It’s Roof Cleaning Month
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It’s September! Which means for residential buildings it is a transition and planning month. It’s also a great time to soft wash roofs, build a plan for your gutter cleaning and select the right contractor for your Cold Weather Service.
Most of our cleaning services have seasonal variations that make them more appropriate for certain parts of the year. For example, windows and façades are more common in the spring, gutters in the fall, and carpets around winter or the spring. We’re entering roof cleaning season, which is more essential this year. The long, wet and cool winter has been fertile for moss, mold and mildew growth on roofs, which need to be dealt with before they start to damage its integrity and appearance. Left unchecked, they can cause irreparable damage in less than decade in certain conditions. We have seen roofs requiring rebuilds in under a half its expected life span. With the summer finally here, it is the best opportunity to remove them and prevent them from coming back.
Most of our cleaning services have seasonal variations that make them more appropriate for certain parts of the year. For example, windows and façades are more common in the spring, gutters in the fall, and carpets around winter or the spring. We’re entering roof cleaning season, which is more essential this year. The long, wet and cool winter has been fertile for moss, mold and mildew growth on roofs, which need to be dealt with before they start to damage its integrity and appearance. Left unchecked, they can cause irreparable damage in less than decade in certain conditions. We have seen roofs requiring rebuilds in under a half its expected life pan. With the summer finally here, it is the best opportunity to remove them and prevent them from coming back.
We employ a multi-step process, starting with physically removing growths and the organic material they may be growing on. The warmer weather dries out deposits, loosening them and making them easier to remove and stop repeat growth. The hot weather also makes it safer for our staff to access difficult places. Although our staff utilizes rope access and safety restraint systems that should theoretically allow us to access all roofs, a wet slippery surface will limit what we can do. The summer months offer us the maximum mobility over the roof surface. Finally we apply a roof treatment that will retard any growth for several years. Undertaking such a process every few years, will ensure that a roof will remain at peak durability for the duration of its expected lifespan.
If you have a building requiring a roof cleaning (or never considered that you might need one) why not give us a call?
they are a magnet for moss, mildew and algae that can severely curtail their lifespan. Removing them is one of our exterior cleaning services, and the best time to undertake this work is the late summer and fall when they are the drieest . We use a three-step process, which incorporates industry best practices to guide our approach. In this stage we basically use high-pressure air to remove loose debris and a large portion of the growth. This allows us to gain better access to the underlying roof surface, without damaging the roof itself.
This is really the most critical part of the process. We use a mild, wash safe, chemical that is wash safe to basically break down and kill all the growth on the roof. The system also is a preventative step: it delays future growth for a year or so, keeping the roof integrity intact.
The third major structural exterior area to consider is the roof. As with exterior façade, biological growth can cause significant damage to the roof structure if left untreated.
However, the potential for catastrophic damage is more apparent: if a roof is compromised it can cause leaks that may cost thousands of dollars to remedy.
Technique and Frequency
Cleaning and maintaining your roof is really a two-step process, which is important to understand the frequency.
The first step is to clean the roof. This is almost always accomplished by an individual cleaning off debris and growth with a brush, or by hand. There is no quicker alternative, but this method ensures that no growth will remain that could effect the integrity of the roof.
Once the removal is complete the second step abatement work, should progress. This usually involves applying an anti-fungal agent that will retard any growth for occurring. They can remain effective for over two years. Thus a realistic service interval could be 2~4 years, depending on the condition of the roof, its composition and biome. Subsequent visits will usually require significantly less time, since there will be less growth to remove, and efforts should be focused on reapplying the abatement agent.