Before Treatment
After Treatment
We can safely and effectively remove any growth from your roof, restoring your homes curb appeal and adding years to the lifespan of your roof.
The black streaks commonly seen on roofs are actually a type of bacteria called Gloeocapsa Magma and if it’s left untreated, it will severely damage your roof, eventually leading to a costly roof replacement.
Let’s answer some questions about Gloeocapsa Magma and other organisms that live on roofs.
“So what causes this stuff to grow on my roof?”
The answer may surprise you. Since around the 1980s, fiberglass/asphalt roofing manufacturers have been mixing limestone in the shingles as a filler material. The limestone allows the shingles to hold more moisture, along with living organisms. This results in a perfect environment with plenty of food for Gloeocapsa Magma, lichens, and mosses to thrive. The Gloeocapsa Magma begins life as one spore that lands on your roof from a nearby tree or a neighbors roof, then begins to multiply and spread. The rain drags the spores down the roof, creating the ugly black streaking appearance on a roof.
“Well what’s so bad about these little organisms living on my roof, they can’t hurt much can they?”
Actually they can! Since they grow on the shingle material, they’re literally eating away at your roof! This causes granule loss from the shingles over time, leading to premature degradation of the roof, which results in a total roof replacement earlier than normal. It’s also a huge eyesore to what may otherwise be a beautiful house, reducing curb appeal, resale value and more.
“So how do we get rid of it?”
Fear not, all of these damaging organisms can be safely treated and removed, preserving the integrity of your roof as well as restoring your homes curb appeal. The process involves spraying a chemical solution containing chlorine and soaps onto your roof via low pressure. This part is important. The amount of water pressure used on a roof should be as little as possible, so as to avoid damaging the roof. Some contractors may opt to use extremely high pressure from a pressure washer to clean your roof or even manual scrubbing of the roof with brushes. This is not good practice and will surely damage the shingles. Our system uses less pressure than a typical garden hose, so there will be no damage done to any roofs we clean. You’ll sleep well at night knowing that you have saved money in the long run by extending the life of your roof as much as possible.
“Won’t the bleach hurt my plants and lawn?”
Sodium hypochlorite. That’s the name of the active ingredient most commonly used to safely clean houses and roofs. While it can have the potential to cause damage to plants if used irresponsibly, we are very well experienced experts in the handling and application the product, ensuring that no harm will come to any landscaping you may have. When these chemicals are diluted with water, sodium hypochlorite breaks down and becomes totally non-harmful to the environment. You can rest assured that our treatment process and results will speak for themselves, meeting and exceed your expectations.
“What if I have moss or lichen on my roof?”
If there is any moss or lichen growth present on a roof, our treatment process remains very similar. Frequently when moss is present, so are leaves, pine needles, sticks and other debris. If necessary, we remove the majority of this debris prior to chemical treatment. This ensures that the chemical can effectively reach the roof surface. The biggest difference in treating heavier growth like moss, is time that it takes to achieve the final result. While the black streaks of algae and bacteria (Gloeocapsa Magma) will be completely gone from your roof after the first rain, larger organisms such as moss and lichen have much more developed root structures holding onto the shingles. Since it’s not safe to forcefully remove them without damaging the roof, we have to let mother nature take its course. After treatment, the chemical will immediately kill the moss and prevent any future growth, signified by it turning white. A few weeks later the roots will begin to decompose and release from the roof. Rain will then assist the removal process the rest of the way, washing the dead organisms off the roof. This whole process can take anywhere from a few weeks to 6 months or more depending on how developed the growth was. Some roofs with heavy amounts of growth will require a re-treatment after a few months in order to remove the remaining organisms.
