Spring Cleaning your Roof

With spring upon us and the possibility of a rough fire season, it’s a good time to start thinking about spring cleaning your roof. Here are a few things you should do to help the longevity of your roof as well as reduce your fire risk.

First, you should blow all the debris off your roof. Pay special attention to your valley areas and any other areas with heavy buildup of tree debris. Not only can these areas lead to roof problems if not maintained but a falling ember from a nearby fire could catch the debris.

While removing the debris from your roof, look for loose shingles, shiny fiberglass, cracked sealant, and rusting flashings as these can all be signs that your roof may have future problems and it might be a good idea to have it looked at by a professional.

If you don’t already have good gutter covers installed, you will need to clean out your gutters and downspouts. To do this, you will need to remove all debris from the gutters first. Once this is done you can try running water through your downspouts to see if they are clogged.

If the water does not run easily through the downspouts, you must remove them to properly clean them. Once they are clean and water can run freely through them you can reattach them to the gutters. Suppose your gutters and downspouts had an excessive amount of debris you may want to consider having gutter guards installed. While you are cleaning your gutters and downspouts, you will also want to check for signs of rust and cracked sealant. If you notice these things, it may be time to consider new gutters.

If you have a steep or otherwise complicated roof, you may want to call a roofing contractor to come out to clean the roof and gutters and look over the rest of the roof. They can also point out things that may need attention now or that may become an issue in the future.