How to Clean and Maintain Your Roof

How to Clean and Maintain Your Roof; NRCA Responds to a Recent Article about Roof Maintenance Recommendations

“How to clean and maintain your roof,” an article originally posted by Networx.com Jan. 23, provided advice for homeowners regarding how to maintain their roof systems. The article in its entirety is posted below.

http://www.fox4news.com/story/27923333/how-to-clean-and-maintain-your-roof

Contrary to the article, NRCA does not recommend homeowners access or walk on roofs, and property management personnel should only access roofs if they have the experience and proper equipment to do so safely. For typical residential roofs, an inspection can be performed from the ground or a ladder to access the roof system’s edge. A ladder should extend at least 3 feet above the roof line and should be tied off at the roof edge. If an inspection reveals maintenance or repairs are needed, NRCA recommends an experienced roofing contractor be promptly retained to perform the work.

In addition, NRCA does not recommend homeowners remove snow from roofs. A roof covering may be damaged by dragging objects across the roof’s surface. Also, when attempting snow removal from the ground, snow often remains on out-of-reach parts of the roof. If a roof has a history of ice dam formation, removing snow from the roof may relocate ice dams outside of areas along the eave typically protected by an underlayment.

NRCA also does not recommend scrubbing a roof surface to remove moss because scrubbing likely will damage the roof covering. Scrubbing may dislodge granules from the surface of asphalt shingles, erode wood shingles and wood shakes or damage the finish on metal panels. Moss removal should be handled by experienced professionals who can provide references and proof of insurance. Dark roof stains produced by algae are only a cosmetic issue and algae does not “eat your roof” as the article states.

When installing copper or zinc strips, compatibility with existing flashings should be considered. Runoff from copper strips will accelerate corrosion of steel flashings; runoff from zinc will accelerate corrosion of copper flashings.

Finally, a new asphalt shingle roof system will shed granules initially. These granules are loosely held on the surface of shingles and will fall off. This is typically when homeowner may notice a significant amount of granules in gutters or in the driveway, and there is no reason for worry.

NRCA recommends roof system inspections, evaluations and repairs be conducted by a professional roofing contractor. For additional information about roof system maintenance or to find an NRCA member contractor, www.everybodyneedsaroof.com.