Aqua Pro Cleaning Solutions

Roof Cleaning is not only cosmetically necessary, but also has health advantages. Roof Cleaning helps combat certain fungus. algae, mold and mildews that can grow and build up on roof tops.

Asphalt Roofing Manufactures Association (ARMA) top five Roof Dangers:

Algae: Effects wood, shake, metal, tile and asphalt shingles. Lowers property value and can deteriorate your roof. Algae can thrive in humidity and shaded areas.

Lichen: Effects wood, shake, metal, tile and asphalt shingles. May lead to increased shingle degradation leading to costly repairs or replacement. Lichen thrives in moist/humid conditions.

Moss: Effects wood, shake, metal, tile and asphalt shingles. May lead to roof rot and compromise the integrity of the area of the roof effected leading to costly repairs or replacement. Moss also thrives in humid conditions.

Mold: Effects wood and drywall. Some molds such as Stachybotrys (commonly known as black mold) can cause serious health risks and respiratory illnesses. Mold is fast growing and compromises the entire structure not only the roof without fast and efficient removal. Mold usually shows up as fuzzy black, green or brown colored spots. Mold can thrive in any region and only needs moisture to form.

Mildew: Effects roofs with poor drainage or where trees may over hang. You can recognize mildew by its green, black, red or pink powdery appearance. Mildew thrives in warm, humid and rainy climates.

Health Benefits of Roof Cleaning

• Removes contaminants that cause allergies
• removes contaminants that can lead to asthma attacks
• Removes bird droppings and dander that can lead to hystoplasmosis

 Did you know?

According to NBC News Channel 2 special report, insurance companies are now canceling or refusing to renew homeowners policies due to dirty roofs in some areas.

Unsightly staining is more often caused by algae and moss. Since both have a tendency to damage roofs to the point of repair or replacement from lack of cleaning, insurance companies are not renewing or are going as far as canceling policies.

In conjunction with your manufactures maintenance recommendations roof cleaning may help to preserve your warranty.  Many warranties state that keeping the roof clean and free of debris is necessary to maintain the warranty and prolong the life of the roof.

-article originally printed in the UAMCC newletter issue#2

Five U.S. homeowner lawsuits over the performance of a deck coating have been merged into multidistrict litigation in federal court in Chicago.

The homeowners, from five different states, are seeking class-action status for their case against Rust-Oleum Corp., a division of RPM International Inc.

A sixth lawsuit was underway in Illinois but was merged in November with another complaint, court papers say.

Sullivan et al v Rust-Oleum Corp. et al.
David and Kathleen Sullivan submitted these photos of their deck and porch as part of their lawsuit against Rust-Oleum. The couple’s action is one of several alleging premature failure of Rust-Oleum Restore.

…Continue Reading

Article originally posted at http://www.woodsiding.com/

While house building methods vary widely across the US, one common practice has been that carpenters often use “vertical grain” wood on surfaces such as floors, shingles and siding that need to endure extreme weather conditions. This practice can be seen here in New England on churches, meeting houses, schools, bridges, barns and homes. The builders of these structures learned from experience that the performance of “vertical grain” wood is superior when it comes to withstanding severe exposures.

“Vertical Grain” vs “Flat Sawn”Most lumber available is “flat sawn”. The annual growth rings run roughly parallel to the face of the board. As shown in the illustration A

,they tend to shrink across the width, and cup.

True quartersawn lumber produces a “vertical grain” where the annual growth rings are vertical to the face of the board. As shown in the illustration B, they tend to shrink across the thickness and remain flat.

“Vertical grain” boards are highly stable and show a minimum shrinkage and warpage. This enhances the durability and its ability to hold paints and stains.

Growth rings

The annual growth rings of wood are composed of soft porous wood that grows in the early spring and relatively harder dense wood that grows in late summer.It is the darker late wood that we count as the “growth rings”. …Continue Reading

You survived another harsh Chicago winter and if you’re anything like me have been longing for the day that you can get back to the beach, backyard BBQ’s (I have to confess, my grill often times assists in snow melting) and fun in the sun. It’s also time to make plans to have your deck cleaned, house washed, concrete cleaned & sealed or roof attended too! Those are just a few of the professional power washing and restoration services we offer at Aqua Pro Cleaning Solutions.

Give us a call to schedule your free estimate today to make sure you get a spot early in the season.

To all of our loyal customers, THANK YOU for choosing us as your exterior restoration specialist over the years, we hope to see you again soon. For everyone else, thank you for your consideration in using our services, we hope to add you to our every growing data base of satisfied users of our services.

;-D

It’s been a long time coming but as of February 9th 2015, the new site is finally up and running. Thank you Henry Bockman for the inspiration and help in getting the ball rolling. Along with the new site, the next couple of weeks will find me back in the classroom catching up on some training endeavors. 2015 is shaping up to be a good year! Check back often for exterior restoration articles, tips and more.

Also look for the mobile version to be optimized in the very near future.

-Tom