Roof Cleaning in Sterling Heights
The black streaks on a Sterling Heights roof are a bacterium eating the limestone in the shingles, and they run thickest on the north slopes of the colonials that went up in the 1980s. We kill it with no pressure at all, the way the shingle manufacturers say to.
Roofs here are mostly asphalt shingle, and mostly on their second or third layer. The 1960s and 1970s ranches have been reroofed at least once, and the roughly 7,800 units added in the 1980s, the colonials around Schoenherr Rd, Hall Rd and the blocks near the old Lakeside Mall, are at or past the age of their first replacement. Whatever the layer, the streaking is the same organism: Gloeocapsa magma, a bacterium living on the limestone filler that shingle makers add, spreading downhill from the ridge in dark bands.
It settles where the roof stays damp. North and east slopes on the maple-lined blocks, roofs near Dodge Park, Clinton River Park and the river corridor, and any slope under a neighbor's tree carry it worst, while the sun-baked roofs on the blocks that lost their ash trees show less of it and lose granules to heat instead. The streaks are not only cosmetic. The bacterial mat holds moisture against the shingle, the shingle sheds granules faster, and the roof's working life gets shorter.
The treatment is a soft wash: a solution applied at low pressure, left to kill the growth, and rinsed or, on heavy staining, left for rain to carry off over the following weeks. No pressure washer touches an asphalt roof, because pressure strips granules and voids the warranty. Roof treatment starts at $450, and the crew that does it is the same crew that washes the siding below, so both can happen on one visit.
Treating the Roof Without Pressure
The crew inspects the roof from the ladder and from the ground, checks for loose shingles, exposed nails and soft decking, and protects the gutters, downspouts and landscaping before anything is applied. The solution goes on from the eave upward at low pressure and dwells while the organism dies, with the crew watching the runoff. Light staining often disappears the same day; heavy, established streaks die immediately and fade over several weeks of rain, which we explain before starting. Gutters are flushed at the end so no solution sits in them. Most roofs take two to three hours.
Pressure on a Roof Is the Damage
A pressure washer on asphalt shingles strips the granules that protect the asphalt, lifts tabs, drives water under the laps and voids the manufacturer's warranty in one afternoon. The roof looks clean for the summer and ages five years by the next one. The second mistake is a solution too weak to kill the bacterium, which brightens the streaks and leaves them to return. Our roofs get the manufacturer-endorsed method every time, and the crew never walks a roof it does not need to.
Timing It Right
May through September, on a dry day with a dry day behind it. The streaks are easiest to see and treat once the roof has warmed, and treating in late spring gives the summer rain time to rinse heavy staining before fall listings. Roofs near the river and under the maples should be looked at every three to four years.
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Roof Cleaning in Sterling Heights: FAQs
What does roof cleaning cost in Sterling Heights?
From $450 for a typical ranch or colonial, with steep pitches, multiple stories and heavy lichen quoted higher. Bundling with the house wash and gutters on one trip lowers the combined figure. The treatment holds three to five years on a sunny roof and three to four on the shaded slopes near Dodge Park and the river.
Will the treatment void my shingle warranty?
No. Low-pressure chemical application is the method shingle manufacturers endorse; pressure washing is what voids the warranty. A roof power wash is not something to accept on asphalt. If a roofer told you the streaks are age, they are Gloeocapsa magma, and treated roofs keep their granules longer than untreated ones.
Why is my roof streaked when my neighbor's across the street is clean?
Orientation and shade. Your north slope faces the street on one side and theirs faces the back, or your lot kept its maple and theirs lost its ash. The bacterium needs moisture, so the slope that dries last streaks first. On the open-grid blocks with no street trees the roofs stay cleaner and fade in the sun instead.
Is the runoff safe for my gutters, siding and plants?
Yes. Gutters and downspouts are flushed at the end so the solution does not sit in aluminum, the siding below gets rinsed, and the landscaping is wet down before and after. The solution is the same family we use on siding, diluted for the roof. We have treated roofs across Sterling Heights, Utica and Shelby Township this way.
More in Sterling Heights
Deeper reading: What Are Those Black Streaks on My Roof? (And Why You Shouldn't Ignore Them) and Is Power Washing Bad for Your House? Only When It's Done Wrong.
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