Roof Cleaning Tips During Spring

Once the winter season is over, the snow starts to melt everywhere. During this time, it would be best to start your spring cleanup routine. The winter season is your shingle’s top enemy. The cleanup and inspection are important especially that your roof had to endure storms and thick layer of snow during the past season. If you are not capable of doing the roof cleaning yourself, you can ask the assistance of commercial roofing professionals. But if you want to do it the DIY way, do the following.  

 

 

Missing Shingles and Flashing 

Inspect your roof for any missing shingle, flashing or damaged chimney. The winter weather could be harsh that’s why you have to do an inspection once it ever. A small check-up will uncover issues with bends in the roof, damaged vents and flashing and missing shingles.  

 

Gutter Damage 

Your roof suffers from heavy snow during the winter season. This will result to gutter damage that will affect the structural integrity of your roof. The debris and leftover fall leaves can also clog the gutters. Before the spring season arrives, inspect the water flow from through the gutter. If you also notice loose nails, fix them to avoid them form preventing the gutters from being intact.  

 

Mold 

Since winter involves snow, moisture is always present. There would always be a possibility that this moisture has penetrated the shingles and flashing. If you notice discolored streaks on your roof, that’s an indication that algae, mold and fungus is present. There are many cleaning solutions that can kill mold, you just have to ask a manufacturer what’s best for the type of roofing you have. If you have shingle roof, avoid power washing because it can cause failure to the shingle.  

 

Moss 

Like mentioned, the growth of moss is also highly possible because of the moisture that winter weather brought. You can solve this by removing leaves and cutting back trees so you allow the sunlight to dry the moisture that sits on the roof. There are products available that can reduce moss, but the chemicals cam cause damages to the plants. Another solution for this is nailing copper strips and nail zinc to the ridgeline, this way you are preventing the moss from growing.  

 

Leaves and Pine Needles 

Few pine needles or leaves are just fine, if they are small in quantity, they can’t cause damage. But if the leaves are accumulated and deep enough to hold moisture, they should be cleaned off. Anything that can trap moisture has the capacity to grow mildew, cause extra weigh to your roof and even block the gutters. You can clean the roof by using a rake or air blower.  

 

Tree Limbs 

Trimming the trees are also important. Once the limbs touch the roof, they can easily scrape over the shingles and loosen their granules. This will result to reduced roof lifespan. There are different techniques of trimming during the spring, make sure you apply them so it’s not only the roof you’re protecting from.