The Pre-Clean Walkthrough: Assessment and Protection
Before anything touches your roof, a technician should walk the property and look at three things: the roofing material, the pitch, and what’s growing nearby that could be affected by runoff.
Landscaping protection happens next. Plants, shrubs, and grass near the drip line get pre-wet or covered before treatment begins. This step matters more than it sounds like it should. A treatment that’s safe for shingles can still stress or kill nearby foliage if it isn’t diluted, applied, and contained correctly. This is also the point where a technician should be checking your gutters and downspouts are clear enough to handle the rinse that comes later.
Debris Removal
Needles, leaves, cones, and small branches build up in valleys, behind chimneys, and along ridge lines long before you’d notice from the driveway. On one recent job, a tech pulled 34 pounds of fir needles off a single north-facing slope that the homeowner had never seen up close. That’s not unusual. It’s just invisible from the ground.
Removal is done by hand or with a leaf blower, never by pressure washer. High pressure aimed at debris does as much damage to the shingle surface as it does to the debris itself.
Roof Treatment: How We Do It Differently
This is the step that decides whether a roof cleaning actually protects your roof or just makes it look better for a season.
Most roof cleaners use sodium hypochlorite, which is diluted bleach, because it’s fast. Spray it on, watch the moss and algae turn white, and the job looks finished. What the bleach is also doing: drying out the asphalt binders in your shingles, streaking gutters and siding on the way down, and salting whatever landscaping sits below the roofline. Used repeatedly over years, it’s a slow trade of a clean-looking roof today for a shorter roof life overall. Some manufacturers’ shingle warranties list it as a concern for exactly this reason.
We use RoofRX™ MossBlock instead. It’s a plant-derived fatty-acid soap, biodegradable, with no bleach, no zinc, and no copper. It goes on as a visible foam, so you can see exactly where your roof has been treated instead of taking our word for it. It costs more to apply than bleach does. It’s also the reason we can put a warranty behind the work. If you’re interested in seeing the cost of roof cleaning, look at our blog to see how the prices are broken down.
Pro Tip: If a roof cleaner can’t tell you what’s in their treatment or show you where it’s been applied, ask. A visible foam application is one of the simplest ways to confirm the whole roof actually got treated, not just the parts that were easy to reach.
Gutter and Downspout Rinse
Treatment and debris removal both push material toward your gutters. A proper cleaning finishes by flushing gutters and downspouts so that everything that came off the roof actually leaves the property instead of sitting in a gutter until the first fall storm.
This step matters more than it gets credit for. A roof that’s freshly treated but sitting above clogged gutters is still headed toward the exact problem the cleaning was supposed to prevent: water with nowhere to go.
The Roof Condition Check
A thorough cleaning ends with a second look, not just a hose-off. Early lichen, granule loss, and flashing issues are all things a technician should flag while they’re already up there, before they become a repair call later. This is also where a roof report gets updated, so you have a record of condition over time instead of a guess.
What’s Not Included (and Why That’s a Good Thing)
A roof cleaning is focused on your roof and gutters. House washing, window cleaning, screens, and general pressure washing stay separate services, not because we don’t offer them, but because bundling everything into one visit is how corners get cut on all of it. A roof and gutter system done right, on its own, is worth more than a roof, house, and windows done fast.
The Process, Step by Step
1. Assessment and Protection
A technician walks the roof and property, checks material and pitch, and pre-wets or covers nearby landscaping.
2. Debris Removal
Needles, leaves, and branches come off by hand or leaf blower, never pressure washer.
3. Roof Treatment
RoofRX™ MossBlock is applied as a visible foam, no bleach, no zinc, no copper.
4. Gutter and Downspout Rinse
Everything the treatment and debris removal loosened gets flushed out, not left to sit.
5. Roof Condition Check
A second look for early lichen, granule loss, or flashing issues, and an updated roof report.
6. Complete
Your roof is clean, protected, and on record, with the option to put it on a calendar so it stays that way.
A Quick Checklist Before You Book Any Roof Cleaning
✔️ Ask what chemical they use and why
✔️ Ask if the wash is soft wash or pressure wash
✔️ Ask what’s covered if moss comes back
✔️ Confirm licensing, bonding, and insurance
Still weighing whether to DIY or hire a pro? Here’s an honest look at whether professional roof cleaning is worth it.
How Often Should You Clean Your Roof?
A single cleaning removes what’s there now, but moss and algae don’t stop growing — that’s why we recommend getting your roof cleaned at least twice a year. Knowing the best time of year to get your roof cleaned makes all the difference. That’s the difference between a one-time roof cleaning and a HomeShield™ membership: the plan means someone is watching the calendar so you don’t have to notice the moss again before it’s already established.
If you’ve been meaning to get your roof looked at, that’s really the whole decision. Get your free drone inspection and see exactly what your roof needs.