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Cleaning cedar shingles is simple if you follow these tips and buy the right product to clean with. Cedar shingles must be cleaned to get the full life span out of the shingle. Cleaning the wrong way can shorten the life of your shingles and lead to early replacement. Reasons to clean your cedar shingles; A new wood roof for an average size home could run close to $25,000, to side a medium size home with cedar shingles is easily $15,000, that alone should be enough reason to clean your shingles. Natural wood products are food for mold, mildew, algae, moss and lichen, when these types of fungus are attached to your shingles they are feeding on them, causing them to curl, crack and dislodge. Fungus also holds water and their roots could lead to leaks. To the eye, you want to keep your home looking new and clean, a clean exterior will add to the home's value. The tools that you will need, I'm sure that you already have. A "garden style" pump sprayer, hose, a ladder (put on stabilizer bars for safety) and a medium bristle scrub brush. What you do not need is a pressure washer; this is a common mistake when it comes to cleaning wood shingles. High pressure loosens shingles, cuts a layer of wood off, which will lead to curling and also spreads and pushes the spores deep into the wood, only to come back worse. The cleaning method for siding or roof shingles is the same. Mix your product in a separate bucket then transfer it into the pump sprayer. Take the hose and moisten an area to clean starting at the highest point and work your way down. After the area is moist, not drenched, apply your shingle cleaning solution with the sprayer, before it dries, scrub the area lightly with your scrub brush, then rinse completely with the hose until clear water is running off the shingles. The trick to the cleaning is using the right product. What you want to avoid purchasing is TSP, bleach or any product containing chlorine. These products are hazardous and will create more problems than you had. High chemical products will ruin your lawn, kill your plants, the odor will linger for weeks, and they dry out wood to the point of cracking, stain surrounding surfaces and in my experience do not clean evenly, leaving a very un-natural look to your wood shingles. Choose an environmentally safe product and you can expect better, natural results without the side effects. Find the right product, clean regularly without pressure and your cedar shingles will last forever.
Article Source: http://www.associatedigest.com
John Redihan is the founder of Wash Safe Industries of Brewster, MA. Wash Safe Industries produces Cedar Shingle Cleaning Products, purchasing the right cleaning product can make the difference in how clean your cedar shingles come out. Wash Safe also has a "green" cleaning division
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