We live in an age where Do-it-Yourself, or DIY, has the run of the land. There are YouTube how-to videos, HGTV fixer-upper shows, Pinterest boards on “upcycling,” and a seemingly endless list of platforms to locate work-arounds, cheap fixes, and at-home solutions. Many of these are useful, helpful, and can save consumers both money and time.
However, there are some areas where you just shouldn’t DIY, and one of those areas is roof cleaning. If you’re considering cleaning your own roof, give this article a good read before you pull out that ladder and dust off your scrub brush.
If your home is starting to grow its own foliage on top or there’s a trail of ooze dripping down along the sides, it’s pretty obvious that your roof needs to be cleaned. However, it’s not always so easy to tell, especially because we strongly recommend that you do not climb onto your roof yourself.
So step back to the edge of your driveway or your yard and look at your roof from that vantage point. Double check areas that may be under trees or other forms of shade, as those areas are particularly susceptible to growth, as well as areas that may be covered by debris. If you notice discoloration, especially dark spots that could be mildew or mold, then you are in the market for a cleaner roof.
Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy to tell if your roof needs to be cleaned. The experienced eye of a professional can get up close and personal with your roof to look for signs of dirtiness that a rookie may miss.
Besides the obvious note of improved aesthetic appeal (and as a result, an increased home value), a professional cleaning will also prolong the lifetime of your roof. That mold or branch or residue will wear on the materials that protect your home, and will eventually cause irreversible damage. The investment into the preventative action of a cleaning is much smaller than the investment required to patch a hole or replace an entire roof.
The dark spots on your roof also absorb sunlight rather than reflecting it, which can drive up the temperature, and utility bills, in your home read more on how the Florida heat affects your roof here.
Now that you’ve determined that you should, in fact, clean your roof, why should you hire someone to do it for you when you can probably find a YouTube video online that details the process?
First of all, anytime you are on a roof—especially one in need of a cleaning—you are in danger of falling off and suffering severe bodily harm. Once you add in slippery mildew, cleaning supplies, heavy equipment, and the exhausting effort of cleaning and scrubbing, that danger multiplies. Instead of risking yourself or your loved ones, it’s better to hire a professional who has the equipment and training to clean a roof safely.
Speaking of equipment, the costs for roof cleaning supplies add up quickly. You might think that you’ll be saving a buck by taking on this project on your own, but that is not the case this time. Between a pressure washer, the right cleaning materials, and proper safety mechanisms, such as ropes and harnesses, a DIY roof cleaner will spend just as much—or possibly more—than it costs to get a professional cleaning. When you factor in the time you’ll spend and the high likelihood that your roof won’t be as pristine as if you’d hired a professional, the cost savings just aren’t there.
The third and biggest reason to hire a professional is the experience and training that can’t be taught through a YouTube video. Professional roof cleaning companies provide a staff that is experienced with all types of roofs and trained to clean them efficiently and effectively. Here at A-1 Roof Cleaning and Roof Restoration, roof cleaning is what we do so we function as a fine-tuned machine. Our experience extends to the cleaning products that we use. We believe in constant improvement, so we still tweak our proprietary blend of chemicals to ensure that your roof looks like new when our job is complete.
Do yourself a favor, and don’t jump into a project that gets you in over your head. Hire A-1 Roof Cleaning, and we’ll go “over your head” instead to give you the clean roof that your home deserves.
We offer free roof cleaning estimates! Give us a call at 407.256.8610 or contact us online here and let us help you and your roof out.