Has Spooky Season Come for Your Roof?
Halloween pranks can be frustrating for homeowners. Especially during the fall when bad weather can intensify the damage done by a simple toilet papering of a house. If your house was hit by your neighborhood pranksters, it can be difficult to know where to start. We recommend you approach cleaning top-down, and get your roof cleaned up as quickly as possible.
The two primary types of Halloween-related roof damage comes from:
- Pranks, such as TP-ing and egging
- Wayward holiday decorations
Keep reading to learn how to clean up after Halloween, and what to do if your roof requires professional repairs.
Halloween Prank Roof Clean-Up
Whether wet toilet paper or eggs, anything left to sit on your roof can cause major problems, especially if wet. The longer these items stay on your roof, the more difficult they are to remove and the more likely they will damage your roofing materials.
For example, wet toilet paper can saturate your roofing materials, causing water to get in, degrading your roofing materials, causing granule loss, and threatening the watertight features of your roof. Meanwhile, if left to sit, eggs can become impossible to remove, stain your roof, and corrode your shingles. Similarly, things like silly string can also leave a residue and stain your roof.
Provided the weather allows and it is safe, you will want to remove all foreign materials from your roof. For wet or sticky items, you may have to use a garden hose to hose off your roof. We recommend doing this early in the day so that you can get help from the sun to dry your roof off after it’s been cleaned.
For more stubborn materials, try warm water and mild dish soap (the degreasing aspect of dish soap can help break up the stuck-on materials). Alternatively, a warm water and white vinegar solution can also do the trick. If you have to use a scrub brush, do so gently to avoid further damage.
If your own cleaning efforts don’t work, call Lyons Roofing for further guidance. If needed, we can come to inspect your roof and help you with professional roof cleaning.
Damage Caused by Halloween Decorations
It used to be that you’d only see light and décor displays around the Christmas season, but this is no longer the case. In recent years, exterior Halloween decorations have exploded in popularity, including rooftop decorations. Halloween decorations provide fun for the entire neighborhood, but they can do a number on your roof.
Common rooftop Halloween decorations:
- Inflatables
- Animatronics
- Lighting
- Spiderwebs
- Statues and figures
Whenever you install something on your roof, even if it’s for a short period, you risk damaging your roof. Common problems associated with rooftop decorations include granule loss and shingle damage. These can lead your roof susceptible to all kinds of damage, especially water damage.
When removing your rooftop Halloween decorations, ensure that you remove things carefully and check your roof for any residual damage. Call Lyons Roofing for guidance if you see anything that cannot easily be fixed yourself. Even small issues can lead to big problems, and when it comes to roof damage, you are always better off safe than sorry.
Furthermore, decorations like spiderwebs can be difficult to remove fully, and debris left behind can cause significant damage. Not only does it cause potential backups in your roof drainage system, but if it’s left there, it can cause your roofing materials to degrade.
Don’t be spooked by roof damage. Call Lyons Roofing for help. Our roof repair team will help you out in no time.
