Maintain & Clean Cedar Shakes: Cedar shakes roofs like all other roofing material needs proper maintenance in order to extend their life expectancy. Constant exposure to the natural elements such as rain snow and sunlight will cause changes to the surface of the wood, eventually causing it to appear a sort of silver gray in color, and eventually the surface and edges of your cedar shake will corrode.
You should have your cedar shakes roofing cleaned or checked on a regular basis, probably once a year and definitely after you have experienced extremely bad weather conditions such as a snow storm or heavy winds and rain. The best time of the year to schedule these cleaning or maintenance checks would be during the summer when it is very dry, as it will be easier for you to perform these tasks.
When cleaning the roof you will have to remove any dead leaves, twigs and other debris that have accumulated on the roof. Any moss mildew and algae will also have to be removed, as these can cause poor water drainage off your roof.
Be sure and check the valley and in-between the shakes as these areas are prone to retaining moisture which can cause your roof to rot, and possibly develop leaks. Remove any overhanging tree branches that are within your reach to allow proper air circulation above the roof, in order to help keep the roof dry.
When using pressure washers to clean your roof of excess debris you should be very careful how much pressure you use as this can cause serious damage to your roof as the pressure washer will strip the top layer right off your roof leaving it even more exposed to the natural elements and can definitely damage the cedar shakes.
This happens because modern cedar shakes today are not as thick as the older ones and are not capable of withstanding such heavy pressure. When choosing a cleaning solution be sure and read the label to see what it contains, as some cleaning solutions contain chemicals that can be harmful not only to your roof but also to the surrounding plants that might come in contact with the water from your roof during the cleaning process.
Oxygen bleach is considered on of the safest and environmental friendly cleaning solutions. Low pressure compressed air cleaning is becoming more popular as an alternative to pressure washing your roof in order to remove excess debris, dirt, moss, etc. It is a very simple procedure whereby a steady stream of air pressure is applied to the roof, which is supposed to be very effective at removing debris, moss mildew etc.
When the roof has been thoroughly cleaned and all the moss debris etc has been removed it is time for you to apply a roof guard product to help keep your roof securely waterproofed and also to prevent any further attack from moss, fungus etc. from appearing on your roof.
Bear in mind that there are lost of chemicals that are designed for this purpose, but it is recommended that you read the label in order to determine exactly what they contain and how safe it would be for your roof.
