Tile Roof Soft Washing
Shadow Wood Preserve

Shadow Wood Preserve is a gated, master-planned community of 440 acres in Fort Myers 33908, between the Estero Bay preserve and Mullock Creek. Bonita Bay Group developed it with 293 home sites, built out by local builders.

All six recent listings we reviewed had tile roofs. Roofs of that age in Lee County have usually been through several algae cycles and show black streaks on the shaded slopes if they haven’t been soft washed lately.

Homes beside a bay preserve and creek generally see more humidity than inland lots, so roof surfaces dry slowly after dew. Those slopes usually streak first; so the whole roof is treated, not just the dark patches.

The housing mix takes in villas, single-family residences and coach and carriage homes. Coach and carriage buildings share a roof between owners, so we suggest cleaning each building whole, quoted to whoever maintains it, for an even result.

Custom estate homes often have larger, more complex roofs. They’re worked from safe walk zones with proper footing, well back from the eaves, and quoted individually.

The black streaking is mostly Gloeocapsa magma. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association rates it as probably the most prevalent of the algae species that discolor roofs, with its widest reach in the Gulf States. Owens Corning notes it is airborne and collects on roofs.

Tile makers limit how roofs should be cleaned. Eagle Roofing Products recommends plain water for routine cleaning at no more than 1,200 psi, warning that higher pressure can alter the tile’s pH and discolor it. Our soft wash runs far under that.

For a heavily soiled roof Eagle allows a cleaner only in the most diluted solution possible and only one compatible with concrete, as some products can etch the tile. We extend dwell time on older, shaded slopes before we would strengthen anything.

Eagle also advises hiring a licensed, insured contractor with tile experience who wears fall protection. On two-story and estate roofs our crew is harnessed for the full job.

The 18-hole, par-72 Arthur Hills course runs through and around the community, so many homes back onto fairways, trees or water. Those slopes are noted on the walk-around and get a little more dwell.

Runoff matters next to a creek and a preserve. Owens Corning advises flushing the roof and the plants around it thoroughly after a bleach-based clean, and ARMA asks that solution be applied carefully to protect the building and landscaping, so beds are soaked first and downspouts are turned away from water.

Residents kayak and canoe the creek and walk the trails along the preserve, so the water’s edge is in regular use. That is one more reason we never let rinse water run straight off a downspout toward the bank; it is spread across lawn or turned onto hardscape that drains away from the water.

A cleaned roof is slippery, ARMA warns, and only trained professionals should be on it. Owners are asked to keep off the roof and to keep children and pets inside until the rinse is finished and surfaces are dry.

Stucco walls, windows and screened lanais sit right beneath the eaves on most homes here. We rinse them as each section of roof is finished, so solution never has time to dry on glass or leave a drip line on paint.

Before any solution goes on, each slope is photographed. Eagle recommends routine checks for cracked tile and drainage problems, and anything we spot goes on the record for your roofer.

Valleys and gutters are cleared by hand of leaves and debris first, because packed debris keeps the solution off the tile beneath it. Gutters and downspouts are then flushed at the end so storm water moves off the roof cleanly.

Common areas here belong to the association, run by an elected board of five. Pavilion and amenity roofs are association work, quoted to the board separately from private homes.

Each service record lists the date, address, surfaces cleaned, the method and our Florida license number, along with before-and-after photos. Owners keep it with their roof paperwork, and boards use it to track which buildings have been done.

ARMA is plain that roof cleaning is temporary and staining may return. Preserve-side slopes will show it first, so we leave the timing of the next visit to what the roof shows, not to a fixed number of months.

Single-story tile roofs start at $299, tile roofs with ridge cap treatment at $349 and custom estates at $499. Roof plus house wash starts at $599; our tile roof cleaning page explains more.

Crews are signed in with the Shadow Wood Preserve gate ahead of time, and we carry a license and insurance. Call 239-544-1165 to book a Shadow Wood Preserve roof.