Any homeowner can benefit from owning a high pressure washer to make cleaning tasks a breeze. Whether you are cleaning your patio, cleaning your car or cleaning your roof, a pressure washer works up to 5x faster than your standard garden hose.

Do I need a pressure washer to clean my roof?

To get rid of any stubborn dirt such as moss or mould, a pressure washer is the best way to clean your roof. A standard garden hose or brush would take a lot of manpower and still wouldn’t get rid of all the worn-in muck.

However, if you only need to remove some loose debris such as dust or dead leaves from your roof, you can easily do this with an outdoor brush. Most houses will likely need a combination of both brushing and pressure washing for a proper deep clean.

Pressure washing your roof: step by step

1. Prepare your cleaning products – get your high-pressure washer ready with any necessary accessories. You may want to use an angled-nozzle or a roof cleaner extension to get those hard-to-reach areas. Make sure your gutters are not blocked, so that water can drain away easily while cleaning. We recommend wearing non-slip shoes and old clothes.
2. Get into position – If you live in a 2-story house, you’ll need to climb up onto your roof, make sure you place the ladder somewhere where it won’t cause damage. If you live in a bungalow, you can likely clean most of your roof with a roof cleaning pole at ground level. Either way, you should clean from top to bottom so that the dirty water won’t drain over the areas you already cleaned.
3. Start pressure washing – keep your pressure washer on 1500 PSI or less, we recommend starting on a lower setting and increasing the pressure if necessary. But make sure there is no loose tile grit falling off your roof. Starting from the top, aim the pressure gun downwards, otherwise you risk blasting the tiles off from underneath. Work in sections, find a spot where you can reach easily from left to right and then re-position yourself and do the remaining sections.

Things to watch out for when cleaning your roof

• Make sure you’re always standing on the dry part of your roof so you don’t slip
• Usually you won’t need detergent when cleaning your roof, unless you are removing black mould. If that’s the case, spray on the detergent and leave it for a full day before rinsing.
• Not all surfaces are designed for weight, make sure your roof can carry you and only stand on beams if necessary