I didn't know pressure washing the roof was a thing

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

Someone on our road is having their roof cleaned and one of the workmen has knocked on the door to see if we want ours done. These houses are about 20 years old and they have red tiled roofs which I think look better aged than brand new, but that's just personal opinion, I'm sure the cleaned roof will be the preference of the neighbour having it done.

I'm just surprised that there are companies offering it, I've never heard of it before. Are there other unexpected things that can be pressure washed?

(Also, the more I type the word 'roof' the stranger it looks.)

Some people over the road had this done, and then had it all spray painted. It looks very strange

I’d be worried it would loosen the tiles 🤔

Several people around me have had it done. It looks nice for 2 months but then starts going back to how it was (but without the moss). After a year I cant tell who had it or not. Still have bird poop and moss on it.

The downside is your mortar can be washed away around your chimney and any (cant think of words) that hold the ridge tiles on, etc. Can also crack/slightly dislodge older tiles.

Some people like this sort of thing. Personally I agree with you - I think roofs and patios look much better a bit weathered in, but we’re all different. My Dad is always going on about the moss on my garage roof and telling me I should do something about it, but It will be staying as it is. He also spends hours blasting every lichen he can find with his Karcher. Makes him happy.

Our roof gets caked in moss then the wee twatty birds chuck it down everywhere. Mine gets powerwashed every couple of years.

Yes, I did wonder if it might have the potential to cause damage or damp. Tiles aren't a solid surface, they are sort of hooked on at the top and then loose-lie in an overlapping pattern. It's the downward slope and the overlapping that keeps the water out, so pressure washing might force water into the roof space.

I also thought this Op. Also ranks alongside people who pay to have their wheelie bin cleaned every week.

We had ours done because it was covered in moss, which blocked the gutters and we had to pay £90 a time to have the gutters and down pipes regularly cleared. Also birds used to throw the moss down onto our skylights making them filthy.

The moss won't grow back for at least 2 years now and then will take a further 5 years or more to get to the previous levels, so it was a good investment.

Ours wasn't pressure washed. We had a guy actually go up there and brush it and remove the moss with special equipment

This neighbour does clean her wheelie bin after every collection SouthOfFrance, although she does it herself. She is a very lovely neighbour who never judges others but has much higher standards than me with a completely immaculate home and garden.

My relative had this done and it dislodged the ridge tiles, which then fell down causing considerable damage.
I'd leave your roof alone!

It's really common here in Switzerland... and often a requirement when people check out after renting.

I know someone who had this done. All the houses in their road had dark grey tiles. The jet washing was so powerful that it blasted most of this dark grey coating off and started to expose the fawn coloured material that the tile is made from. So now they're the only house in the road that has tiles that have lost most of their dark grey coating. It looks odd, and if they want to sell in future then they've probably lost some value by doing this. And they didn't even have a serious problem with moss. I think they're looking into getting it painted with some kind of biocidal coating, which might darken the tiles and make them look more normal, but unlike the coating that they removed it probably won't last long, and will probably need to be repeated every few years.

@SouthOfFrance I've paid to have my wheelie bin washed once in 18 years 🤣. The man originally said he didn't do one offs and that I had to book for every week. Who wants to pay for that?! If it's only got smelly once in 18 years, how dirty can it get every week?!

A roofer friend says hell no to it unless it's done by proper roof experts as it often causes more damage than you'd think. Lots of companies are popping up with this service but the result is a temporarily nice looking roof with lots of issues later.

I was one of those wheelie bin people for a bit, as we had a terrible prob with maggots as our bins are only collected fortnightly

I would put pressure washing the roof up there with hoovering the Astro turf

This can badly damage your roof, would seriously avoid. Saw a documentary about it a while back

The perception of nature as mess is a big problem. We need less pointless tidying and more moss and lichen. Thank God there are still birds around to chuck the moss.

People will constantly find new pointless things to clean

Sorry but when the moss on the roof is blocking the drains and costing me £90 every 2-3 months, I'm going to do something about it. It's not just mess.

I can see the rationale behind having a bin cleaned, especially in warm weather, but not pressure cleaning a roof. Funnily enough an ad came up for this on FB yesterday and I thought who on earth washes their roof!

I thought this was a fairly well known scam. Lots of potential for roof damage and expensive repairs.

Don't decide on a whim.

I can see in hot weather if you get maggots in your bin the appeal of a bin cleaner, but firstly some boiling hot water quickly sorts that out, and also like @daffodilandtulip said, it happens so rarely it seems unnecessary to get it done every week.
Pretty sure in the past 15 years I've only had the maggot issue twice. Recon I've saved myself thousands 😆

Sorry, I didn't make it clear in my OP that I didn't accept the offer to have my roof cleaned, didn't even consider it because I like the aged look. We don't have a moss problem or anything, it just looks weathered. I think the pitch of the roof is probably too steep for moss, the rain drains right off so there's damp places for the moss to take hold. It was only after I'd said "no" that I wondered if it might also be potentially damaging.

I'll give it a few months and see how it's worked out for my neighbour.

Missed a 'no', there's NO damp places for moss to take hold.