How often should a conservatory roof be cleaned?

How often should a conservatory roof be cleaned?

Most people in Chippenham ask me this after they've noticed the room has gone dim, not before. That's the honest pattern. A conservatory roof doesn't get dirty in a way you see day to day — it goes green slowly, a fine algae film building across the glass until the light coming through has a dull cast to it.

For most houses around Chippenham and Calne, once a year keeps a roof right. If your conservatory sits under trees, or on the shaded north side of the house, twice a year is closer to the mark. Shade and damp are what algae wants, and plenty of the newer estates back onto mature planting that gives it exactly that.

What actually builds up there

Three things, usually. A green algae film across the panes. Moss and leaf debris that collects in the bars and along the bottom edge. And on older roofs, lichen — those tight pale crusts that hold on hard and won't shift with water alone.

A roof clean is a different job to window cleaning. Windows I do with a water-fed pole and pure water only, nothing left on the glass afterwards. Conservatory roofs need cleaning agents and, on most, ladders to work safely across the panes. It's slower, more careful work, and worth doing properly rather than often.

The bit people forget

While I'm up there I can see the gutters, and on a conservatory the guttering is small, low and blocks quickly. Moss coming off the roof has to go somewhere. If I spot a problem I'll tell you, and gutter inspections are free whether you ask or I notice.

Fascia and soffit boards get the same treatment — they sit right at eye level once you're in the garden, and they show every bit of it.

Booking it in

I cover Chippenham, Calne, Malmesbury, Tetbury, Batheaston, Bathford and the villages in between. I work on my own, so the person who quotes your roof is the person who cleans it, and you'll get a text the evening before rather than being kept in all day.

The easiest way to get a price is to send me a few photos — one of each side of the house, and one of the conservatory roof if you can get an upstairs window open. Email them to quotes@chippenhamwindowcleaner.co.uk and I'll come back to you.