Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are you licensed and insured?

A: Yes.  We are licensed to do business in the state of North Carolina and are insured.  We can provide any necessary documentation upon request.

Q: Why does my roof turn black?

A: Gloeocapsa Magma is the primary species of Algae causing your roof to turn black.  These Algae spores are carried by the wind and land on your roof.  As it grows it will spread to adjacent homes which is why you will see it on so many roofs in the same area.  It thrives in warm, humid environments like the Carolinas and normally appears on the north facing slope or shaded areas of your roof where the lack of sun supports its growth.

It has three requirements to grow: Heat, moisture and nutrients.  Gloeocapsa feeds on inorganic materials like the limestone fillers found in asphalt shingles.  As it feeds, it grows and spreads across your roof.  That black streaking you notice is the algae traveling across your roof. 

Q: Will this algae damage my shingles?

A: Yes.  Over a period of years it will spread across your roof, turning it black and eating away at the shingles. As it eats, it loosens the protective layer of surface granules which play a very important part in solar reflectivity.  The loss of these granules combined with the black growth spreading across you roof will cause your roof to heat up quicker on a sunny day.  While this might be fine in the winter, it can be a source of higher electric bills in the spring and summer months as your air conditioner struggles to keep up.

Q: Can my roof be cleaned?

A: Yes.  Roof Refresh can help you get those stains off of your roof.  We use only methods approved by The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association.  Here is a link to a technical bulletin issued by ARMA on the correct method to use when cleaning a roof. http://www.asphaltroofing.org/pdf/tb_217.pdf We use no pressure cleaning equipment when cleaning a roof.  Everything we do is done with low pressure and rinsed with large volumes of water.

Here is a link to a blog I wrote on the subject. This is information I have picked up from professionals in our industry over the years. Roof Cleaning Raleigh Cary

Q: I have seen some roof cleaning websites with the     "Certified Roof Cleaner" logo? Is your company      certified?

A: There is no "recognized" certification process in our industry, so generally speaking, any claims to certification that you may see in the roof cleaning industry are usually nothing more than a piece of paper and a nice logo purchased online. There are several websites that have recently appeared, where, for a fee, anyone can subscribe and get some online roof cleaning training, a tee shirt and a certificate implying they are now certified to go clean roofs. These sites have a tendency to prey on the newer roof cleaning companies as they enter the work place and get caught up in the infomercial mentality of a certification.

So the answer would be no, we are not certified. We have cleaned hundreds upon hundreds of roofs over the years and rely on that experience to provide a high level of service to our customers.

Q: Does bleach, damage shingles?

A: Bleach does not damage shingles. I am not sure why this question is still asked, but there is a reason it started.

Years ago, when roof cleaning was in its infancy, there were several methods used to clean a roof. Sodium Hydroxide and Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) were the two roof cleaning chemicals prevalent in the industry at that time. It seems the companies that used Sodium Hydroxide started the bleach damage "rumor" as part of a marketing ploy to promote their product and process. Once something is on the internet, it is hard to remove, so you will still see the subject pop up while doing internet searches. Sodium Hydroxide is still around, but most companies have figured out that it is a messy, cumbersome cleaning process that involves a lot of wasted time, so they have switched to Sodium Hypochlorite.

These days, just about every professional roof cleaning company uses bleach in their roof cleaning mix. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (this would be an association of companies that make shingles) have issued a technical bulletin which describes the preferred method of cleaning involving the use of bleach and low pressure. This is the only cleaning method approved and endorsed by these shingle manufacturing companies, and it is the method our insurance company ensures we are using. If bleach actually damaged or "dried and curled" shingles, I think we would see a plethora of lawsuits against ARMA and the shingle manufacturers. Since there are none, and these shingle manufacturers and ARMA continue to favorably endorse this cleaning method, we think it is safe to say that bleach does not damage shingles.

Q: Will installing zinc strips on my roof get rid of algae?      Will they prevent future growth?

A: Based on our experience with them I would say they work, but only for a limited time. The effect of the strips seems to degrade over a period of a few short years. There is also a distance factor. The width of the zinc strips determines how much area of the roof it can cover.

Below is a picture of a house with a zinc strip on the roof. We ended up cleaning the roof for this customer. (Check out the photos section) You can see that the strip had an effective range of a few feet and then it ran out of strength. It may have worked when first installed, but as you can see, not for long. It seems you would need to place wider strips at varying points down the roof in order to have effective coverage. If you don't mind the way that would look, then it might be something to look into.

Q: Will the chemicals kill my plants and shrubs?

A: We will take every precaution to prevent damage to plants, shrubs and grass.  We will wet and cover possible affected areas with plastic tarps in advance.  As the job progresses we will rinse as required to protect vegetation and then rinse some more.  The rinsing dilutes the mixture enough that we don’t have much to worry about.  If you do not have gutters on your home we will tarp all of the bushes and plants.

We will always have at least two men on a given job.  One works the roof, the other works the ground.  The ground man is responsible for keeping everything wet in case of overspray etc.  It is very seldom that we have a problem but it is not impossible.

Q: Do you clean gutters?

A: Yes, we will clean the interior and exterior of your gutters. The black streaks or "Tiger Stripes" on your gutters are caused by an electrostatic bonding process that is a result of run-off from your roof. Ask about it when requesting an estimate.