No. Pressure washing can strip granules, force water under your shingles and possibly void your warranty.
When it comes to whether or not you should pressure wash your roof, the question becomes more than just sprucing up your home’s exterior or getting off some of the stains, mildew, or debris that has grown or built up.
It’s also about safety and the potential damage you could accidentally inflict if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Roofing companies like Steele Roofing, a local roofing company in East Texas, have seen the same scenario time and again: a well-meaning homeowner owns or rents a power washer and decides that the roof could also use a cleaning.
Unfortunately, most pressure washers are too powerful for roofing materials and can cause a range of damage that becomes expensive if it goes unnoticed. A roof leak caused by a pressure washer could even lead to the necessity of a roof replacement if it gets bad enough.
Why Pressure Washing Can Damage Your Roof
Anyone who’s ever used a pressure washer knows how powerful they can be. There’s a reason these pressurized hoses are used for cleaning everything from siding to driveways. They do a great job removing stains and even long-term dirt and grime buildup.
It’s also for this reason a pressure washer isn’t a good option for roof cleaning. That powerful washer can damage your shingles, tiles, create cracks, and damage the seals around chimneys, windows, and skylights, which then cause costly leaks. These leaks can lead to stains on the walls and ceiling which can be expensive to fix.
There’s also the issue of roofing safety. Getting up on the roof can be dangerous enough—especially if you’re not sure of yourself or afraid of heights—but this is especially true when you add the element of water, which then makes the situation even more hazardous because everything has just become wet and slippery.
Read more about DIY roofing repairs vs. hiring a professional roofer.
How to Clean Your Roof Safely Without a Pressure Washer
If you’re determined to clean up your roof gutters and roof shingles yourself, here are a few “roof maintenance tips” to help get your roof clean and keep you safe:
- Before cleaning, make sure you remove any debris such as leaves, sticks, and pine needles that have accumulated over time. This detritus can cause roof damage if left to deteriorate. Clogged gutters can cause roof leaks, as can debris left to molder on the roof shingles for too long. Mold, mildew, algae, and lichen can start to grow, all of which damage roofing materials.
- Instead of a high power pressure washer, use a garden hose, soap, and a scrubber to clean your roofing materials.
The Benefits of Professional Roof Maintenance
Hands down the best thing you can do for your roof is to have a professional local roofer do seasonal roof preparation and perform regular professional roof inspections.
Having a trusted East Texas roofing company on call can make all the difference when it comes to everything from plan-ahead preventative roof maintenance to handling all the different aspects of roof damage repair after a big East Texas storm.
In places like East Texas that are prone to damaging storms it pays to have an experienced and trusted East Texas roofing contractor on call in case you need emergency roof tarping, emergency roof repair, storm restoration services, or a storm damage roof inspection for insurance purposes.
How Often Should You Clean Your Roof?
This depends on the location of your home as well as environmental factors such as how much sun your roof is exposed to. Shaded roofs have a tendency to need cleaning more often because mold, mildew, algae, lichen, etc. are more likely to grow in damp, shady environments. East Texas is a humid environment, which leads to more growth of lichen, mildew, etc. than areas that have dryer weather.
If you live near an industrial area, a major highway, or a construction site, your roof might get dirtier more quickly and need more regular maintenance from a local East Texas roofer.
Check Your Roof’s Warranty Before Cleaning
Do you have a warranty on your roof? Whether it’s a commercial roof or a residential roof, you need to know if you have a warranty and if so, you need to know whether pressure washing will void your roof’s warranty. If you’re unsure, it’s important to find out: definitely a “better safe than sorry” situation, as losing a warranty for your whole roof because you accidently power washed it won’t go down well.
The Safest Way to Clean Your Roof
When it comes to whether you should pressure wash your roof, the safe answer is, “No.”
If you want a quick DIY roof clean (remember safety precautions!) you can get debris off your roof with a leaf blower, and a hose and mild cleaner will take care of some of the algae, mildew, etc.
If you want your roof to look like it was professionally cleaned, then it’s a good idea to contact a local professional East Texas roofer and hire them to clean your roof in a way that won’t damage your shingles or create leaks.
