How To Clean Slate Roof Shingles

The day you perform deep cleaning on the shingles should be cool and overcast.

How to clean slate roof shingles.

Punch a hole into shingle from the back. Start at the lower portion of the roof moving up as you clean each lower section. In addition choose a day with little wind so that when you spray the solution it stays on your roof 1 x research sourcestep 2 perform maintenance on your roof. The trick to doing this successfully is applying the solution with a garden type sprayer and letting it sit and reapply and reapply and reapply.

Use the sprayer to saturate a strip 3 feet high x 10 feet wide. That way you always stand on dry surface and reduce the chance of slipping. When cleaning a slate roof don t use chemicals like ammonia or chlorine bleach. The goal when cleaning a slate roof is to soften and loosen the undesirable buildup.

Step 1 choose a cool and overcast day. Slide the replacement shingle into place. Regular roof cleaning is critical for your roof as slate is easy to cleave and water absorbent. A vinyl leaf rake can clean harder to reach spots.

Step 2 replacing the shingles. Use heavy rubber gloves to scoop up material in areas you can safely reach. Asphalt shingles are easy to install last anywhere from 10 to 50 years depending on the type and are less expensive than other roofing materials such as slate tile and metal. Before you begin it s important to repair loose shingles and flashings to minimize roof damage.

No pressure washers please. Before applying the cleaner spray the roof with water to cool it down. Wait about 20 minutes then rinse. Spray the cleaner on a section of roof and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

That ll prevent the cleaner from drying out too quickly. Then spray the cleaner onto the shingles photo 1. Buildup of moss and debris on slate roofs hold moisture in the slates that can split them during winter. Limit cleaning to removing organic debris and delaminated slate flakes from valleys snow guards gutters and the area behind the chimney.

Sunlight and warm weather will ensure the cleaning solution dries too fast to be of any use. You want to keep it wet once you ve begun. Hook the nails and pull them out. The less expensive solution is to spray wash the roof with a 50 percent mix of water and bleach to get rid of the algae.

If a slate shingle needs to be replaced use the slate ripper a 2 foot piece of cast steel that includes a blade and a hook for the removal of slate nails and broken shingles. They re likely to damage the shingles just be sure to wet your foundation plantings first and rinse everything in clean water when you re done.