Tile Roof Soft Washing
Pelican Preserve

Every roof in our recent MLS sample of Pelican Preserve listings was tile, on homes built from 2003 to 2016. Concrete tile is durable, but its porous face holds dew after a humid Florida night, and that moisture feeds Gloeocapsa magma, the organism behind most of the dark streaks on roofs in this region.

WCI Homes built the community in phases from 2001 to 2020, so two roofs on one street can be nearly twenty years apart in age. A 2004 roof that has never been treated needs a stronger mix and more dwell time than a 2016 roof showing its first shadows. We set the solution per roof instead of running one recipe through a whole neighborhood.

Ponds, the 27-hole Pelican Preserve Golf Club and the 38-acre nature preserve keep the air damp on many lots. Slopes facing the water or the course stay wet longest after sunrise, and that is usually where streaking appears first. We treat the full roof, not just the darkest slope, so the color comes back even.

Many home types, one approach. The 2,498 residences range from condominiums and villas to cottage duplex pairs, four-unit carriage buildings, Grand Villas and estate homes. A detached estate roof can be quoted on its own, while attached buildings share one roof surface, so we walk each type differently and price it to match.

Carriage buildings have two levels. Each carriage home building holds four units over two floors, which puts the eaves higher than on a ranch home. Those roofs are reached from a ladder at the second-story line, and we price them on the two-story row rather than the single-story one.

Single-story homes and villas. Most detached homes and villas here are one story, so the soft wash can usually be applied from a ladder at the gutter line without much walking on the tile. Those roofs fall under our single-story price, and larger estate roofs with several hips and valleys move to the complex-roof row.

What the tile maker allows. Eagle Roofing Products, which makes concrete tile, prefers plain water for routine cleaning and sets a ceiling of 1,200 psi, warning that more force can alter the tile’s pH and leave it discolored. For heavy soiling it permits a concrete-safe cleaner used as dilute as possible. Our soft wash stays well under that ceiling.

Where the streaks come from. ARMA, the asphalt roofing trade group, names Gloeocapsa magma as likely the most widespread of the algae that darken roofs and says it is most common across the Gulf States. Owens Corning adds that it travels on the air and settles on a roof, and that it is a different organism from green algae and moss.

No promise of a set interval. ARMA warns that a cleaned roof can discolor again and that the result is temporary. We would rather give you dated photos than a calendar. Pond-side and shaded roofs tend to darken sooner; when your roof starts to show streaks again, the photos make the comparison easy.

Footing on wet tile. Eagle describes a wet tile roof as hard and risky to walk, and advises hiring a licensed, insured contractor with tile experience who uses fall protection. We limit foot traffic, step only where the tile is supported, and work from ladders at the eaves whenever the slope allows.

A condition note with every job. Eagle recommends periodic professional inspections for cracked tile and drainage trouble. We are cleaners, not roofers, but while the roof is wet and clean we photograph cracked or slipped tile, worn ridge mortar and blocked valleys, and list them in your record so your roofer can follow up.

Reclaimed water and the walls below. Recent listings here commonly show reclaimed-water irrigation, which can leave orange marks where sprinklers reach the stucco. Roof rinse water does not remove those marks. If they bother you, our rust stain removal service treats them separately.

Plants, ponds and the preserve. Owens Corning’s cleaning guidance closes with a thorough flush of the roof and the greenery around it. We pre-wet shrubs and lawn under the drip line, rinse them again when the roof is done, and direct runoff away from pond edges and the boardwalk.

A gated, active community. Pelican Preserve is gated, and its Town Center draws residents to the resort pool, pickleball courts, tennis and the movie theater most days. We confirm gate registration with you or your manager before the visit, park off the street where we can, and keep the work to daytime hours.

Ridge lines on older roofs. On the earliest phases, mortared ridges and hips can look darker than the field tile. The tile roof plus ridge cap treatment, from $349, gives those lines extra attention; our tile roof cleaning page explains the process.