Roof Cleaning in Austin
LoveRain Roofing uses commercial-grade equipment to remove all debris from your roof, gutters, and downspouts in a safe and efficient manner. Annual spray treatment and maintenance of all surfaces will improve water flow and keep your roof, gutters, and downspouts cleaner in between treatments.
What is Soft Wash Roof Cleaning?
Soft Wash is a gentle way to clean and disinfect your home’s exterior disinfecting surfaces without causing any damage. LoveRain Soft Wash uses a low-pressure system to apply a biodegradable water-based cleaning solution that kills and removes the Mold, Mildew, and Algae infestation on your home’s exterior. The results are immediately noticeable giving your home “Curb Appeal” and the peace of mind your home’s exterior is well maintained and properly cleaned.
The black streaks that you’re seeing on your roof are called Gloeocapsa Magma, aka (roof algae), and it feeds on the limestone that is embedded in your shingles. This is very destructive to the shingle’s structural integrity. Roof algae are alive and living and it spends its entire life feeding on your roof and eventually infesting the entire roof. At this point, it is only a matter of time for your roof’s integrity to fail. Typically, on an untreated 25-year shingle, you only get 15 to 18 years of protection. Over the years I have been witness to hundreds of roofs that have prematurely failed due to Gloeocapsa Magma. Gloeocapsa Magma has many different vessels it uses to disseminate itself. Such vessels include squirrels, birds, and the wind. There really is no way to stop it from spreading. The best thing you can do is treat it.
Gloeocapsa Magma (roof algae)
Gloeocapsa Magma (roof algae) is the most common type of algae on roofs today. Please allow me to get right to the facts: Gloeocapsa Magma spreads through airborne spores. It embeds itself deep in the granules and FEEDS on the limestone in the shingle. This cuts the life of the roof considerably. By not treating this infestation the roof will fail prematurely costing thousands. By treating the roof, you can put years of life back into your roof. An average roof runs about $300 to $600 dollars to treat. The average roof replacement is $4000 to $10.000. Here is another fact, 50% of the roofs are replaced due to the way they look, not the structural integrity of the shingles.
Lichen and Moss Removal
Lichen and Moss are also commonly found on roofs. This too will cause failure to the roof if untreated. Lichens are the hardest to remove safely. Lichen roots run deeper in the shingle than moss. They take a lot longer to release from the shingle as where moss only takes a few days to release. Moss is the worst one you can have on your roof due to the fact that it holds a lot of moisture against your roof and likes to grow on the edges of the shingle causing them to lift. This makes the roof vulnerable to wind damage. When treated, lichen and moss will start to turn colors, eventually turning black or white indicates that the fungus is dead. Once they are dead they will release their hold on the surface. Depending on the amount of rainfall will determine the amount of time this fungus stays on the roof. Rain will eventually wash it all away. I tell all my customers when dealing with lichen and moss you have to be patient – and never use a presser washer on the roof.
Treating you roof is by far the best bang for your buck. By treating your asphalt shingles, you are insuring the full life of your roof and saving thousands. Do the math. An average roof cleaning cost approximately $400.00. Cost of replacing your roof can cost you between $5,000 and $10,000. This is by far the best return on your money when maintaining your home and puts equity back into it. I’ve had some appraisers tell me in some cases that cleaning your roof by a certified roof cleaner raised the equity of your home 4000 to 6000 dollars.
Soft Wash Benefits
- No pressure damage – No harmful, high impact cleaning to your home
- Long-Lasting – lasts 4-6 times longer than pressure washing
- Safe for Landscape
- We Protect all Living Elements
- Environmentally Friendly
- Safe for Children & Pets
- Amazing Results – Treats the infestation causing stains immediately
Another important issue I would like to address about roof cleaning is the methods by which it is done. Roof cleaning should follow the recommendations of the shingles manufacturers. Here are some links to the Shingles Manufactures. These methods should be practiced by all certified roof cleaners. Another issue I would like to talk to you about is the usage of a power-washer/pressure washer on your roof. I can’t emphasize how much damage this can cause to your asphalt shingle roof. Power washing your roof decreases the life of the roof considerably and voids out all your warranty. Typically, if someone tells you that they use low pressure on your roof, but they use a standard power washer. They are not certified roof cleaners and don’t know what they are doing. They will do more harm than good. It very much concerns me that there still are guys out there using power washers on roofs. These guys are giving roof cleaners a bad name in the business.
