A lot of roof damage is caused by severe weather but other damage comes from human error. Mind you that we are not calling anyone dumb but we are going to call out some of the mistakes that are made by busy, distracted homeowners.

• Not Cleaning Your Gutters: The job of your butters is to get the water to the ground from the roof. If you don’t clean your gutters than all the excess water will go where it is not supposed to go and end up damaging your roof.
• Not Trimming The Trees Near the Roof: Storms may have left heavy debris on your roof, but leaving it there will cause trouble. Piles of leaves and dirt hold moisture and can be a breeding ground for mold, mildew and other issues. This can allow moisture to seep under the shingles and can cause damage that leads to a total roof replacement.
• Busting out the pressure washer: A pressure washer does seem to be the perfect way to clean your roof. If washed to many times the highly pressurized water will start to erode the roof.
• Pulling up roofing shingles to look for leaks: If you do detect a leak in your roof don’t feel obligated to detect and fix the leaking roof yourself. Pulling up the shingles to check for leaks can only cause more damage and can create leaks where there were none before. Inspecting asphalt roof shingles yourself requires you get on the roof, which leads into the next thing to avoid.
• Walking on your roof: Roofs are called slippery slopes for a reason. Beyond the potential of falling off the roof, there is the actual damage to the roof that might happen. Walking on your asphalt shingles disturbs the granules and can leave the shingles bare, dislodge them or create gaps creating the potential for leaks.
• Mounting satellite dishes: The holes and screws to adhere the dish to the roof can allow moisture into the small areas and cause damage.
• Adding solar panels: Solar panels provide energy savings but may also provide damage to the roof. You can ask the solar company to install the panels with invisible brackets that do not damage the roofing system.
• A Little To Much DIY: Keep in mind that you can damage your roof just by walking on it, especially if you have a tile roof. If you aren’t absolutely sure what you need to do, where you need to do it, how you need to do it, and how you stay safe doing it, call a licensed professional like Premo Roofing Company to make your repairs.

Protect your roof so it can protect you. Being proactive is the key to your roof maintenance. To learn more about what you can do to protect your roof, contact Premo Roofing for a FREE consultation and estimate.