An Introduction to Roof Cleaning – A Few Pointers!

As I added external services to my cleaning business, starting with gutter cleaning customers began to ask me if I could remove the leaves and moss from their roofs. Not wishing to disappoint my customers or miss an opportunity this was another service I added to grow my business.

I did some research into products, practiced at a safe location and created a system on how to tackle roof cleaning, with all jobs you gain experience and tweak things as you progress. So here are a few tips to help you on your way if your considering adding roof cleaning to your business.

Survey & Quote? ?

1.????? Use an inspection camera or SurveyCam to check the roof for broken tiles especially around valleys, windows or flashing. Highlight any defects to your customer, some tiles or slates can become brittle over a period of time and work loose.

2.????? Use a telescopic pole to check where you can reach and clean from the ground and where you will need a tower to reach different aspects of the roof.

3.????? Check the profile of the tiles to ensure you have the correct Skyscraper Blade.

4.????? When submitting my quote I always put the caveat “Quote is subject to Investigation” This was to protect myself as you never know what you might find when you remove the moss.

5.????? Don’t forget to include clearing the gutters as part of your quote!

Cleaning Process

1.????? Place sheeting on the ground around the area to be cleaned, plus put a tennis ball or something similar to cover the downpipe. This will stop moss falling down the downpipe and avoid any unnecessary blockages.

2.????? Using the Skyscraper and telescopic pole with the appropriate blade, start at the top of the roof and scrape the moss downwards ready for collection or allow to drop to the ground.

3.????? Using the Skysweeper or the new SpeediBrushes sweep any remaining debris downwards as before.

4.????? Any stubborn marks or moss still remaining on the edges , nooks and crannies I would then use the Skyscraper Wire brush, the carbon steel bristles come in short (30mm) or long (45mm).

5.????? Clean all the gutters using your Skyvac, I had the Mighty Atom and Industrial 85. Don’t forget to remove your Tennis Balls from the downpipes!

If required and to add the finishing touches I would sometimes “hoover” or suck up any minor dust using the Skyvac. With the customers permission, the team would then dispose of the moss in the customers Green Recycling bin, sweep and tidy up.

Now I can hear some of you asking “But how much did you charge?” For me there’s no right or wrong in how you price a job as this depends on so many different factors, location, difficulty of the job, your target market etc. Some people price according to the area or on how long they think the job will take……. If you’re going to price according to the area (Per Sq Mtr) here’s one tip for you.

Work out how many tiles cover a Square meter, then count the tiles on the roof vertically and horizontally to calculate the total amount of tiles and therefore the total area. You can then price accordingly. Don’t forget to add any additional costs or overheads such as towers or scaffolding…… Hope this helped and good luck!