Roof cleaning methods: the good, the bad, and the ugly
So, you’re thinking of having your roof cleaned. Being a significant project, you turned to google to learn more about the process, costs, and benefits. From there, you likely found yourself going down a research rabbit hole; there are more cleaning processes than you initially thought, and each has its own pros and cons.
Here at Clear Gutter Cleaning Cheshire, we’ve cleaned a lot of roofs and in that time, we’ve learned a lot. In this blog, we’ll talk about the various ways to get your roof gleaming, and what’s great and not so great about each of them.
Roof moss removal - Pressure washing
This service does exactly what it says on the tin. It uses a pressure washer or jet washer to remove moss, algae, and stains from your tiles.
This is usually the cheapest process and it delivers an instant wow-factor – the appearance of your home is instantly lifted.
But, our advice: don’t be drawn in by quick fixes and low prices.
Pressure washing a roof is a risky business – it’s the most likely cleaning process to cause damage to your home, like:
Significant leaks/water ingress
Broken tiles
Stripping the colour and coating from your tiles prematurely
Reducing your roof’s lifespan
The contractors that provide this service usually have to walk on your roof too – which is risky for them and your home.
Roof moss removal by steam cleaning
Again, this is pretty self-explanatory. An exterior cleaning contractor will use a steam cleaner to remove unwanted plant growth and stains from your tiles.
Again, this has instant results and is relatively inexpensive. However, it still comes with significant risks like:
Broken tiles (from contractors having to walk on them)
Leaks and water ingress (per minute, 6 – 10 litres of water will be streamed onto concentrated areas of your roof – it’s not really designed to handle that).
While less risky than pressure washing, we’d still recommend making sure that your home is suitable for this cleaning method before having the work carried out.
Roof moss removal by softwashing
Softwashing involves applying sodium hypochlorite and manually brushing the tiles or slates to remove unwanted growth and stains.
The results of this method are instant, and when done correctly, it can be safe.
But, beware. To get fast results at low costs and with minimal effort, some exterior cleaning contractors are guilty of applying the chemical at dangerously high concentrations using a telescopic, high-pressure system. They simply spray the chemical onto the surface from the ground, then wash it off, instead of applying it safely (at safe concentrations) from a scaffold tower and manually brushing plant growth away from the slates/tiles.
When carried out in this way, softwashing can be very dangerous. Highly concentrated sodium hypochlorite is toxic and can cause serious harm to you and your neighbours, your gardens, passers-by, nearby animals, and even the environment.
If you decide to use this cleaning method, make sure the contractor plans to use a scaffold tower or similar for safe access, dilutes the chemical solution to safe concentrations, and plans to manually brush the tiles.
SCrape and biocide treatment
The safest, gentlest, and most long-lasting roof cleaning solution is a manual scrape and biocide treatment – especially when carried out from scaffold towers instead of ladders. It’s the only method we recommend, and therefore the only one we offer.
With this roof cleaning method, moss is manually scraped away from tiles and slates, before a biocide solution is applied.
The biocide solution kills any remaining growth on your roof, including moss and moss spores, lichen, and algae. Over 6 – 12 months, it removes staining and mildew and returns your tiles or slates to somewhere near their original colour.
The biocide treatment we use has residual cleaning power, which means it inhibits regrowth for several years and keeps your roof cleaner for longer.
So, while you’ll probably pay a higher upfront cost for this cleaning method, it’s a much better investment, thanks to it being the lowest risk and the longest lasting.
How we cary out Roof moss removal
In most instances, we work from scaffold towers and only use roof ladders where absolutely necessary.
We manually scrape moss away using an extendable pole with a scraping tool that is bespoke to the shape of your tiles/slates. Then, we safely apply a biocide wash using a very low-pressure pole-fed system.
Then, we get to work tidying up any mess, including:
Bagging up and removing moss
Cleaning all moss that’s fallen into your gutters using a gutter vacuum
Valeting your windows and frames (they can get dirty during the roof cleaning process)
That’s it. Moss-free roof. Clean windows. Debris-free garden.
Then, over the following weeks and months, the biocide will lighten the colour of your tiles/slates, and remove algae, stains, and lichen. Leaving it looking good as new.
Discover more about our roof cleaning services
Find out more about our roof cleaning services here. Or if you’ve got questions or would like a quote, get in touch.