Pressure washing is not recommended because it will remove a large amount of the ceramic-coated granules from your shingles, which will void the warranty. Even low pressure will cause granule loss and shorten the life of your shingles. If you have ever cleaned out the inside of your gutters you will notice granules in them just from the rain taking them off. Think about what any additional pressure would do to your roof.
For instance, you see someone cleaning a roof with so-called “low” pressure and biodegradable chemicals and it appears they have done a good job just because the streaks and discoloration are gone, but guess what? So is a large amount of the protective ceramic coated granules which insures the shingle’s warranty. The roof will no longer have the original 20-30 year warranty the customer paid for. Thousands of dollars are spent each year replacing and repairing damage caused by under-skilled operators and companies who over-sold their knowledge and capabilities.
Depending on how corrosive the product they were using and the amount of pressure was applied to the shingles, a 20-30 year warranty roof may only have enough ceramic-coated granules to last 5-15 years. There is no telling how much damage they have done until 5-15 years later the roof has deteriorated prematurely and must be replaced MUCH MUCH sooner than it should have. Make sure your roof’s warranty will not be compromised by hiring a Certified Roof Cleaner who really knows what they are doing, has references, the proper documents from the RCIA, ARCA, and the Shingle manufacturers PROVE it.
Always use a ‘chemical only’ cleaning process for your roof. Roof cleaning is a completely different trade from pressure washing requiring different pumps, plumbing, hoses, nozzles, valves, chemicals, caution, knowledge, experience, skill, and insurance. The Certified RCIA roof cleaners and American Roof Cleaners Association have all of the necessary tools and have learned from the best roof cleaning professionals in the country. Make sure you know what kinds of chemicals are being applied to your property.
1. Do not accept “it’s biodegradable” for an answer.
Even uranium is biodegradable for over 50,000 years or so. Because many “competitors” lack our roof cleaning equipment, knowledge, training, and experience, they sometimes apply a dangerously strong chemical solution. Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide will dissolve the asphalt and tar on your roof, shortening the life of your shingles and voiding the roof’s warranty. Even sodium metasilicate is too corrosive. Products containing sodium percarbonate (oxygenated bleach) are ineffective and will not remove streaks without pressure.
2. Do not accept “we use low pressure” for an answer.
What exactly do they mean by low pressure? 500-1000psi is too much and will blast off too many granules. Any more pressure than 100psi is excessive.
If the company you are asking whether or not they use a pressure washer and they say, “Yes, but it’s very low-low pressure” It’s only 500-1000psi and it won’t damage your roof. We can not stress enough to all homeowners who have asphalt shingle roofs to avoid hiring companies who use any pressure at all. A chemical-only, NO pressure system is the best, safest, most efficient, longest-lasting way to go.
Roof cleaning companies that “low” pressure wash roofs may have not had any complaints from the BBB for years, but it’s only a matter of time when one of the roofs they have pressure washed will have to be replaced much sooner than the warranty expires. A more attractive lower price will actually be more expensive in the long run.
Concerned about your plants, pets, and landscaping?
We only spray the roof, not your plants. We always bag the ends of your downspouts, collect all the chemical run-off from the roof and dispose of them away from your landscaping. If the roof does not have gutters we will thoroughly dilute the roof cleaning chemical down to safe levels by spraying the landscaping with water before, during, and after applying the chemical. After the chemical biodegrades and evaporates from the roof, the dried crystals and surfactant act as a roof treatment to keep the roof cleaner longer as it rains.
The rain actually does a better job of rinsing than if you tried to rinse it yourself because the rain is slightly acidic with of PH of 5.6. Our roof cleaning chemical has a PH of 11 and most city water supplies have a PH of 8. The rain helps reactivate the chemical at a lower ph, which gives the roof a secondary cleaning, neutralizes the chemicals better, and aids in disinfecting the mold and mildew embedded in the shingles even further. The rain does a much more thorough job, giving your roof a much longer-lasting cleaning.
