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Service takes cleaning to new heights.
By Frank Konkel • Daily Press & Argus • April 19, 2010

A Livingston County businessman has started a service that removes unsightly, unhealthy and potentially expensive algae from roofs.
 

Bob Geroux, a licensed builder and founder of RWG Inc., created a

new division in his Howell-based company called UglyShingles.com

that focuses on removing a limestone-eating algae called:
Gloeocapsa Magma.
 

The algae, a cyanobacteria typically close to black in color, is

prevalent on many southern Michigan homes and feeds on the limestone used to weigh down fiberglass shingles.

If left unchecked, Geroux said, the algae can gradually eat through shingles and force a homeowner to replace his or her roof.

“The algae is getting to be quite an epidemic,” Geroux said. The cyanobacteria is spread through bacterial spores, sometimes

through the air, and often transmitted directly by birds and other
animals.

“There aren’t many people out there cleaning it, but we look to

provide a cost-effective service that can save homeowners thousands of dollars ... and their roofs.”
 

Geroux started offering the service in part because of Michigan’s declining economy.

When people are trying to save money, Geroux said replacing roofs only becomes a high priority in the case of extreme damage. Geroux said cleaning roofs can help them to last longer, and ultimately save customers a few bucks in the process.
 

“Not many people were out there, cleaning roofs,” Geroux said. “We researched and realized you can clean them and help customers save money. So many people have this problem but they don’t realize there’s a quick, safe, effective fix for it.”
 

Geroux’s business uses a mixture of household, nontoxic chemicals to remove the algae, without the use of a pressure washer, which he said washes away granules.
 

"Washing away granules is basically washing away your warranty,” Geroux said.
 

UglyShingles.com serves homeowners in Livingston, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. For more information, call (888) 742-5794 or visit www.uglyshingles.com
 

Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Frank Konkel at
(517) 552-2835 or at fkonkel@gannett. com.