Cleaning Roof Shingles: An Overview

Roof cleaning is one task that many people hate doing. The growth of moss, algae and lichens on roof shingles can disgust anyone. However, cleaning roof shingles is extremely essential if one wishes to increase the life, performance and durability of any roof shingle. LetÂ's check out some Â"infectionsÂ" that plague the roof.

Black streaks on the roof shingles is a sign that ensures the presence of algae formation on the shingles. The streaks show that the shingles made of tar have been invaded. It also requires immediate and proper treatment. Otherwise, the entire roof might appear stained and dirty.

The whole look of the house can be marred by this ugly growth. The shingles that are made up of fiberglass have a lot of moisture. This provides an environment that is conductive to algae growth. This enables algae to breed really fast.

The best and easiest way of cleaning roof shingles is to clean the roof with water pressure. A pressure washer could clean off moss, algae and any other unwanted growth on the shingles. Even though a pressure washer can prove to be great tool and effective way to remove scum from the surface of the roof, it may permanently damage the shingles if not used with care.

Water pressure may also not always be sufficient to cleanse a roof that is infected with algae. The roof might have to be cleaned with chemicals. The chemicals would have to be formulated specifically for it.

One can also clean the surface of the shingles with oxygen bleach and sodium per carbonate. However, one must never under any circumstance use chlorine bleach in place of oxygen bleach. A bleach that contains chlorine can damage the roof shingles permanently. It could also harm the nearby plants and anything it comes in contact with. Chlorinated bleach may even harm the person who uses it for cleaning.

The roof gutters and other essential roofing materials may also be completely destroyed once they come in contact with chlorine bleach. Now letÂ's take a look at copper shingles and why they are a popular choice.

Most homeowners prefer installing copper roof shingles. The rich stately look of the copper shingles is preferred by most homeowners. However, even though they look marvelous and great when newly installed, they require a lot of maintenance.

As time elapses, the natural elements present in the copper shingles play their role and make them appear blackish and dull, even ugly. Thus, the process of cleaning and polishing becomes more tedious and time consuming. So it is recommended that the cleaning be done by professionals.

After the cleaning roof shingles process is over, it is advisable that one remembers to rinse off the gutter and downspouts of the roof. This rinsing is as important as the cleaning because it would remove all the left out corrosive cleaning solution from the roof, thereby saving it from any damage.