If your roof looks terrible as if tiles were about to lift up and whole plants were starting to grow on it — yet you had no leaks inside your home — then your roof might not be in as bad a shape as you thought. Many times what looks like a bad roof is really a dirty roof that needs to be cleaned, rather than repaired or replaced. Yes, any good roofing contractor who looks at a roof like that should be able to tell you this anyway, but if you already know that you just need cleaning, you can arrange for that straight away.

First, Don't Do This Yourself

Note that you yourself should not clean the roof. While roofs are meant to protect entire houses from storms and other nasty events, cleaning one the wrong way can actually do a lot of damage that isn't outwardly visible. Just standing on the roof the wrong way can damage tiles, and of course, there's the risk you could fall and seriously hurt yourself. Hire a roofing company to do this work because they know how to access the roof without leaving additional damage.

What Might Make Your Roof Look So Bad

Seeing leaves on a roof, or seeing a long-lost basketball, isn't so unusual. But roofs are often prone to the development of moss and algae, which can both leave black or green streaks across the tiles. Combined with leaves, twigs, and anything else that manages to get up there, your roof can end up looking terrible from the ground. The moss and algae can actually make tiles look like they've degraded.

No Pressure Washing, No Matter the Material

As you look for a roofing company that can clean off all that junk, take note of their cleaning processes. The company should not use any pressure washing at all. The force of water from a pressure-washing hose is too great and will damage the tiles.

Any methods the roofers use should be approved by roofing associations such as the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, or ARMA. These methods are tested to ensure they won't damage the particular roofing material that they address (e.g., asphalt tile when using an ARMA-approved method).

Start calling roofing companies to ask about an inspection and roof-cleaning costs. Once you get the moss and algae cleaned away, it will be easier to get a true picture of what the roof is like.

For more tips, reach out to a local residential roofer.