Roof Cleaning Service

Titusville New Jersey

(877) 420-WASH

Thank you for checking out our Titusville New Jersey roof cleaning page. Here we will explore your options for cleaning your slate, cedar or asphalt shingle roof. Roof cleaning is not a “power washing” job. Please never let anyone pressure wash your roof. There are companies who use a device on the roof that looks like a floor buffer that is lowered up and down the roof by a rope. This is a form of pressure washing. These companies usually have nice videos showing the machine gliding up and down the roof as it shreds loose all of the debris such as algae, moss and other types of vegetation. What they never show you in the video is that this machine is connected to a hose which connects to a truck with a gas powered pressure washer. Let’s make no mistake: This is considered pressure washing the roof. Roof Shampoo uses this type of pressure washing method.

What should we look for to avoid this type of aggressive wash?  Well, it’s not so much what to look for but rather what to listen for.  The sales pitch for this type of cleaning usually contains a repeat of the words “low pressure” over and over.  They want you to feel comfortable with the fact they are using a pressure washer so they beat you over the head by repeating the words “low pressure”.  Now I’m no rocket scientist but I’m sure if you’re cleaning a roof with pressurized water and there is a need for a gas powered motor then I might want to look deeper into this “low pressure” situation.  To me, low pressure is what comes out of a garden spigot.  If there was a need for my garden spigot to be operated by a gas powered motor I can guess that a much higher water pressure would be ripping out of my spigot.  I guess what we need to look at is how much pressure is too much pressure when it comes to my roofing shingles?

Here is a question for men.  Before I ask I will say ladies, we love you, but I’m not sure how many ladies have ever stuck their hand inside a gutter.  So men, I ask you, have you ever cleaned out a gutter and noticed how many roofing granules are present inside the gutter?  Anybody who has ever cleaned out a gutter knows there is always a certain amount of granules in the gutter that has washed off of the roof naturally caused by rain and wind.  So consider if this amount of granules can dislodge with wind and rain alone can we imagine how many will dislodge by pressure washing the shingle?  Even at alleged “low pressure”, power washing a shingle will dislodge large amounts of roofing granules and shorten the life of the roof.  And what exactly is “low pressure”?  To put things into perspective a typical  garden hose, with the right nozzle attachment, can produce anywhere from 60 to 100 p.s.i.  Some nozzles are crafty and you can get a fair amount of pressure from them.  Now imagine having to need a gas powered motor behind it.  I think we can all see how pressure washing the roof, in any form, is too much for the shingle to handle.

Okay, I guess I could have summed it all up by saying you shouldn’t pressure wash your roof, but I can’t tell how much it happens everyday.  It’s sold as a safe type of cleaning.  You can alway ask your roof shingle manufacturer what they suggest.  Every roof we have cleaned in Titusville New Jersey is all done as per manufacturers specs.  Roof manufacturers all advice against pressure washing and suggest using a light solution contains bleach to insure we fully sterilize the roof of mold and algae along with insuring we kill the moss at the root.

Roof Moss Cleaning Titusville NJ

Moss develops a root system just like a plant.  Pressure washing simply crops the moss at the top.  If you think that the moss never blows away with the wind or washed away even with the hardest rain can you visualize the type of study root system holding that moss onto the roof.  A treatment of a light bleach solution will kill the moss at the root.  We will not try to scrub or agitate the shingle since this can also dislodge many of the roofing granules and shorten the life of the roof.  Mother nature has a way of getting rid of everything that is dead.  Dead moss will dry out and decompose and wash away from the roof in roughly 90 days.

Slate Roof Cleaning Titusville New Jersey

Slate roofs are cleaned a bit differently than asphalt shingle roofs.  Slate roofs cannot be walked.  A slate roof can be cleaned by applying our disinfecting detergent to kill algae, moss and lichen patches.  Black algae will disappear immediately.  Moss will die immediately with the treatment but can take roughly 90 days to dry out, decompose and wash away.  Lichen is a fungus that grows in patches.  Lichen slow eats through the stone.  The food source is the limestone in the slate.

Cedar Roof Cleaning 08560

Cedar roofs are cleaned more delicately.  We apply a milder detergent to the cedar shake to dissolve black algae staining.  Moss and lichen are killed on contact but are left to dry out, decompose and wash away.  The only way to remove moss and lichen from a cedar shake is to scrub or power wash the cedar shingle.  It is best to allow it to wash away naturally.  After the treatment the cedar shingle needs to be neutralized than rinsed.  A cedar shake roof can last up to 50 years if properly maintained.

Thank you for checking out our Titusville N.J. roof cleaning page.  See our Youtube video below about roof cleaning in Titusville New Jersey.  Have a great day!