While Oregon is an incredibly amazing State to live in and enjoy, there are some disadvantages that we get to experience as well. If you are reading this, then you are probably already familiar with the moss, lichen and black staining that occurs on many roofs in the greater Northwest. This phenomenon is called Gloeocapsa Magma, an algae-based bacterium that grows across your roof from spores that can travel a number of ways from roof to roof. This bacterium grows and thrives at a rapid rate because of our climate and causes a number of problems for homeowners like yourself.

While many shingles being manufactured nowadays have a manufacturer’s warranty of about 20 years, we are seeing an average replacement time of only 12 years. That’s nearly half the lifespan that was meant to be! This need for more rapid replacement is largely due to the fact that the roof is not being properly maintained and cleaned. And, while a new roof may be covered by your insurance provider, claims have been recently getting declined in higher numbers because homeowners are failing to keep their roofs properly maintained with regular cleanings.

There is a lot to be said about the aesthetic value from having your roof cleaned. You want your home to look its best. But in addition to beauty, there is a lot that can be said about the financial aspect of roof cleaning, as well. The money that can be saved by sticking to a regular 5-year roof cleaning plan is a crucial aspect to consider.

How We Clean Roofs

Our trained technicians take special care in our roof cleaning process to ensure that every feature of your home, as well as each of our team members, is taken care of and never in jeopardy of being harmed or damaged during the cleaning process.

We will begin the roof cleaning process by wrapping all plants in a plastic wrap or use of tarps to make sure that whatever solutions fall from the roof will never be able to harm them. Additionally, we will coat and saturate, or “flood”, the entire area with water. This helps to dilute any cleaning solutions that might land on the area. While we do our best to prevent as much overspray as possible, sometimes it is inevitable and unavoidable. Because of our pre-saturation and tarping process, any overspray that does land on the ground will roll off the tarps and immediately become watered down to a level where it is impossible to cause any harm to the surrounding plants.

Additionally, while we have a technician applying the cleaning agents, we will have another one on the ground continuously watering all of the plants to take a further step of harm-reduction. This two-man team allows us to keep thorough communication and be in two places at once, preserving both your roof overhead and your landscaping below.

Our cleaning detergent application stands out among others because we are not using old cleaning detergents from a previous job. We take special care to mix and blend the proprietary cleaning agents to a certain strength that is specific for each job. This ensures that we are not only wasting unnecessary chemicals and costing ourselves more money (allowing us to give you a better price), but it means that we are able to get you the highest level of clean that is possible.

The application of our detergents is done from a 12-volt dedicated pump system. The pump we use delivers these solutions at a pressure level that is safe for your roof and will never run you the risk of having a leak, losing shingle granules, or having damage done to the roof’s structure. We run these pumps at 60psi. For those who might not be familiar with psi ratings, this equates to being about half the pressure of rain, or identical to what you might have coming from a sprinkler system.

These solutions rest on top of the roof and soak into the surface, effectively killing the mold right at the base of the spore. We apply a coat to the entire roof, and allow this coat to sit for about 20-30 minutes before going around and spot-treating any areas that we might’ve missed on the initial application.

Once we have applied and reapplied/double-checked the roof cleaning, we will descend from the roof and do a final walk around, cleaning up and doing a final rinse down of the house and all surrounding vegetation. This method of roof cleaning does not show immediate results, but is mandatory to follow ARMA (Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers) guidelines. After the roof is treated, the contaminants are killed within 20 minutes, but we do not and will not force anything off to avoid any possible opportunity for damage. It can take anywhere from a month to six months and sometimes longer to become completely clean and free of growth. Once it’s dead, the moss starts to decay and its root system will begin to release itself from the shingles. Over time, the natural weather cycles begin to do the work by breaking it down from the rain, sun, wind and gravity.