How To Clean a Roof – DIY Style

It’s been a long weekend but you finally have your driveway and all your concrete flat surfaces clean for Summer. Everything is looking great until you look up and see a roof covered in black streaks. How do you get your roof cleaned without having to hire a professional roof cleaning company to come out and clean it? We’re here to walk you through those steps so you can get your roof cleaned just like your driveway and the rest of your concrete. Before any DIY project, especially getting on a roof, please make sure safety is your #1 priority. If at any moment during the process you feel uncomfortable, stop, and call a licensed roof cleaning professional to complete the job. Your safety is more valuable than any clean roof.

Let’s Get Started With Your Roof Clean!

The following DIY roof cleaning instructions are for both asphalt shingle and tile roofs. While you can use these processes for cleaning metal roofs, we highly recommend hiring a professional as metal roofs are very dangerous to walk on especially when wet. 

Items Needed For Your DIY Roof Cleaning Project:

1. 1 or 2 Gallon Pump Sprayer | Like this one
   • We recommend a 1-gallon sprayer as the weight of a filled 2-gallon sprayer can make it dangerous while walking on the roof.
2. Ladder
• A ladder will be needed to order to access the roof. 
3. Pool Chlorine | 10% Pool Chlorine
• We recommend using a 10% strength as cleans better than ordinary household bleach.
4. Dish Soap
• Ordinary household dish soap
5. Water Hose
• Access to a water hose with a good flow is critical. This will be used to rinse the roof afterward as well as protecting your plants and grass during the cleaning process

Make Your Roof Cleaning Solution

In the pump sprayer, create a 50/50 mix of water and 10% pool chlorine. Add a tablespoon of dish soap. This will help the solution to stick to your roof giving it time to kill the algae. 

Start The Cleaning Process

1. Before you begin cleaning, you must pre-soak your grass and landscaping with water. If you have gutters, be sure to soak the areas where the downspouts discharge. Pre-soaking helps ensure no plants absorb your roof cleaning solution. 
2. Apply the roof cleaning solution: Using your pump sprayer and working in sections, start applying the solution to your roof. It’s recommended to start at the bottom of the roof and work your way up. After applying to a section of the roof, use your water hose to spray the plants and grass again. This ensures no overspray from your roof cleaning solution got on the plants.
3. Continue this process until the entire roof has been coated with the roof cleaning solution.
4. Wait 30 minutes
5. Using a garden hose, give your roof a good rinse to remove the layer of dead algae and solution. Mother nature will come through and clean up the rest. 

Your roof is now clean and clear of any nasty algae and bacteria. If at any point you feel uncomfortable accessing your roof, please call a roof cleaning professional to complete the job.