How to Stay Safe When Cleaning Conservatory Roof
It’s official, summer is definitely here in the UK, whatever the weather is like outside. For those of us with conservatories, keeping the roof clean can be a bit of a challenge – it’s a difficult place to access and often ends up really dirty after the harsh winters we get here in the UK. This past winter has been particularly severe, so your conservatory roof may have taken a bit of a battering and ended up needing more cleaning than usual and perhaps a little maintenance too. Because falls from ladders are one of the most common causes of accidents here in the UK, we’ve put together some tips to make cleaning the conservatory roof ready for the summer months as easy and pain-free as possible.
Whether you conservatory roof is made from glass or polycarbonate sheets, you should be able to clean it effectively using just warm water and a mild detergent. Don’t use solvents of any sort – if the roofing is polycarbonate it could crack and even on a glass roof a solvent will attack the glazing seals, leading to costly damage that will need to be fixed.
Access will be your biggest challenge here – and, whatever you do, don’t stand on the roof at all, it is too dangerous, whatever material the roof is made from. Make sure you have a tall enough ladder to easily access the roof.
Make sure your ladder is resting on a flat, stable surface and before you even start, do a ladder safety check to ensure that the ladder is fit to be used. Each time you move the ladder, you will need to make sure that it is set safely in place before climbing.
Before starting, use a brush on an extendible handle to brush the roof clean of any debris – this will be especially necessary if the roof is flat rather than sloping. Any debris that seems to be stuck and just refuses to budge should be easier to remove once it’s been drenched with water.
For cleaning, use a sponge with an extendable handle or invest in a water-fed pole. Using the water-fed pole is the most convenient option as it will let you pump out the soap and water along the handle directly onto the area you are working on.
Work methodically from one side of the roof to the other – this reduces the risk that you will miss any spots or spend too much time going over the same area more than once.
Rinse the sponge thoroughly each time you use it to make sure you’re not just spreading dirt around and making the job harder.
Don’t be afraid to give the roof a good scrub (without losing your balance and putting yourself at risk) – this is the best way to remove stubborn dirt that may need treating twice.
Once you’ve finished scrubbing, get the hose out and give the whole roof a good rinse off to remove all the soap and dirt and leave your roof sparkling clean.