How to Clean a Slate Roof
Your slate roof is one of the easiest areas of the home to neglect and not give proper care to. Over the years, your roof can succumb to the effects of moss, algae and bird droppings. Cleaning your slate roof is essential to diminishing these negative effects to your roof.
What You'll Need:
- Spray nozzle hose
- Ladder
- Bucket
- Long-handled scrub brush
- Bleach (optional)
- Water
- Oxygen bleach (optional)
- Position your ladder in a location where you can easily access your slate roof.
- Attach a spray nozzle to your water hose and run it up to the roof. If your hose is not long enough, you may need to attach an additional hose to your existing hose using an extender. Once the hose is properly placed, turn on the water.
- Take the bucket and scrub brush in hand and carefully climb up the ladder to the roof. Once you've reached the top of the roof, mix together your cleaning solution. You'll want to mix a 1 to 1 mixture of bleach and water for the best results.
- With the water hose in hand walk to the edge of the roof. You'll want to spray a 3 foot wide strip of the slate on your roof. Try not to spray an area larger than this in order to ensure that you don't create a slippery workspace.
- Dip your scrub brush into the cleaning solution and push the brush along the slate. Brush in the same direction as the slate in order not to loosen or damage the slate tiles.
- Repeat this process until you've cleaned half of the roof.
- Walk to the opposite edge of the roof than you started and repeat the cleaning process working your way back toward the center of the roof. By the time you reach the center of the roof, the previous side you cleaned should now be dry.
- Once complete, carefully climb down the ladder to complete the project.