An Introduction to Roof Cleaning – A Few Pointers

Are you ready to learn about the dynamic duo of home maintenance? Get ready to discover why roof cleaning and gutter cleaning are an unstoppable team! 

Protecting homes from the UK climate is essential. Constant showers, overcast days, and shade from big trees make the perfect recipe for moss to thrive in. Roof moss, when left untreated, can cause extensive tile damage, blocking water from draining from the roof and causing it to build up. Over time, it is more likely to lead to leaks and floods in the home. 

It’s not only the roof at risk. Roof moss can also become dislodged, rolling off the roof into the gutters and building into a blockage. Once the gutter is blocked, water starts to overflow and runs down the walls, causing expensive damp problems in the future. But fear not! By adding roof cleaning to your business, you can help protect your customers' homes and grow your business at the same time. 

As you add external services to your cleaning business, you'll start to receive requests from customers for roof cleaning.  This is a great opportunity to expand your business and provide more value to your customers. With some product research and practice, you can create a system for tackling roof cleaning. 

With all jobs, you gain experience and tweak things as you progress. So here are a few tips from our resident cleaning pro, Richard Marshall, to help you on your way if you’re considering adding roof cleaning to your business.

Survey & Quote   

1. Use an inspection camera or SurveyCam to check the roof for broken tiles, especially around valleys, windows, or flashing. Highlight any defects to your customer- some tiles or slates can become brittle over time and work loose. 
2. Use a telescopic pole to check where you can reach and clean from the ground and where you will need a tower to access different aspects of the roof. 
3. Check the profile of the tiles to ensure you have the correct Skyscraper Blade.
4. When submitting my quote, I always put the caveat “Quote is subject to Investigation” This was to protect myself as you never know what you might find when you remove the moss. 
5. Don’t forget to include clearing the gutters as part of your quote.

Cleaning Process

1. Place sheeting on the ground around the area to be cleaned. Then, use a tennis ball or something similar to cover the downpipe to stop moss from falling down the downpipe, avoiding unnecessary blockages.
2. Using the Skyscraper and telescopic pole with the appropriate blade, start at the top of the roof and scrape the moss downwards, ready for collection or allow it to drop to the ground.
3. Using the Skysweeper or the new Speedi Brushes, sweep any remaining debris downwards as before. Also, with the new skyScraper Double Head, you can have two of your preferred end tools are the ready at the same time!
4. For Any stubborn marks or moss remaining on the edges, nooks, and crannies, I would then use the Skyscraper Wire Brush- the carbon steel bristles come in short (30mm) or long (45mm).
5. Clean all the gutters using your skyVac. I had the Mighty Atom and Industrial 85. (TOP TIP: Don’t forget to remove your Tennis Balls from the downpipes!)

If required, and for finishing touches, I would sometimes vacuum any minor dust using the skyVac. With the customer’s permission, the team would then dispose of the moss in the customer’s Green Recycling bin, sweep and tidy up. 

Now I hear some of you asking, “But how much did you charge?” 

For me, there’s no right or wrong in how you price a job as this depends on many factors- location, difficulty of the job, your target market, etc. Some people price according to the area or how long they think the job will take. If you’re going to price according to the area, (Per Square Metre) here’s one tip for you: 

Work out how many tiles cover a square meter, then count the tiles on the roof vertically and horizontally to calculate the total amount of tiles and the total area. You can then price accordingly. Don’t forget to add any additional costs, such as towers or scaffolding.