Why You Should Never Pressure Wash Your Arizona Tile Roof
The Arizona skyline is characterized by tile roofs. Most homes in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Tucson are covered with concrete S-tiles and clay barrel tiles. They are beautiful, mirror the desert sun and are decades long when left unattended.
Thousands of homeowners are stumped by that last part each year. Over time dust, bird waste, and mineral stains accumulate. The apparent solution would be a cheap rental pressure washer. But it is severely discouraged by almost all tile manufacturers, the Tile Roofing Industry Alliance and trusted Arizona roofers.
This is one of the reasons as to why pressure washing your Arizona tile roof is one of the most expensive mistakes that a homeowner may make.
How Pressure Washing Damages an Arizona Tile Roof
Your roof of tiles is not single-layered. It is a complete system. The water tile visible sheds water, blocks sun. The actual waterproofing lies on top, on a felt or synthetic underlayment nailed to your roof deck. When that underlayment fails, your roof will leak, however much the tile covering it may appear clean. In addition, the damages are aggravated by the climate of Arizona.
The Tile Roof System Most Phoenix Homeowners Don’t Understand
The majority of house owners believe the tile to be keeping the rain away. It does not. The tile is armor. The skin is the underlayment. In the desert, that skin suffers the beating of the UV radiation over 300-plus sunny days a year. Under mild climates, felt underlayment has a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, but in Arizona, it can be reduced by half by the heat. The water is then forced by pressure washing over the tile and saturates a layer that is already weak. This results in the appearance of leaks one or two monsoons later.
Surface Erosion on Concrete Tile
A layer of thin Portland cement known as the fines provides concrete tile with its color. The layer is blasted off by pressure washing. The procedure reveals the sand aggregate beneath and the tile permanently changes color. You have no way of restoring it. Also, the coarse surface now holds dirt and algae grow quicker, resulting in cleaning more frequently and causing more damage each time.
Water Intrusion and Tile Roof Underlayment Damage
Arizona tiles interlock in a pattern which manages gravity, not 3,000 PSI. Most consumer pressure washers operate at 2,000-4,500 PSI, and the tile damage point is approximately 1,200 PSI. The high-pressure water drains laterally, pushing the tile laps, and soaking the underlayment. That water speedily cracks and decays in Phoenix, where felt is already baked brittle. A monsoon storm finally reveals the damage under the carpet.
Warranty Voidance and Broken Tiles
Big time manufacturers such as Eagle and Westlake do not cover warranty damages caused by power washing. A single afternoon of home cleaning can take away decades of protection. More than that, walking over tiles to access all the sections breaks about 3 to 5 percent of the tiles with each step. Even manufacturers have ceased a variety of profiles manufactured during the 1990s and early 2000s, making it difficult to find an exact replacement.
Thus, the supposed savings are lost in a short time.
Common Myths About Cleaning a Tile Roof in Arizona
There are plenty of bad tips available in Arizona homeowner boards, HOA organizations and certain exterior-cleaning advertisements. Keep fact and myth apart to save your roof and your wallet.
What Homeowners Get Wrong About DIY Roof Cleaning
The largest myth is that tile is tough that nothing can make it break when subjected to water pressure. In practice, the damage affects the surface finish, the mortar joints, and the underlayment concealed. The tile body in itself seldom cracks initially. The other error is to consider a healthy roof as having a clean-looking roof. The condition of underlayment, however, is not said by cosmetic results.
The “It Looks Clean” Trap
Homeowners are pressure washing prior to selling their home, and they display sunny pictures and are very much proud of the clean up. The new owner makes a phone call to a roofer two years later regarding ceiling stains. At that point, the underlayment mend cost is between 10 and 15 thousand dollars on a 3,000-square-foot average home in Phoenix. Finally, the quick clean is much more expensive than any soft-wash service would be.
The Algae Misconception in the Arizona Desert
The majority of the marketing of pressure-washing is aimed at dark algae streaks and it is logical in Florida or coastal California. Arizona works differently. The main problem is seldom caused by algae because of low humidity. Rather, you tend to encounter dust, droppings of the birds, mineral efflorescence and monsoon grit. A low pressure rinse and a mild biocide will take care of those problems without endangering your underlayment. To put it simply, the Arizona cleaning puzzle is not the kind that the ads present.
Safer Ways to Clean Your Arizona Tile Roof
Soft washing does not create a new issue, but it resolves a cleaning issue.
The sodium hypochlorite or biocide mixture used by professionals is at about 60 PSI, which is similar to the pressure of a garden-hose. The work is done by the chemistry and not the force. Superficial stains become worn off, spores of algae perish at the root, and the tile retains its finish. Moreover, the underlayment remains dry.
Soft Washing and Professional Alternatives for Tile Roof Cleaning
The first step to a proper soft wash is a technician walking around the roof carefully since he/she is only supposed to step on the tile overlaps. It also involves check of flashings and broken tiles. The technician rinses then towards the gutters without going under the tile laps. Soft washing is commonly used in Arizona with a light sealer applied by many roofers to older concrete tile to restore its color uniformity. Consequently, the roof will appear more attractive and have a longer life.
When to Hire a Licensed Arizona Roofer for Tile Roof Cleaning
Select an Arizona licensed roofing contractor, not a general pressure-washing company. Licensing implies that the company is able to repair what it discovers. Moreover, professional roofers have insurance against errors. In case your tile roof is over fifteen years old then demand a complete check up together with cleaning. The underlayment is probably near the expiry of its life than you can perceive.
Protect Your Arizona Tile Roof With Stradling Roofing
Your roof of tiles is worth tens of thousands of dollars. Do not entrust such an investment to a hired pressure washer. The Stradling Roofing team provides tile roof inspections, safe soft washing, underlayment replacement and tile repair throughout Arizona. Call Stradling Roofing today to have a professional assessment. Our team will construct a cleaning program that is approved by manufacturers, which will keep your roof safe over decades.