The Roof Cleaning Institute Of America Training & Certification Forum
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There are several roof cleaning methods available, but before going ahead and using one of these methods, know this: repeated roof cleaning can put stress on your roof and even shorten the life of your roof. By equipping yourself with enough information, you can avoid damaging your property unnecessarily, not to mention spare yourself of repair costs and having to replace your roof. A top quality roof, if maintained properly, has a life expectancy of at least 30 years.The three Ways to Clean Your Roof: There are three methods commonly used to clean roofs: 
pressure washing, chlorine bleach washing and sodium hydroxide washing. Each of these roof cleaning methods has its advantages and disadvantages. If done correctly, these roof cleaning methods can effectively clean roofs without causing significant adverse effect. However, these roof cleaning method need to be done every 6 to 18 months to keep the roof clean. This frequent washing can wear out the roof and shorten its life.

Chlorine Bleach Solution Washes: Compared with the other two roof cleaning methods, chlorine bleach solution washing involves less rinsing. This makes the process of cleaning a roof relatively shorter. Because the roof is cleaned fast, it becomes less vulnerable to wear and tear. Chlorine, however, is toxic to plants and to some individuals. Thus, if you go with this roof cleaning method, make sure that you take the necessary precautions of carrying out this task. Chlorine bleach cleaning is suitable to asphalt shingle roofs.

Sodium Hydroxide-Based Cleaning: This type of roof cleaning method can be very effective at degreasing roofs. However, this cleaning method takes a much longer time than chlorine bleach washing because the sodium hydroxide needs to be thoroughly rinsed. As a consequence, a roof becomes more at risk for being damaged. A force of 100 psi is enough to wash away the cleaning solution on asphalt shingle roofs, but the force is enough to cause some asphalt granules to get washed away during the rinsing process. Advertisements claim that sodium hydroxide is safe to use, but it can actually be toxic. Thus, make sure that the solution does not run off or come into contact with people, plants and anything in the surrounding area during the application and rinsing process. In addition, sodium hydroxide is corrosive so any residues left can damage the roof, particularly those that are made of asphalt shingles.

Pressure washing is an option only for roofs made either of concrete, metal or barrel tiles. One of the distinct advantages of this method is that it does not require the use of chemicals, which does away with some costs, and which makes it more environment-friendly. This procedure, however, requires more time to perform and may exert more strain than some roofs can handle. Another downside is that it can wash away the thin layer of coloring with which some roof tiles are coated. The natural gray color of the concrete roof begins to show through, requiring the additional task of painting or staining. 


-- Edited by Fara on Friday 31st of December 2010 02:02:56 AM

-- Edited by Fara on Friday 31st of December 2010 08:11:48 PM