Fall is a beautiful time of the year with all those red, yellow, and brown leaves floating in the air. However, when all this beauty ends up on your roof and you can’t get it off there, fall might not seem such a beautiful season to you anymore!
As a homeowner, you definitely know what it is like to fight dead leaves on your roof every year! And since it is a tiresome task to go up there to clean the leaves off the roof, today we want to share a few easier methods with you.
From this article, you will learn how to get leaves and various debris off your roof. In particular, we will share two alternative methods with you so that you could choose the one that suits you more.
Also, we will explain why it is so important to keep your roof leaves-free, and what could happen should you forget to clean it regularly.
How to Get Leaves Off Your Roof?
First of all, we would like to pay attention to the following fact: you should never rely on mother nature when it comes to removing dead leaves from your roof! That means no things like “the wind will blow them off” or “they will be washed down with the rain” or something like that.
No, dear friends, neither the wind nor the rain will blow those leaves off your roof. But even if they do, none of them will still be able to clean the roof entirely from leaves and other debris.
This is why the only solution for you is to go up to your roof and get things done. Or, as an option, you might want to consider using a couple of alternative cleaning methods:
- You can blow the leaves off a low-pitched roof with a leaf blower
- You can pull leaves off your steeper pitch roof by using a broom on an extension pole or a roof rake
We would even say that a roof rake would be a more preferable option since it is designed specifically for this purpose. So if you have access to one, that would be much better than using a broom! Now let’s see how you should use your leaf blower correctly to remove all the dead leaves from your roof.
How to Use Your Leaf Blower?
Well, you basically need to grab your leaf blower and climb up to the roof. We don’t recommend you take your leaf blower up the ladder with one hand though because you could lose balance and fall!
Instead, try another trick: tie a rope around the handle of the leaf blower and carry the rope as you climb up the ladder.
Once this is done, simply work on the surface of your roof with your leaf blower. It is important that you blow in the right direction, in particular, you should blow the leaves down and across the shingles. Never blow them against the shingles, otherwise, you may cause damage by lifting and tearing!
It is best to blow the leaves to a place on the roof that doesn’t have a gutter, if possible. If those leaves get stuck in the gutter, they will be hard to get out of there.
So if you happened to accidentally blow some to your gutter, once you have removed all of the loose leaves, you will need to address the ones in the gutter system and deal with them.
How to Remove Leaves from Gutters?
We wish we could say that you can use a leaf blower to clean your gutters but it’s not true. Unfortunately, you can’t really use this trick with the leaf blower on the gutters.
Instead, the gutters will have to be cleaned out in a traditional way: you will have to grab a ladder and move around the perimeter of your house, scooping out the leaves as you go along.
It is tedious, but you should not skip this part of leaf removal since it is the most important one. If you don’t clear out the gutters, the dead leaves will clog them. As a result, the water runoff will be forced to drain improperly along the sides of the house. That could lead to the foundation and siding experiencing water damage.
However, you can still make the job a bit easier! For example, you can use a gutter cleaning wand. Not only will this simplify the annoying task, but also speed the process up.
You can also skip using the ladder with this wand as it attaches to a hose, allowing you to reach the most difficult spots and areas.
Now that you know how to use a leaf blower to remove dead leaves and debris off your roof, and what method to use to clean out the gutters, let’s see what you can do in order to maintain your roof and keep it clean longer.
How to Keep Your Roof Leaves-Free?
It is a very tempting idea to think that you can clean dead leaves off your roof once and forget about them. But this is not like that. To keep your roof clean and in a good condition, you need to remove dead leaves from it regularly.
This is why, once you have removed the dead leaves and debris from your roof, remember to take a few additional steps to maintain and prevent it in the future.
- Trim back all branches that are close to or touching the shingles to prevent any extra damage
- If you notice mold on your roof, you can chemically treat it, then sweep it off with a soft broom
- In order to kill mold, you can use a diluted bleach solution. Just be cautious to spray just enough to soak the mold itself!
- Clean your gutters at least twice a year, in fall and spring
- You may want to consider using gutter shutters or gutter guards. They keep out large debris so you don’t have to spend much time and effort cleaning
However, note that these are just some general rules. For example, if you have multiple trees growing near or over your home, you may find it necessary to take care of them more frequently.
That means more frequent trimming and cleaning of the debris, for instance.
Neglecting these simple tasks can make your gutters weigh down because of all the wet leaves and build-up stuck in them. As a result, with that extra weight, the gutters could pull away from the home, which will cause even more damage to the exterior.
We don’t even mention the situation when water is unable to drain through the gutters because they are full of dead leaves! In this case, the excess water could soak into your shingles again, leading to mold growth.
Well, now you know how to get dead leaves and other debris off your roof with the help of a few useful and easy methods. And also, you are now aware of a few key reasons why you should not neglect this kind of home chore.
Of course, removing leaves and other debris from your roof might be a tiresome task, but on the other hand, it ensures that your roof remains in a decent condition longer.
So you decide whether it’s worth it to leave those leaves on your roof and spend more money and time on repairing the roof later.
What Will Happen If I Don’t Clean Dead Leaves From My Roof?
Ok, imagine that you know what to do to remove dead leaves off your roof, but for some reason, you decide not to do this. Maybe you are just lazy or maybe you get so tired at work that the only thing you want after getting home is to relax with a good book on your sofa or watch a nice movie with your family and yummy snacks!
No matter the reason, you neglect the need of removing the leaves from your roof. But what could that lead to?
Well, you will not be happy to learn that! Here are just a few things that you can face if you don’t clean your roof regularly:
- Dead leaves will absorb water and weigh down your gutters
- Dead leaves will eventually start rotting, which may lead to mold growth
- Dead leaves can make your gutters pull away
- Water will not be able to drain properly because of dead leaves blockage
- Blocked water may seep underneath your roof shingles
- Trapped moisture may lead to algae
- As a result, the lifespan of your roof will be significantly shortened!
Not a good perspective right?
This is why we recommend you remove all the dead leaves, as well as any other debris like sticks, pine needles, etc. from your roof before winter comes.
If you don’t do this, clumps of dead leaves will eventually decompose on your roof shingles over several months. That may lead to the need of a serious roof repair next spring!
So, this is all that we wanted to share with you on the subject of removing dead leaves from your home’s roof without having to climb up onto it.
We shared a couple of handy alternative methods with you, so if you are afraid of heights or you just don’t want to go up and down to clean the roof (which is actually not recommended for safety reasons!), use one of them.
And since now you are also aware of what might happen if you don’t clean dead leaves from your roof, you will hardly skip the roof cleaning routine. Leaves may seem to be such a small problem, but if they accumulate on your roof and stuff your gutters, you might end up with mold, algae, and a damaged house exterior.
So make sure you use the tips we shared with you today and keep your home dry, neat, and clean!
Frequently Asked Questions
⭐Is it necessary to clean gutters as well?
Definitely! Your gutters must be cleaned at least twice a year, in autumn and in spring.
⭐If I have gutters with gutter guards, shall I clean those too?
Yes, you shall. See, small debris like seeds or pine needles can still slip past your gutter guards.
⭐Do I have to get to the roof to remove leaves off withit?
It is not recommended that you attempt to remove leaves by getting on the roof unless you are equipped to do so safely! So you’d better use methods that allow you to remove leaves from the roof while standing on the ground.
