Do shingles on your north, west or other shaded roofs have streaky, moldy discolorations? Here's how to clean up the awful discoloration and keep it from coming back. Black streaks on the north- and west-facing and shaded locations of your asphalt-shingled roof can actually wreck the appearance of your house. The streaks appear like mold, however they're really algae colonies that form in your shingles and eat wetness and the limestone filler agents in the shingles.
Once the algicide wears away, your roofing system hosts an all-you-can-eat buffet for the area algae spores. So it pays to clean your shingles as soon as you identify algae development. Professional roof cleaners charge hundreds of dollars; the bigger the roofing system, the more hundreds you'll spend. And they have to repeat the cleaning every few years.
You'll require a full-body harness, a garden sprayer, a garden hose and a nontoxic, noncorrosive roof-cleaning chemical. Some manufacturers sell a special tool applicator and rinsing tool, but if the staining isn't serious, you may not require them. If you browse online, you'll see numerous posts on roof-cleaning techniques. asphalt roof shingles.
We do not suggest that technique. Even at low pressure, a power washer can seriously damage shingles. Plus, chlorine bleach is a corrosive representative that can harm metal roofing flashings, seamless gutters and downspouts. It can lighten the color of your roofing system and "bleach" anything the overspray contacts. And the overflow damages plants.
Bleach may kill the top layer of algae and lighten the stains, however it does not kill the underlying algae. So the algae colony gets right back to work. Sodium hydroxide (lye) items, on the other hand, work better than bleach and are less damaging to greenery. But they're likewise destructive, and using them needs you to put on complete protective gear.
We chose Defy roofing cleaner for this story (saversystems. com), however there are other brands. Inspect the weather report and choose a cool or overcast day with little to no wind so the spray hits your shingles, not the next-door neighbors'. Those conditions permit the cleansing option to soak deep into the algae colonies without evaporating too rapidly.
Then prepare the area by moving lawn furnishings and covering greenery, since you're going to have overspray. Despite the fact that the product we picked isn't toxic, the overflow can be pretty awful. So a little prep work will save you clean-up time later on. roof inspection.
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If you really desire to clean your asphalt shingle roof in the right way, there are a few key things you'll want to bear in mind. In addition to unnecessary wear and tear on your roofing tiles from the weather, the primary issue that you must have if you do not routinely clean your asphalt shingle roof is moss development. As moss thickens and continues to grow on your roof over time, it can really raise up the songs in an unnatural way.
This in turn not only limits the lifespan of your roofing system and could trigger individual tiles to rot, however it also makes a leakage far more likely - resulting in harm inside your home, also. are also extremely common on asphalt shingle roofing systems that are not properly maintained, all of which mean that cleaning your roof regularly need to constantly be a top priority in the life of any homeowner.
Whatever you do, make sure that you do not utilize severe chemicals or you might artificially reduce the life of your tiles. Utilize an item specifically developed to not just remove moss and algae stains, however one that is marked safe to use on asphalt shingle roofing systems. For the best results, mix your chemical cleaner with about a gallon of water and a quart of bleach.
When you're finished, get up on your roofing (making sure to take preventative measures against both a fall and the truth that you're working with chemicals) and spray down your roofing as completely as possible (replacing shingles). When you've taken the possibility to wet down your whole roof with the previously mentioned service, give it an opportunity to sit - generally about 15 minutes approximately will do just fine.