Roof Cleaning in Clinton Township

Roof streaking follows the shade map of the township. The north slopes of the colonials between 16 Mile and 18 Mile, under trees planted when the subdivisions went in, streak first and worst. Ranch roofs near Gratiot Avenue and Harper Avenue, lower and older, often carry moss along the north eave where the gutter shade keeps the shingles damp. The newer roofs north of 18 Mile are just reaching the age where the first streaks appear on whichever slope faces the neighbor's maple.

The streaks are a bacterium that feeds on the limestone filler in asphalt shingles, and it spreads downslope with every rain. Moss is worse for the roof: it wicks water under the shingle edges and lifts them, which is how a roof that could have lasted twenty-five years starts losing granules at eighteen. Neither is a cosmetic problem, and both are far cheaper to treat than to reroof.

Our treatment is a soft-wash solution mixed for roofing, applied from the eave or the ladder line at low pressure, and left to work. The streaks die within hours and fade over the next few weeks of rain; moss dies, dries and sheds on its own. No pressure touches the shingles, because pressure strips the granules that are the roof's weather layer, and most shingle warranties say so. Gutters are protected during the work, downspouts are flushed after, and runoff is managed away from the lawn and beds.

The Mistake That Voids Warranties

Pressure washing a shingle roof strips the mineral granules that shed sun and rain, and it does so in stripes that show from the street and age the roof by years in one afternoon. Shingle manufacturers name it as a warranty exclusion. The second mistake is scraping moss by hand, which tears the shingle edges the moss was already lifting. The third is treating a roof that needed a roofer, which is why the assessment comes first and is free.

Timing It Right

Any frost-free month works, and the dead streaks fade fastest during a rainy stretch, so spring and early fall show results quickest. Township homes heading to market book roof treatment a few weeks before listing photos, since a streaked roof reads as an old roof in a listing even when it has a decade left. Pairing the roof with a house wash in one visit shares the setup cost.