FAQs Archive - Page 2 of 5 - Lilypad Exterior Cleaning

Q: Why should I get my roof cleaned?

A clean roof will not only keep your roof healthier and ultimately your home along with this a clean roof boosts curb appeal which is very important in the event you are selling your home, a clean roof is a sign of good overall home maintenance.

Q: Does the moss damage my roof?

This is a great question and often debated whether a roof should be cleaned or not. In our opinion, which may be obvious, yes you should have your roof cleaned. The reason to get your roof cleaned is to protect your home long term without the huge layout expense of a new roof. The main reason to get a roof cleaned is moss buildup. We hear all too often “the moss is what’s holding the roof together!”, this is simply not true. A buildup of moss is one of the leading causes of damp in a home along with damage to your roof. The moss acts as a wet carpet trapping moisture on the roof, ultimately in your loft leading to damp in the upper floors of your home. This moisture can also lead to rot in your roof rafters affecting their structural integrity. Along with this moss can retain up to 20 times its dry weight, now imagine a full bed on your roof, a roof when build not accounting for this extra weight leading to damage to your roof rafters. Another key point to note is that when the winter time comes the moss between the tiles will freeze and expand causing the tiles to crack and chip if they have nowhere to go.

Q: Will the cleaning damage my roof?

With both methods of cleaning we will not cause direct damage to your roof, we follow strict methods and procedures to ensure this. However, if there are any compromised tiles i.e. spooled tiles, cracked or missing tiles, weak or loose flashing and mortar etc then these will be exaggerated in the clean. It is very common on a moss-covered roof to have some sort of damage caused by the moss build up which then becomes evident once the clean is occurring because up until then the moss was acting like “glue” holding the tiles in position.

Q: Do we fix guttering when we clear them?

We certainly can, unless we are told prior to the visit we will always keep an eye out for any potential repairs or replacements that could be made on your guttering as we go around clearing them. We will then write you up a quote for the repairs and replacements and often we are able to carry out these extra works on the same visit.

Q: Can we clear gutters above a conservatory?

We certainly can, this is yet another reason why gutter vacuum systems are so great. Gutters above a conservatory are not an issue for our high reach gutter poles, we can easily reach up and over a conservatory to reach the gutters above. Also another plus is with our systems we can effectively clear the valley found where a conservatory meets the house wall. This is often where a lot of debris builds up and is difficult to access by hand.

Q: How do you know the gutters are cleared if a gutter vacuum has been used?

This is a very common question we get asked, which is a very fair question to ask. Its simple really; firstly there is good physical feedback we get from the gutter poles, we can although the gutters may be 6 metres above us, we can feel if there is something in the gutter line knowing if its still blocked. We can also do a trick where we place the end of the gutter nozzle into the top of the downpipe and listen at the base of the downpipe, if we can hear the wind rushing up we know it is clear. Lastly, the fail-safe way we know whether the gutters are clear is with our high level inspection cameras that give us a live feed of the end of the gutter nozzle. We can also record with the same camera which can be useful to put minds at ease to concerned customers.