Cleaning of Asphalt Shingles

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If you have ever thought about cleaning your asphalt shingle rooftop, you’ve probably considered using bleach or some other kind of harsh chemical cleaners. Although the best way to clean is pressure washing, it is difficult to remove the stain, mold or lichen on the rooftop.

So can you use chemical cleaners, like bleach, to wash your asphalt shingle roof?

The answer is YES.

Straight To The Point

If you use an appropriate water-bleach ratio(bleach mixed with water by 1:1), then bleach will definitely not damage the asphalt shingle roof.

   How to clean the asphalt shingles:

1.  Wash the rooftop with water quickly, get the dirt, mold, and other debris going.

2.  Spray a solution of 50% Bleach and 50% Water all over the roof. By the time you’re done spraying down the roof, you can start soft washing immediately. Don’t let it remain for a long time.

3.  Wash the asphalt shingles softly and clean off the dirt and debris. Power washing will dislodge shingles, or compromise your roof. Stick to soft wash for shingles.

4.  (Repeat step 2 & 3 as needed until all debris, mold, algae, or whatever you have on your roof is gone.

There are a variety of methods for cleaning different roof materials, but let's look at the most popular material and how to clean asphalt shingles.

Roof specialists recommend a chemical-to-water mix of 50:50 when cleaning roof shingles. If the mixtures exceed the above ratio, then asphalt may discolor or even shingles may have premature breakdown.

What is the best way to clean asphalt shingles?

If your roof has algae or other spots, choose a combination of pressure cleaning and bleach to thoroughly clean the roof. However, your roof does not have many problems, or the situation is very complicated, and you need to take other additional measures.

Whatever you choose, you need to avoid chemicals (except bleach) because they will shorten the service life of the roof.

Usually, you need to dilute the bleach with water before using it. First, wash the dirt on the roof with high-pressure water, then clean it with bleach mixture, and let it stand for 15 minutes. Finally, wash the roof with clean water.

Can You Put Bleach On Shingles?

Of course YES, you should dilute the bleach.

If you’re using stronger Sodium Hypochlorite mixtures, especially (above 10% concentration) as those are much stronger and will need to be diluted down more than regular laundry bleach.

In addition, it should be noted that plants and animals near the house may face the risk of death due to bleach. It is better to spread plastic film around the house to reduce soil pollution.

Will Bleach Discolor Shingles?

No, bleach will not cause discoloration in your asphalt shingles.

Especially not if you apply bleach with the 50-50 mixture that we recommended above, then you’re definitely not going to deal with any discoloration.

Generally, the only thing elements that can cause asphalt shingle fading is just general wear-and-tear from getting absolutely blasted by the sun over the years. Also, certain kinds of algae and moss can cause discoloration, which is even more motivation to get your roof cleaned routinely.