Roof cleaning in Forest Acres, SC

Forest Acres roofs get the damp ground along Gills Creek on one hand and the shade from the trees planted when the houses went up in the 1950s and 60s on the other. The result is a north or east slope that never quite dries, and that is where the black shows up.

The treatment is chemical, not mechanical. It goes on gently, sits, and kills the algae where it grows. On older roofs under heavy, old tree cover, that matters, because pressure would take years off shingles that are already working hard. Our guide to soft washing versus pressure washing a roof explains why.

The job is not done at the ridge. Gutters get flushed, old concrete drives under the trees get rinsed, and the beds under the drip line are wet down before and after so nothing the roof gives up lands on the plants.

The black streaks are gone when we leave. Moss and lichen take longer: they die on the day and release over a few weeks of rain, which spares the shingles underneath.