Cedar Shake Cleaning

Yes!  Cedar shake shingles can be safely cleaned!  We’ve specialized in cedar shake roof cleaning here in Northern Virginia since 2010.  You’ve come to the right place.

Cedar shake roofs are a gorgeous roofing choice for most homes.  They’re a renewable resource unlike most other roofing materials and they even offer additional insulation to your home.  Yet left to the elements, that expensive roof can succumb to decomposition and ultimately failure in as little as 15 years.  We’ve witnessed it firsthand – a fifteen-year-old cedar shake roof in McLean that needed much more than our cleaning services.  It needed to be replaced.  Simply put, moss, lichen and physical debris from the tree canopy can cause moisture retention.  Excessive moisture can cause cedar shakes to decay prematurely.

On the other hand, a properly maintained cedar shake roof can last a lifetime; 50 years or so!

Simply put, moisture is the enemy.  A cedar shake has a natural wicking or capillary action.  And when physical debris collects on the roof, and/or moss and lichen is allowed to grow on the roof, additional moisture is retained.  And the moisture problem is then exacerbated and the decomposition begins.

So, what can be done?  For physical debris such as leaf litter and twigs, sticks and branches, have them carefully removed when you have your gutters cleaned.  Whereas moss, lichen and algae discoloration are best left to specialists, such as American-ProTech.  Moss and lichen (even the extremely resilient British soldiers lichen) don’t stand a chance with our process, and we guarantee it!