If you need info about roof cleaning, according to roofing manufacturer specifications, here are their links and quotes. All say "DO NOT PRESSURE WASH ROOFING"
When your roof forms blackened or green areas, you need a professional roof cleaner that uses (Roofing Manufacturer) approved chlorine based products to kill and remove it and prolong your roofs life, as well as maintain it's warranty. The savings from roof cleaning pays for itself by:
* Making your home more appealing to your friends, relatives, neighbors and prospective buyers, because it will look like your home has a new roof. This will also help you sell the house faster. * True Curb Appeal.
* Making a healthier home by removing bacteria from your environment that could make you sick.
* Adding years to the life to your tile or asphalt shingle roof. We do this by removing gloeocapsa magma from your roof. It is a species of bacteria fungus that feeds upon the limestone filler in asphalt shingle roofs and causes granule loss as it slowly dissolves your asphalt shingles or degrades your tile roof.
* Lowering electric bills by removing the heat absorbing dark, damp bacterial fungus which makes your roof absorb and retain heat.
We are more experienced than any other roof cleaning company in the area. Newer roof cleaning companies are still experimenting and learning, with trial and error on your roof, while Chuck Bergman Roof Cleaning & Pressure Washing has been providing no pressure, damage free, roof cleaning services Since 1991.
Chuck Bergman Roof Cleaning & Pressure Washing kills and removes this roof eating bacteria from your roof with our { Actually, the chemicals and process are not "ours" they are those specified by the manufacturers of roofing products. The manufacturers should know best how to care for their products, we figure.} damage free, soft washing, roof cleaning process. We have been roof cleaning in Charlotte and Sarasota County Florida since 1991 with this method, but we have been pressure cleaning contractors here since 1989.
We can provide you with soft-wash roof cleaning, or pressure wash your house, pool areas, decks, driveways or business, condo exteriors and parking lot cleaning services, that will make your roof, home, condo or business look it's absolute best, while saving you money and on most homes only costing a few hundred dollars to clean a roof and it lasts generally 3-5 years! That is cheap maintenance, especially when compared to the cost of a new roof! Plus consider the payback from roof longevity etc. Or a much faster home / business sale! Northerners may look at an algae infested roof and assume the home needs a new roof, when in actuality, it just needs a gentle cleaning!
It has been estimated that 70% of all roofs replaced, just needed cleaning.
Remove Black Streaks and Roof Stains with a Gentle Soft-Roof-Wash!
Here in S.W. Florida a bacteria named gloeocapsa magma is leaving black streaks and stains on roofs.
This accumulation of bacteria appears on your roof as black streaks or just an overall darkened discoloration, as the bacteria, for self protection, develops it's dark and hard UV-protective outer coating. Experts within the subject area conclude that the bacteria is harmful, if left untreated. The growth holds moisture, causing premature aging, rotting, and/or granule loss. Our roof cleaning process prevents this from happening to your roof. Our Roof Cleaning Procedure
* First we begin watering any plants in the area under the roof line where we will be cleaning. We water continuously , from the beginning of our work to the end. * This protects the plants, causing them to absorb water and not roof cleaning solutions. * As we see fit, we may tarp certain plants as well.
* Then we apply chlorine based roof cleaning solutions approved by the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) as well as all the roofing manufacturers I could find, who state a cleaning method for roofing on their websites. We work with a 12 volt application pump and no pressure is needed or used to accomplish the cleaning. The mixture that the roofing manufacturers specify, kills and disintegrates the bacteria / fungus and makes it disappear immediately.
* New $$$ making ideas have cropped up in recent years, trying to sell the public on "GO GREEN" chemicals. * I have personally tested 2 of these [ Can't name names, but they are like "Bla Bla Bla & Forget" * These do not even suggest that you will see results before a few months go by. * Then, I assume, they hope you "Forget" to return it for a refund!
A pressure washer, surface cleaning machines nor pitch witch is used in our roof cleaning procedure. These are rough and damaging to roofing and will likely void your roofing manufacturer warranty.
Any company that is not applying chlorine based solutions approved by the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) and the manufacturers themselves to clean your roof is not killing the spores of the bacteria that is growing on your roof and is doing you more harm than good. Therefore, often you will see those companies want to set you up for a maintenance contract because they know it will need re-cleaning soon. { Usually every 2 years }
We Do Not Believe Our Customers Should Have To Be Locked Into Maintenance Contracts.
One more benefit of hiring a seasoned professional roof cleaner, who uses the proper chlorine based roof cleaning solutions and knows how to correctly clean your roof, killing and removing the black algae and keeping it away for years.
GAF/ELK is one of America's oldest, most respected, and largest roofing manufacturers.
GAF/ELK's roof cleaning outlines below: What's Growing On Your Roof?
At Chuck Bergman Roof Cleaning we follow the softest method of cleaning specified by the ARMA below: Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association's technical bulletin
The process of composite roof cleaning and tile roof cleaning is the same, with the only difference being the strength of the mix. On neither roof do you ever clean with a pressure washer gun, a surface cleaning machine, or a pressure washer hooked up to a pitch witch. Pressure will destroy your roof. This will void your roof warranty and is not approved by (ARMA) Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association nor by the largest association of roof cleaners in the world. The (RCIA) Roof Cleaners Institute of America. RCIA is home to aprox 2400 professional roof cleaners. Chuck Bergman is one of the roof cleaning instructors there.
Visit my website and go to the Manufacturer Specifics page and read from many manufacturers the proper cleaning agents and application methods they state should be used to clean their warrantied products. All say one thing in common "DO NOT PRESSURE WASH" Also, there is a link showing that you can void your warranty by allowing anyone to apply ANY after-coatings. Fungi-sides, algae-sides, copper, zinc etc. NOT ANYTHING! http://www.bergmanpressurewashing.com/