Roof Cleaning: What It Is and Why You Need It #NLZCleaning Discount Code

Disclosure: I received a complimentary roof cleaning to assess the results. All opinions are my own.

A roof covered in algae, moss, mold, bacteria, or mildew is not only unslightly, but can also reduce the life of your roof. Once that roof is damaged, it’s expensive to repair or replace it. Depending on the size of your roof and the materials used, it can cost upwards of $10,000 to replace it.

That’s why it’s important to maintain your roof with an annual cleaning. I spoke with Neal, owner of NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island, about the basics of roof cleaning.

Bicultural Mama: What does roof cleaning entail?

NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island: Our roof washing process entails a general clean up of debris (leaves, twigs, branches, etc.) from the roof. Then we “Soft Wash” the roof to kill all bacteria and/or moss, mildew, or algae. Our soft wash process uses a chemical mix, the main ingredient being Sodium Hypochlorite which is similar to what is used to clean pools. This kills anything and everything living on your roof down to the root.

The chemical is sprayed onto the entire roof then left to sit for 15 minutes. The result is that most algae and bacteria will clear away upon rinsing. The rest washes away during the next rainfall. Moss tends to hold a bit stronger after the chemical is applied. The chemical will turn the moss to a soft brown color and subsequent rainfall will wash it away. It’s important that high pressure is never used as the risk of damage is far too high.

A “Soft Wash” is very different from pressure washing. Pressure washing can easily damage shingles. While pressure washing blows away the surface level buildup, it does not kill the root. Not killing the root means you have to come back and pressure wash again and again since it always grows back. The “Soft Wash” process, on the other hand, doesn’t risk damaging shingles AND it kills everything at it’s source.

Bicultural Mama: Why do I need to clean my roof? No one can see it.

NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island: Bacteria, moss, mildew, and algae when left to grow, break down and decompose the roof materials. This leads to a premature breakdown in the useful life of the roof requiring early replacement. The cost to replace a roof drastically outweighs the cost to maintain it. Most roofs should last close to 30 years before needing to be replaced. Allowing bacteria, algae, and moss to flourish can cut this in half.

For some, there’s an aesthetic reason for roof cleaning depending on the size of your home and pitch of your roof. Some homes you can’t see the roof at all from the street. Others, like ranches and homes with a steeply pitched roof, you can see the entire roof from the street. So while for some it’s an unsightly nuisance, for everyone it’s something that can save thousands over the life of your roof.

Bicultural Mama: How often should I clean my roof?

NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island: Annually. The best time of year for roof cleaning is probably Spring or Fall. By Fall, anything that has been growing on your roof has had a lot of time to flourish. Spring is also a common general clean up time to get home cleaning items done. Usually you can bundle roof cleaning in with a number of other exterior home cleaning services like gutters, house washing, pressure washing driveway or patio, window cleaning, etc.

Bicultural Mama: How does your company stand out versus competitors?

NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island: Cleaning a roof can be dangerous. We’re fully insured up to $1 Million so clients can rest easy knowing they are protected. We back all of our work with our 150% Guarantee. If you are not happy, we come back to make it right. If you still wouldn’t recommend us to your closest friends and family, we won’t charge you a dime.

Bicultural Mama: How much does roof cleaning cost and what factors are the costs dependent on?

NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island: Cost depends on overall size of the home and are priced based on square footage thresholds. For Bicultural Mama readers, we’re happy to extend a 15% discount to customers requesting roof cleaning or any of our other services. Just call us for an appointment and mention “biculturalmama” for the discount. Or if scheduling a service online, type in “biculturalmama” as the promotion code on our checkout page (see end of post for more details).

Our roof cleaning costs are as follows based on the square footage of the home:
3000 Sq Ft: $495
4000 Sq Ft: $595
5000 Sq Ft: $995

Bicultural Mama: What services does your company offer and what geographic areas do you cover?

NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island: Our company is an interior and exterior residential home cleaning provider servicing all of Nassau County, Queens County, and the Western half of Suffolk County in New York. We have spotless home’s across Long Island with easy-to-use website features like online booking, online payment, and online chat so you can always reach us.

Our company specializes in interior deep cleans, move-in/move-out cleaning, and maintenance service to keep the inside of your home looking and smelling fresh. We also provide professional window cleaning, soft washing of both homes and roofs, and pressure washing of driveways, decks, and patios.

We’re a customer service company that happens to clean homes. We understand the only way we’re going to be successful is by providing the absolute best service to our customers day in and day out. We’re backed by out 150% Satisfaction Guarantee. We maintain 5 Star Ratings on Yelp, Angie’s List, and Facebook. Thumbtack awarded us a Top Pro, something only 4% of all service providers achieve.

Bicultural Mama: Thank you for helping us to understand how roof cleaning can save us money in the long run. It’s great you offer so many services inside and outside of the house to keep things well maintained.

NLZ Cleaning 15% Off Discount / Promotion Code / Coupon: 

Bicultural Mama readers can receive an exclusive 15% off of any service from NLZ Cleaning Services of Long Island. Call 443-492-9552 to schedule your service and mention “biculturalmama” to receive the 15% discount.

Customers can also schedule any service online at NLZCleaningLongIsland.com. On on the website, click on “Book Online Instantly” in the menu header. Once the site opens a new page, scroll down to “Choose Your Service.”  Click on one of the drop down boxes which may default to say “1 Bedroom” or “1 Bathroom.” The drop down box will reveal all the other services available such as window cleaning and roof cleaning. At check out, type in promo code “biculturalmama” to receive the 15% discount.

Photo credits: NLZ Cleaning of Long Island