How to Clean Roof Tiles

By Liam Ridings
In Blog, Metal Roofing, Renovation

How to Clean Roof Tiles – Your Guide

Roof tiles are essential to protect your home from the extremities, the weather, and rodents. However, roof tiles can only protect your home for as long as they are maintained. Maintenance of your roof tiles should include regular inspections, fast repairs where required, and cleaning.

Cleaning your roof tiles sounds simple enough; however, can be complicated and often dangerous task if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Sydney’s leading roofing experts at Vertec Roofing are here to provide a detailed guide on how to clean roof tiles. We’ll walk you through the three main steps of cleaning your roof tiles, and provide an outline on general roof maintenance. If you’re after long-lasting, pristine, durable roof tiles – read on for our full guide to cleaning roof tiles.

Tile roofing is generally a low-maintenance roofing material. However, regular cleaning and disposal of any leaves, moss, dirt, debris, and moisture build-up are crucial to keep roofing tiles lasting for decades. With regular maintenance, the roof structure stays in its best form and is regular inspected, preventing any roof leaking from occurring.

Without proper knowledge, practice, and equipment, cleaning roof tiles can end up damaging the tiles and the roof structure itself. Furthermore, getting up onto your own roof is dangerous if it’s not something you’ve done before, and should always be occur when you have someone on ground to keep an eye on you. As such, we recommend hiring a roof cleaning company, particularly if you have yet to gain experience working at heights.

If you do have experience working at heights, here’s three tips that you can implement for effectively cleaning roof tiles:

3 steps for cleaning roof tiles

Before cleaning roof tiles yourself, prepare your working area. Working at heights comes with risks. Therefore, make sure to use ladders and other safety gear. Also, be sure to wear comfortable and not too loose-fitting clothes. That way, you can avoid any tripping hazards from your clothes.

Step 1: Remove any debris

Over time, the most common source of damage to tile roofing is the build up of leaves, debris, moisture, and other nasties that can deteriorate the tiles. Using a soft brush or a leave blower on your roof to regularly remove debris means you can minimize the number of big cleans needed on your roof. Climb on the roof with a ladder and safety gear. Additionally, be mindful when walking on the tiles. Too much pressure will damage the tiles and can cause significant damage to your roof structure as well.

Step 2: Use special cleaning products

After all debris have been cleared, it’s time to apply cleaning chemicals. We recommend using specialized roof tile cleaning products to protect your tiles from chemically reacting to specific contents in other cleaners. If you are considering using a pressure cleaner, it is essential to have experience with this equipment. A pressure cleaner is another potential hazard while working at heights.

Step 3: Rinse and dry

The last step is to rinse off all cleaning product and give your roof tiles a good wash. This process ensures the removal of any remaining dirt, debris, and cleaning product. This part of the process is incredibly hazardous as the roof will be slippery – ensure you have someone to man the ground and keep an eye on your movements, or where possible, spray from below.

How to clean roof tiles – what is the best method?

Without a doubt, the best method for cleaning roof tiles is to get it done professionally. A qualified roofing contractor can treat your roof correctly and focus on particularly contaminated or vulnerable areas. As such, your roof will be clean, protected, and last longer – not to mention you won’t be putting yourself at risk.

How much is it to clean a roof?

How much it costs to get your roof cleaned by a professional will depend on the roof size, the roof materials, the current state of the roof, and the overall complexity of the job.

Generally speaking, a roof cleaning job can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Cleaning is just one part of roof tile maintenance

Cleaning roof tiles is just one part of maintaining a roof throughout the year. Additionally, clearing away overhanging branches, cleaning the gutters, and replacing broken tiles must be part of a regular roof maintenance routine. Furthermore, regular inspections are crucial to guarantee the integrity and protection of a roof. Inspections need to include a check-up from the ground, and from inside the property.

Vertec Roofing are Sydney’s leading roof repairs, cleaning, and restoration company, having serviced every type of roof over 20 years in the industry. Considered the local, go-to roofing company for all requirements, you can get in touch with our friendly team today for a roofing inspection, clean, and maintenance advice. Enquire online or call our team on (02) 8007 4366 today.