Roof Pressure Washing in Plantation, FL

Roof pressure washing in Plantation, FL

Heavy oak and ficus canopy across Plantation keeps roof surfaces shaded and damp longer after a storm, which is exactly the condition algae needs to take hold and spread.

A Plantation roof under mature tree cover dries more slowly after rain than a roof in full sun, and algae spreads fastest on a surface that stays damp. That is one reason streaking shows up sooner on shaded lots in Plantation Acres and the older canopy streets near the city's original 1950s core than it does on newer, more open subdivisions near Sunrise Boulevard and the Plantation Walk area. Roof type varies with the era of construction. Ranch homes from the 1950s and 1960s, many of them in the Jacaranda neighborhoods built to echo Coral Gables, tend to carry concrete or clay barrel tile. Subdivisions built through the 1980s and 1990s lean toward asphalt shingle, and some of the townhomes and commercial buildings near Broward Mall use a flat built-up or membrane roof instead. Each one needs a different touch: tile can crack under direct high-pressure contact, shingle granules wash away under a hard enough stream, and a membrane roof can be punctured by anything sharper than a soft rinse. Homes near Volunteer Park and the older stretch around Liberty Tree Park carry some of the city's oldest tile roofs, and those are usually the ones where streaking has had the most years to set in. Houses that border Lago Mar Country Club or the Fort Lauderdale Country Club grounds often sit under a similar canopy to the golf-course homes, with the same slow-drying effect on the roof deck. The flat elevation that drains Plantation through the Old Plantation Water Control District's canals also means there is little wind at roof height to dry a damp surface quickly after a storm passes, which is another reason algae gets a longer window to take hold here than it would on a more exposed roofline closer to the coast. We use a low-pressure soft wash rather than a blaster on every roof type in Plantation, so tile, shingle, and flat roofs all come clean without stripping granules, cracking tile, or forcing water under the roofing material. On a two-story home near Jacaranda or Central Park, that also means setting up ladder stabilizers before anyone gets on the roof, the same precaution we take on a two-story gutter job, since the work and the safety rules do not change just because the hose is pointed up instead of along the roofline.

Plantation roofs run from clay and concrete barrel tile on the city's older ranch homes to asphalt shingle on newer construction near Jacaranda and flat built-up roofs on some of the townhomes off Sunrise Boulevard. Heavy oak and ficus cover keeps those roofs shaded and damp longer after rain, which is exactly the condition algae needs to spread.

Soft wash or pressure washing?

This is the question that decides whether a roof cleaning helps your roof or hurts it.

We use a soft wash on every roof. The cleaner does the work, and the water only carries it off. That is slower than blasting, and it is the reason your roof comes out of it in one piece.

Safety, and what we leave to roofers

Roofs are dangerous places. We use the right ladder angle (see NIOSH guidance), we walk only on surfaces that can take it, and we never use high pressure. If a roof is too steep, too fragile, or too damaged to wash safely, we say so.

We clean roofs. We do not repair or replace them. When we find damaged roofing, we photograph it and tell you plainly, so a licensed roofer can take it from there.