Clean ugly stains on the ceiling
Many things can stain your ceiling. Things like moss, algae, and lichen, which feed on the organic material found on roof shingles. When this happens it can cause unsightly stains on your ceiling. To clean these stains, you can do it yourself or hire a professional ceiling cleaner. If you are comfortable cleaning the ceiling yourself, there are three main methods of ceiling cleaning that you can use.
chlorine-bleach method
Many roof cleaning contractors use this method. They mix beach chlorine in high concentrations with other chemicals such as trisodium phosphates (TSP), which is an inorganic compound highly soluble in water and formulated for intensive cleaning. After you spray it on the ceiling, you let it dry but don’t rinse it off. It can be reapplied as many times as necessary. Moss, lichen and stains are not removed the day the roof is treated, but can eventually be removed by rain.
• Advantages: Less expensive than other methods due to inexpensive chemicals and no need to go up on the roof to inspect or rinse after application.
• Cons: It has a strong chemical smell and the roof is not cleaned right away, especially if you are trying to remove lichen and moss colonies. It can also be harmful to pets and people if they are exposed to the mixture or fumes. There could be permanent damage to the landscape from the bleach falling on them.
Eco-friendly, low-pressure, bleach-free method
These roof cleaning products do not contain toxic chemicals like phosphates or chlorine that can kill vegetation and cause respiratory problems if the fumes are inhaled. Also, by using low pressure rinsing, there is less chance of damaging your roof than brushing or high pressure scrubbing.
• Advantages: the results with this method are usually complete and instantaneous. If you hire a professional roof cleaner, they’ll use eco-friendly products like roof shampoo and equipment designed to provide gentle and safe roof cleaning.
• Cons: It may cost more to hire professionals who use this method because high-quality organic products are more expensive. If you do it yourself and don’t have a pressure washer, you’ll need to rent or buy one.
High pressure washing method
This is when using a high pressure washer to clean your roof and it can be done with green products or the chlorine bleach method. Many professional roof cleaners use this method.
• Advantages: There are none with this method.
• Cons – This is a method that can cause a lot of damage to your roof and is not an effective way to remove organisms. Algae will often quickly return to your roof.