As you drive into your driveway, you can’t help but to notice that your shaded roof has moldy, streaky stains on it. And those unsightly stains instantly crimp your curb appeal.

The good news? A simple roof cleaning can immediately enhance your roof’s appearance. And that means you’re elevating the appeal and thus the value of your home — what’s likely your greatest investment.

The question, how exactly do you go about cleaning roof stains?

Here’s a rundown on how to clean roof stains and therefore bring back your roof’s shine this spring.

Let’s get started!

Select the Right Cleaning Day

One of the first steps for effectively cleaning your roof is to choose the right cleaning day. 

Ideally, you’ll want to perform the cleaning on an overcast or cool day featuring no or little wind. This will help to ensure that the water your spray on the roof will hit your shingles instead of the neighbors’ shingles. Plus, it will allow your cleaning agent to soak into your roof’s colonies of algae without evaporating more quickly than you’d like it to. 

Products to Use

Once you’ve chosen an ideal for cleaning your roof, you’ll need to choose the right cleaning solution. Ideally, you’ll want to clean your roof with a lye, or sodium hydroxide, product.

Lye products generally perform better than chlorine bleach does. In addition, lye is less likely to harm your property’s vegetation, your home’s downspouts, your gutters, or the flashings on a metal roof.

Chlorine, on the other hand, is corrosive, so it can damage your roofing and even lighten its color. In addition, runoff containing bleach can harm plants below. And because chlorine kills only your roof’s top algae layers rather than the underlying algae, your algae problem will persist.

Additional Must-Have Items for Cleaning Roof Stains

Before you attempt to clean your roof, be sure that you have a harness on hand. A full-body harness can protect you from falling in the event that you ever slip while doing the cleaning.

In addition, be sure to have a garden hose and sprayer on hand.

During your cleaning job, you’ll want to spray your cleaning solution onto the roof until its entire surface is saturated. You’ll know that you have achieved this if you begin to see runoff. If certain parts of the roof dry before you are finished, respray these areas.

Finally, rinse off your roof using the garden hose.

If you notice that any areas of your roof are damaged, be sure to contact a roof repair company, like mscroofsystems.com, to fix the issue as soon as possible.

Master How to Clean Roof Stains

When you take pride in your house’s appearance, ugly discoloration on your roof can be an eyesore for you. Fortunately, once you master how to clean roof stains, you can keep your roof looking pristine year round.

Follow the above-listed roof cleaning tips to bring your roof’s original appearance back to life this spring. With the right approach, you can keep your roof looking brand new from one season to the next.