Did you ever wonder what the black stains on a dirty South Florida roof are? These black stains are called Gloeocapsa Magma – a type of algae.
Most roof and pressure cleaning services use high-pressure power-washing devices to remove these stains. This method is stressful on your roof. These devices can create leaks and shorten the life of your roof. Each time your roof is cleaned with high-pressure devices, a thin layer of material is blown off, leaving the surface more porous which attracts dirt. Even worse, these pressure cleaning services don’t kill mildew spores that hide within porous surfaces – which means you’ll need another cleaning in 6 months or so.
High-pressure also puts unnecessary stress on your roof underlay (thin sheets of roofing paper) which causes rips, tears and eventually leaks in your roof. This is why it is essential that any contractor who cleans your roof tiles uses low-pressure.
Heavy hoses and hover covers (that flat, round contraption with brushes on the bottom) should not be used in the process of cleaning roofs. Dragging a heavy hose across your tiles can damage them.
A hover cover also uses unnecessary agitation. And, these hover covers also make it impossible for even a skilled technician to walk on your roof correctly while using this device.
Quite frequently, it is the technician himself that causes the most damage to your roof. To traverse a roof correctly the technician must only step where there is reinforcement (where the tiles overlap). Stepping anywhere else can crack your tiles and create pressure on your roof underlay.
Learn more about proper South Florida roof cleaning by clicking here.
Have you recently had your roof cleaned? What process did you use? Let us know in the comments section below.