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Angie Hicks, Angie’s List founder: “When talking to potential companies about cleaning your roof, things you want to be careful of are anyone that considers pressure washing or abrasive detergents in order to clean the roof because they could potentially damage your roof or void your warranty.”

Michael Spiczenski, Indiana Roof and Exterior Cleaning:  “Roof cleaning is important for a lot of different reasons. Some of the reasons are …one, curb appeal-- they just don’t like how their home looks-- the black streaking on the roof, or the moss and mold that is on there, take away from the beauty of the home itself. Another reason for roof cleaning is the black streaking algae, mold, moss … are destroying your shingles.  We use a solution that we put on the roof.  It’s called a soft wash, we spray it from the gutter line and we have [an] air compressor on our truck which runs the pumps that we utilize.  They are called off low pumps.  We are able to shoot 50 feet from the ladder on the roof itself.  Roof cleaning is a lot more affordable then what people think. Generally speaking, I’m usually asked what is the cost of roof cleaning, and I tell people it’s anywhere between 3-5% of overall replacement costs.”

Angie’s List Tips:

Roof cleaning:

Avoid pressure washing and abrasives

Pros use a soft wash solution

How it adds up:

Degree of problem

+Roof size

+Roof pitch

+Roof height

= Total cost of cleaning

Check Angie’s List for local reviews on roof cleaners