How Do You Clean A Slate Roof

If you re one of the lucky individuals who has a slate roof on his house you re almost guaranteed that you won t have to replace it for its first 60 to 100 years.

How do you clean a slate roof.

When you check the roof before winter make sure you remove all of the debris and foreign matter from the roof. How to work on slate roofs. Set up a ladder so you can access the roof. Clean slate roofs in hot weather so they dry fast or at least on a clear day with plenty of sunlight.

Do not use a pressure cleaner or any harsh industrial cleaners because they can damage the slate. If cracks appear in a slate shingle do not attempt to patch them with tar. It is also important to remember that walking on a slate roof can. If you don t this can cause ice to form on your slate roof and crack the tiles.

Often the damage is hidden under overlapping slate courses and becomes apparent only when the roof starts to leak. Ice dams can also form when ice melts and refreezes further down the roof and thus prevents natural run off. First it depends what you re trying to clean off of your slate roof. When cleaning your roof be gentle and use a medium roughness brush with regular household cleaner and make sure to wash away the soapy water when you are done.

You can t walk on a slate roof no matter how shallow its pitch. And second it depends how much time and effort you want to put in. However a lot of the quick fixes that are appropriate on other types of roofing simply do not work with slate. If your slate appears to be in need of repair you can likely fix it up yourself without resorting to replacing the entire roof.

The slates are 9 years. The photo above shows a slate roof during a cleaning. Slate shingles do not lie flat against each other and can easily snap under pressure. At new england slate we are often asked what s the best way to clean a slate roof well that s a tricky question.