Those streaks are alive.
And they’re feeding on your roof right now. We kill the organism at the root with the correct chemical mix — never with pressure, which is what strips granules and voids warranties.
What’s actually growing up there
The black streaking on nearly every Florida roof is Gloeocapsa magma — a cyanobacteria that arrived airborne and settled in. It isn’t dirt, and it will not wash off with water. It’s a colony, and it’s eating.
On an asphalt shingle roof, it feeds on the limestone filler manufacturers blend into the shingle. As it eats, the granules that protect your shingle from UV loosen and wash into the gutter. Once those granules are gone, the asphalt underneath is exposed to Florida sun with nothing between them, and the shingle starts to cook.
On tile, the story is different but ends the same way. The colony holds moisture against the tile and in the valleys. Constant damp invites moss and lichen, which root into the surface. Water that should be running off is now sitting — and sitting water finds the underlayment.
Left alone, a routine cleaning turns into decking, insulation and drywall. That’s the part nobody tells you.
Why we never pressure wash a roof
You can absolutely blast a roof clean with a pressure washer. It looks incredible for about a year. What you can’t see is the granules in the driveway, the water driven up under the tile, and the shingle warranty you just voided.
Soft washing does the opposite. Low pressure — barely more than a garden hose — carries a correctly mixed solution onto the surface, and the chemistry kills the organism where it lives. Nothing gets scoured. Nothing gets forced under the tile. And because the colony is actually dead rather than knocked off, it stays clean far longer.
How we do it
Walk the property
Roof type, pitch, condition, drainage lines, and every plant bed that’s going to catch runoff. You hear what we found before anything gets sprayed.
Flood the landscaping
Every bed gets saturated with clean water first. Saturated plants can’t take up solution. This is the step that separates us from the cheapest bid you’ll get, and it’s not optional here.
Mix to the surface
Barrel tile, flat tile, architectural shingle and metal do not take the same mix. We dial it in for what’s actually on your house — strong enough to kill the colony, controlled enough to leave the material alone.
Commercial-grade system, sized to the property
We run a professional commercial-grade soft wash setup — consistent mix, consistent low pressure, and the reach to do it without dragging equipment across your roof. Depending on the size and layout of the property we’ll be one or two on site, and downfall gets rinsed off the walls, windows and beds the whole time either way.
Let it dwell
The chemistry needs time to do its job. Cutting the dwell short is exactly why a cheap wash goes black again in six months. We wait it out.
Rinse and walk it with you
Roof, walls, driveway and every bed that caught overspray gets flushed. Then we stand in the yard and look at it together before we load up.
How pricing works
Every roof gets its own number, and it comes from me personally. No published rate, no calculator, no “starting at” figure that changes when the truck pulls up.
The reason is simple: a steep two-story barrel tile that hasn’t been touched in eight years is nothing like a single-story shingle roof with light streaking — and you shouldn’t be charged like it is. How heavy the growth is, the pitch, the access, and the roof type all move the number. A generic price per square foot would mean overcharging half of you to cover the other half.
So send me a video, or call and we’ll talk it through. I look at your actual roof, I check the numbers, and I give you your bid myself. That’s it.
Questions we get asked
Will this hurt my plants?
Not when it’s done properly. Beds get pre-soaked with clean water before we start and rinsed continuously while we work. That’s a person’s whole job on our crew.
How long does it stay clean?
Typically a few years in this climate, depending on shade, tree cover and how much moisture sits on that side of the house. North-facing slopes always go first.
Will it damage my shingles?
No. Soft washing is the method roofing manufacturers themselves point to. Pressure washing is what damages shingles — and it’s what we don’t do.
How long does it take?
Most residential roofs are a half day. Large or heavily grown-in roofs can run a full day.
Do I need to be home?
No, as long as we have water access. Plenty of customers get a video of the finished job on their phone at work.