a lower setting or a hose
- Cleaning brush with a long handle
- This will allow the cleaning process to be simpler and safer, as you will move around as little as possible or even clean the roofing from the ground.
- Soap specifically for wooden shingles
- If pressure washing and brushing are not enough to clean your wooden roof, bleach or citric-based solution can be used to further reduce and prevent any growth or residue on the wooden shingles.
- Rinse the wooden shake roofing with water before scrubbing
- Carefully walking on most wooden roofs is fine, work on getting the areas of the roof wet that you don’t intend to immediately walk on before scrubbing. This cleaning process can be safer by working in areas you don’t intend to walk on immediately.
- Gently scrub the wooden shake with a non-abrasive brush and mild soap
- Distribute your weight equally to maintain your balance if scrubbing while on the roof.
How to clean tile roofing?
While tile roofing requires little maintenance, cleaning it may be necessary depending on your location and trees surrounding your house.
- Clear the tile roofing of all debris
- Ensure all pieces of debris that may damage the tile roofing, including tree branches, leaves, twigs, or pine needles are removed.
- Prepare cleaning supplies:
- Low pressure washer or hose
- Mild soap for tile roofing
- Cleaning brush with a long handle
- The cleaning process will be simpler and safer with a long handled brush, as you will move around on your roof less or potentially can clean from the ground.
- Rinse the tile roofing with water before scrubbing
- Walking on most tile roofs is fine, work on getting the areas of the roof wet that you don’t intend to immediately walk on before scrubbing. Cleaning your roof can be safer by working in areas you don’t intend to walk on immediately.
- Scrub your roofing tile carefully with a non-abrasive brush and your selected soap
- Distribute your weight equally to maintain your balance.
While in the cleaning spirit, don’t just clean your roof, ensure its health and extend its lifespan. If you’re wanting to figure out a way to clean your roof from the ground, call us or get a free roof inspection! Our professionals will identify roof damage, whether metal damage, shingles damage, wooden shake damage, or tile damage and we’ll prescribe the exact remedy your roof needs, as we’ve done for countless other homeowners.