Maintaining Roof Appearance with Algae Protection

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter. 

Give your roof proper algae armor and you will never see those black streaks again. 

You may have googled it before: What are those ugly black streaks and dark spots on my roof? Is it dirt? Soot? Those black streaks are actually algae. Dew on roofs, mixed with humidity and sunlight, creates an ideal environment for algae growth. In especially humid environments, these streaks can start to appear as soon as three years after installation.  

As a defense to UV rays, these algae will darken in color, causing those unsightly streaks, altering the color of your house and blemishing the overall appearance of your roof. Regardless of roof shingle color, these black streaks will make your roof look much older than it is.  

Sure, you could simply clean your roof to get rid of black streaks. But climbing on the roof to pressure wash the algae growth off is dangerous and will damage your roof. Using a power washer basically guarantees a void in any roof warranty. Plus, it can damage the shingles by wearing off the protective coating of the shingles or dislodging the shingles themselves. Besides, the algae can always come back after you have washed the roof, since the root of the problem isn’t being addressed. 

A much better solution is to prevent and protect your roof from growing algae in the first place. Malarkey’s algae-resistant granules blend copper-coated granules inconspicuously into the shingle color to impede algae growth. Malarkey explains that the secret to an anti-algae roof is in the uniformly dispersed copper granules are designed to allow the copper ions to disperse and protect the roof from algae over time.  

To ensure your roof preserves its beauty, choose a roofing shingle that defends it against algae.  

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