How Long Does The Roof Cleaning Take?
Maintaining the integrity and appearance of your roof is crucial to ensuring the longevity of your home. Regular roof cleaning not only removes unsightly black streaks, lichens, and moss but also protects against potential damage and helps extended the life of it.
Understanding the roof cleaning process, including how long it takes for the various substances to detach, can help you schedule this important maintenance task effectively.
The Importance of Low Pressure and Proper Property Protection
We prioritize your property’s safety and the wellbeing of your plants during the roof cleaning process. Our expert technicians utilize a soft washing technique, employing low pressure to ensure that your roof is not damaged. Attempting to clean a roof with a pressure washer will remove the granules from the roof and potentially destroy it.
Additionally, we take the necessary steps to protect your property by painstakingly bagging the downspouts, capturing any chemicals that may run off during the cleaning. With every roof cleaning, we make sure to have at least one person on the ground while the other is cleaning the roof.
The ground person is responsible for watering the plants, bushes, flowers, and grass and ensuring no damage is done from the chemicals above. The phrase dilution is the solution could not be more appropriate here. They are also responsible for keeping an eye on the downspouts and making sure noting is overflowing onto the surrounding area.
Preparation: The First Step Towards a Beautiful Roof
Before starting the cleaning, thorough preparation is essential. This can take up to an hour or even more, depending on the size and condition of your roof. As mentioned above, we ensure every downspout is bagged and protected. We take this a step further than most companies and actually apply a chemical neutralizer to the surrounding downspouts before and after the cleaning. This takes the very low risk of any potential damage and makes it even smaller.
Occasionally we come across downspouts that go straight underground and do not discharge close to the house. We find the areas where it eventually discharges to and make sure everything in that area will be soaked before, during, and after the cleaning.
Before the roof cleaning begins, the ground guy will make sure the bags are on and everything is completely wet with water. Preparation is a major component when wondering how long the process may take.
Another part of the preparation process is having to move items and furniture out of the way from the cleaning area. This can sometimes add significant time when wondering how long this may take. Typically we will move any items such as patio furniture, pots, flowers, etc far away from the area. Any fragile or breakable items we request the property owner removes prior to the cleaning to avoid any potential liability.
Cleaning and Detachment of Moss and Lichens
Once the area is prepped, our technicians start the cleaning process. The chemicals used during this stage not only eradicate the black streaks, or gleocapsa magma, but also target moss and lichens. The black streaks are a form of bacteria, so these are removed almost immediately. The moss and lichens on the other hand, are not so simple.
Upon treatment, these organisms turn white and eventually die. However, complete detachment and removal from the roof can take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks. During this time, nature takes its course as rainwater flushes the dead moss and lichens down through the gutters.
The Role of Rain in Expediting the Detachment Process
While patience is required for the full removal of moss and lichens, rainfall certainly has an impact on speeding up the process. The more rain you receive, the quicker the lichens and moss will be pushed down and out of your gutters.
Nature’s gentle cleansing act aids in the swift removal of these unwanted organisms, leaving your roof spotless. Rain is far more safer for your roof then deciding to hop up there and get everything down with a pressure washer. It may take some time but it is the best method for removal. The lichens and moss did not appear up there overnight, and they will not be removed overnight. Patience is the key here.
Conclusion For How Long A Roof Cleaning Takes
Roof cleaning is an essential aspect of home maintenance that should not be disregarded. By understanding the process, including how long it takes for black streaks, moss, and lichens to detach from your roof, you can better plan for this necessary maintenance task.
The actual job typically takes anywhere from 2-6 hours. How long the whole process takes if there were any lichens or moss present during the cleaning can vary. Again, usually these will come down between 2 and 8 weeks time; a couple good hard rains will speed this part up.
Whenever we perform a roof cleaning, we make a note afterwards to follow up roughly a month down the road. If after 6-8 weeks and we still notice the dead lichens and moss have not come down, we can take a very low pressure wash to the roof and complete the process. Although rare, sometimes it is needed for extremely infected roofs.
At Vista Pro, we use low-pressure soft washing methods to safeguard your property as we restore your roof’s natural appearance. Remember, a clean roof not only enhances your home’s aesthetic appeal but also prolongs its lifespan. This can save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
If your roof is looking dirty, book with us today so we can have it looking new as soon as possible. Utilize our online booking software by clicking the INSTANT ONLINE QUOTE above or simply give us a call and we will handle the rest.
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We proudly service all of Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Milwaukee, and Washington Counties. Also, if you are just outside the area please let us know. Usually we can accommodate.
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proud to service all commercial and residential pressure washing properties in Milwaukee and Sheboygan areas