Clay and concrete tile roofs need a lower-pressure wash than asphalt shingles, plus a technician who knows where the tile can support foot traffic without cracking. Fort Lauderdale Pressure Washing, rated 5.0 stars from 13 Google reviews, cleans tile roofs across the Fort Lauderdale area using that low-pressure, walk-safe method.
Tile roofs are common across South Florida, and they don't clean the same way an asphalt shingle roof does. Clay and concrete tile can crack under the wrong foot placement or the wrong water pressure, so the process leans even harder toward low pressure than a standard roof wash, with the technician distributing weight along the battens and headlaps rather than walking straight up the open tile field.
Fort Lauderdale Pressure Washing handles tile roof cleaning across the Fort Lauderdale area, using the same soft-wash chemistry that lifts algae and lichen off shingle roofs but at even lower pressure, since tile glaze scratches and chips more easily than it looks like it should from the ground.
What's different about cleaning a tile roof versus a shingle roof?
Tile is heavier and more brittle than it looks — a cracked tile isn't always visible from the ground, but it opens a path for water underneath the roofing system, which is a worse problem than the algae the cleaning was meant to fix. That's the reason tile cleaning is slower and more deliberate than a shingle wash: fewer full-pressure passes, more attention to where weight lands.
Why is there green or gray growth between the tiles?
Algae streaking shows up the same way it does on shingles, but tile roofs also collect lichen — a crustier, grayish-green growth that anchors into the tile's surface texture rather than just sitting on top of it. Lichen takes longer to lift than algae and sometimes needs a second treatment pass.
- Algae: dark streaking, spreads from shaded and north-facing slopes
- Lichen: grayish-green, textured, roots into the tile surface
- Moss: less common on tile roofs here, usually limited to deep shade near tree cover
Does cleaning shorten the life of a tile roof?
Done at the wrong pressure, yes — that's the real risk with tile, more than with shingles. Done at a controlled low pressure with the crew walking correctly, cleaning removes growth that's otherwise trapping moisture against the tile and doesn't wear down the surface the way a high-pressure blast would.
Can a tile roof actually crack during cleaning?
It can, if pressure is too high or a technician puts full weight on the wrong part of the tile. That's why the process stays low-pressure and why foot placement follows the roof's structure — the batten lines and headlaps that actually carry weight — rather than walking across the exposed tile field.
Do you clean tile roofs anywhere besides Fort Lauderdale?
Yes. Fort Lauderdale Pressure Washing covers tile roof cleaning across the broader Fort Lauderdale service area from its Wilton Manors base — send an address to confirm coverage.