Roof Cleaning Asphalt Shingles

2009-11-24T11:31:00.000-06:00

Algae and mold asphalt shingles damage may appear as black, brown, or gray stains on the asphalt roof shingles.

A lot of the cases for roof stains come from an algae strain called "cyano bacteria gloeocapsa magma" which is very widespread problem on roof shingles and tiles.

Some coloring of the shingles may be due to other factors, such as shingle leakage.

The strain of algae that may be in question, however, feeds on organic crushed limestone that is present in modern day shingles (but not on the much older ones that do not use limestone).

It is possible to find large concentrations of fungus, mold on shingles, and roof mildew growing on roofs almost throughout the country, but especially in those states which have higher levels of moisture in the air.

Fortunately, removing the stain is possible and there are Roof Cleaners available to do such work in most bigger cities and in many smaller ones.

Factors that affect how quickly and how severely these strains appear on the roof include weather and how the roof is maintained, as well as the type of asphalt shingles used.

To reproduce on the roof, the algae needs ideal weather (of heat and moisture) and algae nutritional elements.

Of these factors, shingle mold and algae stains get the required heat from the sun, moisture from rain and dew, and nutrients from the limestone fillers in asphalt shingles.

Because these factors are inevitable, the answer may lay in periodical cleaning of the roof shingles, something which many order from Roof Cleaners on an annual basis, to remove roof mold and algae and return the original curb appeal of the roof.

Asphalt Guide Index

Soft Wash Roof Cleaning St Louis

2009-05-09T09:31:00.004-05:00

Your roof is dirty, you can see black stains,or maybe some other type of fungus. Now the question is “how do I go about cleaning it?” You are not alone, in fact I’m sure that you have noticed the same problem on other roofs in your neighborhood. If you have done any research you will have noticed that the problem is not just in your area. What is it on your roof? The black stains that you see is a form of black algae called glaeocospca magma.

It is a living plant, feeding off of the nutrients in your roof. It generally can only survive on the north facing roofs or on heavily shaded sections of your roof, that is because the ultra violet rays from direct sunshine will kill it, and direct sun light dries out your roof not allowing moisture to congregate. The exact opposite happens on the north facing and shaded sections of your roof.

Algae, Mold, or any fungus needs three things to survive, air, food and water. We discussed the water source being on the north side or under shade, the food source comes from the shingle contents, if you have wood shingles the wood is the obvious food source, if you have asphalt or fiberglass shingles, then the limestone that is used as a thickening agent is the food. Is it damaging my roof? Yes, We have seen moss eat through two layers of shingles right into the wood under layment, black algae is a surface feeder, eating the shingle granules, while spreading over the roof. Just look in your gutter of the infected side, I guarantee it is full of discarded shingle granules. So, yes it can cut a 40 year asphalt or fiberglass shingles life expectancy in half or worse. What can YOU do about it? 3 choices here, clean it yourself, hire a professional non pressure roof cleaning company, or replace it. Let’s examine these three options. Replace it - If you have that kind of money, great! here is the bad news, even though the new fiberglass shingles on the market are algae resistant, buyer beware! Read the shingle warranty.

Roofing Manufacturers only guarantee them for an average of 6 to 10 years, it takes that long before visible signs confirm that black algae is present. If you have the money, and want to buy yourself 6 to 10 years of a clean shingle roof, go for it. Hire a non pressure roof cleaning company - Good choice but who? Mobile ProWash

They are around, usually listed on Google under “roof cleaning St Louis” or “non pressure roof cleaning St Louis”

What to look for in a roof cleaning company is very important.

1. References - who have they made happy?

2. Qualifications and Awards

3. Inquire about their cleaning product, there are a lot of products out there that will clean a roof but if they are heavily chemical laden they will dry out the roof shingle to such a point that a few months down the road on a windy day, shingle pieces will be flying. These product will also stain the face of your home, kill plants and grass, you want them to use something “bio-degradable” that means it will disappear.

4. Portfolio, they should have before and after pictures of jobs that they have done and you should take the time to drive by one of the homes and make sure that they didn’t just download pictures off of the Internet.

5. Do they have Insurance? they should. If they can’t provide those 5 things, move on to the next company. Clean it yourself - Dangerous work, what if you FALL ?. Don’t fall for the “just spray it on and nature will clean it” product sales pitch, it might work but it would be years before it would be clean and you would have to keep reapplying it.

Think about it, IF these products really worked, who would need a roof cleaning company ?

Roof Stain Removal & Cleaning

Roof Cleaning Asphalt Shingles

Soft Wash Roof Cleaning St Louis