Your roof works year-round to keep your family safe, warm, and dry—especially during the harsh winter months. Ice dams, snow piles, and puddles can damage your shingles and roof.
One of the best ways you can help your roof function at its full potential is to perform annual roof maintenance in the spring and summer. Preventative maintenance is a foolproof way to catch problems early so that you can avoid costly roof repairs down the road.
We’ve created this helpful list of seven essential items to guide you through the roof inspection process to ensure your roof is in tip-top shape before the warmer months hit!
Roof Maintenance Checklist for Kansas City Homeowners
1. Clear Your Gutters
Your gutters can become clogged with leaves, twigs, branches, and other debris during the winter. It’s important to clean your gutters, downspouts, and drain boxes each spring to ensure water can easily flow away from your home.
Clogged gutters can cause water backup, which leads to water damage on your siding, roof, and foundation. While you’re cleaning your gutters, check for water spots near your gutters or on your roof—this may be a sign that your gutters aren’t working properly and need to be replaced.
2. Trim Your Trees
If you have large, tall trees surrounding your home, you should trim them each spring to prevent costly damage.
During powerful storms, weak tree branches can snap and fall on your roof, causing expensive structural damage. Low-hanging tree branches can scratch your roof, making your home more vulnerable to water damage.
3. Visit Your Attic
If you haven’t been up to your attic in a while, spring is the perfect time to visit. Inspect the underside of the roof in your attic for any signs of rot, mold, or mildew.
Mold growth and water stains are the telltale signs of a roof leak. Contact a professional roofer to confirm the source of the leak and provide the next steps for mold remediation and roof repair.
4. Clean Your Roof
It’s important to clean your roof every spring, but cleaning looks different depending on what kind of roof you have!
Here are some maintenance tips for each type of roof:
Asphalt Shingles
To keep your asphalt shingles in great shape, clear any dirt or debris that may have accumulated on the roof, and remove moss, mold, mildew, and algae with a gentle cleaning product and garden hose.
When cleaning asphalt shingles, avoid using a pressure washer to prevent damage, and steer clear of bleach or any cleaning material with harsh chemicals that may cause discoloration.
Standing Seam Metal
You can clean a standing seam metal roof with a gentle cleaning solution, garden hose, and, if necessary, a soft-bristled brush. These roofs are designed for snow, rain, and debris to slide off, so you won’t have to worry about clearing away as many branches, leaves, and twigs.
However, metal is prone to corrosion, so it’s important to keep different types of metal from touching each other to prevent chemical reactions. Stay away from wool scrubbers or metal brushes when cleaning your standing seam metal roof to prevent scratches, dents, and discoloration.
Stone-Coated Steel
Cleaning a stone-coated roof is similar to cleaning a standing seam metal roof. You’ll need to stay away from copper or iron-based cleaning tools and power washers. Instead, use gentle cleaning products and a soft-bristled brush to clear away mold, mildew, algae, moss, and dirt.
5. Examine Your Shingles
If you have shingles, inspect your roof for buckling, curling, broken, or missing shingles. You’ll also want to check your gutters and lawn for shingle granules—a sign your asphalt shingles are deteriorating.
If you notice damage to your shingles, call a professional roofer to repair or replace your shingles to prevent further damage to your roof.
6. Check Roof Parts
Aside from your shingles, there are other key aspects of your roof that can suffer damage during the winter. Check your flashings, ridge caps, skylights, vents, and chimneys for any signs of damage. Any loose seals or cracks should be re-sealed to prevent roof leaks and water damage.
7. Inspect for Corrosion
If you have a metal roof, you’ll need to check near your vents and chimney for any signs of corrosion since these areas release steam, heat, and other chemicals that may lead to chipped and cracked paint or metal corrosion.
If your roof is rusted, talk with your roofing contractor about the best steps to take to bring your roof back to its original state.
For More Roof Maintenance Ideas…
Even though this list is a great place to start, it’s not an exhaustive list of maintenance items your roof may need. Check out this helpful resource for more roof maintenance tips you can use this spring or summer!
Kansas City Roof Repair You Can Count On
When checking for roof damages, you’ll need a professional inspection. You may see curled or cracked shingles from the ground, but you won’t be able to see damaged flashing, dented eaves or other concerns. Water leaks into the attic can also cause serious problems.
To ensure your roof repairs are correctly completed so you can avoid costly damage, contact Christian Brothers Roofing! Our inspectors will check for any minor repairs and let you know if more major work is needed. Tree branches that come close to the roof might need to be removed, and we will help you decide which areas need work.
Hundreds of Kansas City homeowners have trusted us to perform reliable roof repairs with our considerate service and industry-leading products. In fact, we’re the only contractor in Kansas and Missouri to earn GAF’s highest Master Elite Award for our performance, reliability, and service!
Learn more about how our professional roof repair services can restore your roof to its original state!
