Owning a home comes with many responsibilities ranging from keeping the interior clean to maintaining the entire yard, and it’s a tough job.

That said, give yourself a pat on the back because roofs are more or less out of sight and out of mind for most people, and you’re already one step ahead of the curb by thinking about roof maintenance and the condition of your roof in the first place.

9 Simple Roof Maintenance Tips

1. Be Observant

First and foremost, be observant and look for anything on your roof that should most definitely not be there. This includes debris, odd color differences in the shingles, sections that look visibly damaged, and anything else that makes you go, “Huh, that wasn’t always like that.”

2. Make Sure There’s No Debris

Keeping your roof free of debris might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s still worth mentioning.

When necessary, you can clean any debris with a good ladder and any quality pair of safety gloves. However, working on a roof is nothing to take lightly, so be sure to know your way around those shingles before you step onto the roof!

3. Conduct Proper Maintenance of Shingles

Taking care of your shingles is something that you’ll find yourself doing in roof repairs if you have lots of storms, as snow, hail, ice, and rain are the biggest culprits when it comes to shingle damage.

Luckily, you don’t need to get a particularly close look at shingles to tell if they are damaged. Just invest in a pair of quality binoculars and look for any displaced or discolored shingles.

If you find damage, you can potentially fix it yourself, but it is always best to leave those delicate shingle repairs to a professional roofing contractor.

4. Get Rid of Any Moss, Mold, or Other Forms of Growth

Another roof maintenance tip is cleaning up any moss, mold, or other yucky stuff that might be caking your roof.

Moss is particularly dangerous because too much of it can damage your roof to the point where you’ll need a new one entirely, and roof replacement costs are never cheap!

To deal with moss, conduct close-up inspections of your roof to catch any traces of growing moss early on and remove it with a scrub brush and some water.

To remove mold, you can use a mix of bleach and water if you have asphalt shingles and see what kind of results you get. If this solution fails, there are several commercially sold roof cleaning solutions that you can try instead.

Just be sure to know what’s in whatever solution you choose to use, that way you don’t accidentally damage your roof because you tried to clean it with the wrong solution!

5. Keep the Gutters Clear

Regularly cleaning your gutters is a good home maintenance tip in general, even if you don’t focus on your roof specifically.

To clean gutters, remove any leaves, sticks, and other debris that might fall into them (especially if you have trees near your home). Your main focus should be on keeping the gutters from getting clogged to the point where they can no longer filter out water.

6. Inspect Your Attic Regularly

Now yes, it is sometimes dark and scary up in attics, and if you’re not a fan of tight, enclosed spaces, then attics probably aren’t something you have fond thoughts about.

However, you need to inspect your attic because leakages can happen up there, and if a leak were to occur, not checking your attic would leave you none the wiser until it is too late and water starts leaking through your actual ceiling.

To avoid this situation, regularly check out your attic for any leaking or insulation issues and address them before they get out of hand. Also, thoroughly check your attic after every bad storm, along with your regular checks, as storm damage can come in many forms.

7. Consider Hiring a Roofing Contractor

If you are less confident in your roof inspection skills, consider hiring a roofing contractor to do roof inspections for you.

Good roofing contractors will know what to look for and how to fix any damages your roof might have. So, if you do hire one, consider asking if you can tag along with them and watch while they inspect your house.

That way, you can learn from the best of the best and eventually become a pro yourself!

8. Rinse and Repeat

As is the case with most things, putting in a lot of repetition is the best way to get better at regular roof maintenance, and as time goes on, you’ll learn to spot roof leaks, damages to exterior walls, shingles, gutters, and other parts of your roof with ease.

So, be consistent and keep building your knowledge of how to properly maintain your roof through practice.

9. Always Mind the DIY Approach

Lastly, While all the approaches covered here have been DIY in nature, don’t forget the most crucial tip in all this, which is minding your own personal safety.

It is easy to forget that roof maintenance is often dangerous, so please take the necessary safety precautions when doing any of these roof maintenance tips.

With these simple roof maintenance tips in mind, it’s time to start maintaining your roof to keep it at the highest quality possible for years to come.

Get Help From The Pros!

If you want to further your knowledge of how to take care of your roof with more home maintenance tips, check out our article on How to Perform a Roof Inspection in 2022 [5 Simple Steps]. And reach out to us if you suspect roof damage, so we can inspect and repair it in no time!