The roof of a home is one of its utmost foundational elements, and proper maintenance is key in ensuring that your house not only looks beautiful, but is safe for you and your loved ones. Even if it looks fairly dingy now, rest assured that it does not take a great deal to spruce it up – there are a few easy, fairly low-cost ways to take care of the roof and preserve its structural integrity. It shouldn’t take a great deal of money or time in order to improve both its appearance and functionality, unless things have been left to become fairly dilapidated over time. Hopefully, this won’t be the case and the following four easy breezy tips should help maintain the roof perfectly.
1. Clean the Gutters
The gutters are absolutely essential to keeping your roof healthy and in good shape. If the gutters are left without being properly cleaned, the water and other forms of gunk pile up and eventually work their way to your roofing, rotting the materials through and through. This is the sort of damage that can end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix, so it’s advisable to get ahead of the curve and clean your gutter on a seasonal basis. Perhaps every fall and spring so that you’re cleaning up the mess left by major storms on time.
2. Leaves and Moss are the Enemy
Those beautiful tall trees surrounding your home are idyllic and of course a source of pride. However, their leaves can accumulate at the top of your roof, which trap in moisture and can lead to significant decomposition, or worse, weeds growing wild all over. As the experts over at Elo Restoration Roofing in Jacksonville would say, both leaves and moss should be treated like the enemy of a healthy, well-preserved roof. Therefore, you should be in the habit of taking a leaf rake or garden hose – but careful with the water pressure – and remove the offending bits before they create a ton of moisture and make matters worse.
3. Trim Branches
Continuing from this tangent of trees unintentionally wreaking havoc on your roof, you should be aware that tree branches specifically can damage your roof. The broken branches left in the aftermath of a storm typically make their way over to the roof, which invites squirrels and rodents to gnaw at it, eventually making their way through the roof. So, it’s always a good idea to keep your branches trimmed to avoid any problems.
4. Clean Up After Snow Storms
It can be hard to remember to clean up after a snow storm, mostly because it’s horribly difficult to work in the gold. However, you should try to prevent ice dams by ensuring that your attack does not have any signs of leakage, since this is a clear sign of roof damage.
In the end, ensuring that your roof is in perfect condition is mostly the simple matter of consistently cleaning and being diligent about the general upkeep. Yes, it is likely that you will require the help of professionals from time to time, but hopefully you will be able to circumvent huge bills on your own.