Roof Cleaning Sunshine Coast

Tile roofs are soft washed with no high pressure. A cleaning solution is applied at low pressure so it can soak into the growth on concrete and terracotta tiles. This protects the tile surface, the pointing on the ridge caps and the seal between the tiles.

Metal roofs, including Colorbond, get a gentler low-pressure method. The aim is to lift grime, salt and mould without wearing the coating. Fixings, flashings and any rust are noted so you know the condition of your roof.

On both types, results improve for a few weeks after treatment. Dead growth keeps loosening and rain helps wash it away, so the roof often looks better a month later than on the day.

High rainfall and humidity give lichen, mould and algae ideal conditions. Roofs under trees, or with south-facing slopes that rarely dry out, tend to darken first. That is why you often see one side of a roof in Buderim or Little Mountain looking much worse than the other.

Closer to the beach in Mooloolaba, Coolum Beach and Caloundra, salt air adds a film to metal roofs and works on screws and flashings. In the hinterland, tree cover and damp mornings keep surfaces wet for longer.

High pressure can make a roof look clean quickly, but it often only removes the surface layer. The roots of lichen and mould stay behind and return. On tiles, strong pressure can also wear the surface and push water where it should not go.

Soft washing works the other way around. The solution does the work, killing the growth so it breaks down. Less force on the roof, and a cleaner result that lasts longer. Read more in our guide on why pressure alone can damage your home.

Many Sunshine Coast roofs have solar panels. We work carefully around them and can quote solar panel cleaning and gutter cleaning in the same visit. If the walls need attention too, house washing is often done straight after the roof.

Not every mark on a roof is the same thing, and the difference matters for how it is treated. Black streaks running down the tiles are usually algae, most often Gloeocapsa magma. They tend to show first on the shaded faces of the roof that stay damp after rain and dew.

Lichen looks different. It shows as grey, white or orange crusty spots that grip the tile surface, often along ridge caps and on slopes under trees. Moss is green and spongy, and it holds water in valleys and where tiles overlap.

On Colorbond and other metal roofs, a chalky, dull finish is often oxidation of the coating, known as chalking, rather than dirt or growth. Cleaning can lift the loose film and improve the look, but it cannot reverse coating wear. If that is what we see in your photos or on site, we say so before quoting, so you know what a clean will and will not change.

Plenty of Sunshine Coast homes, especially in the hinterland, collect roof water in a tank. If yours does, the roof clean needs to be planned around it so treatment runoff does not end up in your water supply.

Before any treatment goes on, the downpipes that feed the tank are disconnected or diverted away from it. They stay off until the roof has had a thorough rinse or a good fall of rain has cleared it. We talk you through when it is fine to reconnect.

Please tell us at enquiry if the property collects roof water, and mention it again if you have more than one tank or a first-flush diverter. It takes a few minutes to plan properly and avoids any surprises on the day. If you are not sure which downpipes run to the tank, we can work that out together when we assess the roof.

There is no single answer, because every roof sits in different conditions. Shade, overhanging trees, the direction each face points and how much salt air reaches the roof all affect how quickly growth returns. A roof on an open, sunny block near the beach behaves differently from one in a leafy hinterland street.

Soft washing kills the growth at the root rather than just removing what you can see, so it tends to return more slowly than after a pressure-only clean that leaves the roots behind.

In practice, many owners rebook every few years to keep the roof in good shape, and sooner when the roof sits under trees or stays shaded and damp. Keeping gutters and valleys clear of leaves also helps, because trapped debris holds moisture against the roof. We are happy to suggest a sensible timeframe for your roof once we have seen it.

Every roof is priced on its own details, so we do not publish a flat rate. The main things that shape a roof cleaning price are:

• roof size, pitch and height
• access around the property and onto the roof
• the roof material, such as concrete tile, terracotta or metal
• how heavy the lichen, mould or algae growth is
• solar panels on the roof
• gardens, pools, tanks or anything else that needs protecting

Send a few photos and your suburb and we'll come back with a price range the same day. If the photos do not show enough, we will arrange a time to look at the roof in person.

Bundling helps too. If you also want the gutters, solar panels or walls done, mention it at the start so everything can be quoted and planned as one visit.

For strata and body corporate roofs, see our body corporate page, or read about commercial pressure cleaning on the Sunshine Coast.