We soft wash it, with low pressure and a cleaning solution that kills the growth, instead of a machine blasting the shingles or tile.
Those dark streaks are a blue-green algae. It arrives on the wind, settles where the roof stays damp longest, and feeds on the limestone filler in the shingle. It isn't dirt, and rain won't wash it off.
A soft wash uses a cleaning solution that kills the growth at the root, so the roof clears instead of being scrubbed off. That's why a shingle keeps its granules and a tile keeps its edges.
It covers the two roofs homes here are built with: shingle and tile.
Call 941.762.6098 and we'll talk through your roof and what it's made of. The quote is free, over the phone.
You can tell from the yard, without going up a ladder.
Once one roof on the street darkens, the ones downwind usually follow over the next two or three seasons, which is often why people notice their own.
In the area's deed-restricted communities, a stained roof is usually what gets a letter, with a date to have it cleared by.
From your call, we look at your roof and what it's made of, agree a date, wash it, and walk the property with you before we leave.
We talk through your roof and what it's made of, and give you a free quote over the phone.
Shut the windows and sliders, move cars and patio furniture clear, and keep pets indoors while we're there.
Plants, flowers and shrubs get covered before we apply anything. Whatever we can't cover, like a palm tree, we keep spraying with water the whole time we're working so the leaves don't burn. We catch the downspouts so nothing concentrated runs into the soil, then the roof gets washed and everything underneath it rinsed down.
Before we leave we do a thorough walkthrough with you: the roof clear, the drive and beds rinsed, and nothing left sitting on the ground.
The black streaks on a Florida roof aren't dirt. They're algae living on the limestone filler in the shingle, and that changes what the job actually is. You're not blasting something off. You're killing something that's growing.
Which is why pressure is the wrong tool rather than just a rough one. It takes the granules off a shingle and cracks tile at the edges, and your roof is the most expensive surface on the house to get wrong. A soft wash puts a solution on it, kills the growth at the root, and rinses it down.
We've been washing roofs this way around here for more than ten years, and we won't do them any other way, even when someone asks.
No. It's low pressure, and shingle manufacturers point to a chemical wash like this one rather than a pressure machine.
Most roofs here hold two to three years. One in full sun with nothing overhanging it can go longer than that; one shaded by trees is closer to eighteen months.
No. We cover the plants, flowers and shrubs first, and anything too big to cover, like a palm tree, gets sprayed with water for as long as we're working so the leaves don't burn. Everything is rinsed down after.
Yes, we walk the roof, because that's how it comes out cleanest. Only one person is up there at a time, and we're careful with the tiles. While we're up there we check the gutters for clogs and tell you about any broken or missing tiles we see. You don't need to be home, just an outside tap we can reach and the yard clear.
Get in touch to learn more or get a free quote. Call 941.762.6098 and we'll talk through what your roof needs.
