Cleaning asphalt shingles is an important part of protecting your roof.
Pwer washing asphalt shingel roofs.
1 to 3 cups white distilled vinegar 2 gallons of water.
Power washing a composition roof will remove the protective granular from the outer layer of the shingles leaving the shingles less protected from the sun and other harsh weather conditions.
While an occasional cleaning might not harm your roof repeated use of harsh chemicals or the erosive effects of pressure washing can damage or shorten the life of asphalt shingles.
You should never allow anyone who utilizes a power washer to clean your roof as they are damaging the shingles themselves by using this type of excessive pressure.
It will also leave gouge marks in the lower layers leaving them more vulnerable to the elements.
How to pressure wash roof shingles.
Your roof is easily damaged with hard shoes.
Fill your low pressure agricultural sprayer with a specialized asphalt cleaning agent.
These granules are what enable your roof to protect your home from the elements like rain wind and sun.
One part of proper roof maintenance is cleaning the shingles which you can do yourself in less than an hour.
This is the least aggressive way to clean the roof of moss and lichens.
This is not without some merit however as we have seen many roofs severely damaged from pressure washing and air cleaning.
The damage caused by pressure washing is not immediately noticeable.
Pick a cool overcast day so the cleaning solution doesn t dry too fast.
Utilizing excessive pressure to clean or rinse a roof will shorten the shingle life dramatically.
There are several products on the market specifically designed to remove algae stains from roofs such as wet forget outdoor.
To stay safe suit up in long sleeves pants and safety goggles.
This is not a quick process and can take up to 90 days.
Attach a 35 degree spray wand to the pressure washer hose and fill the pressure washer with a recommended cleaning solution.
Pressure washing strips the granules from asphalt shingles.
For extra cleaning power mix in a non ammonia heavy cleaner like tsp.
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When done right a low pressure washing of a composition roof should produce no more granule loss than a normal rain cycle.
Put on shoes with soft non slip soles.
Then mix standard laundry bleach with water.
For any of these homemade options you ll want to wet down the roof with plain water first then apply the cleanser and let it sit.
The rains will slowly wash away the decaying growths.
This method of chemical cleaning is what we call soft washing.
Therefore it strips away years of your roof s lifespan.