Simple roof housekeeping by a maintenance technician is a task that Western Specialty Contractors’ roofing experts highly recommend to its customers.

Western’s experts recommend that a building’s maintenance technician go up on the roof and check for debris at least once a month, or after a trade has been working on the roof. Debris on a roof can clog drains, scuppers and downspouts and lead to ponding water that can quickly seep into an open seam or split wall flashing.

“Housekeeping is a simple, common sense thing to be doing, but it’s crazy how many people neglect doing it,” said Bob Gender, Western Specialty Contractors - Region Manager. “To me, roof maintenance all starts with housekeeping.”

There are several types of damage-causing debris that can be found on rooftops. Poor clean up by workers who have performed work on a roof and left behind trash and debris such as a caulk tube or rags can cause major problems if not cleaned up.

“Is there anything on the roof that if a high wind came through and blew it around, would cause damage to your roof or to people or property below if it blew off the roof?” asked Gender.

Other types of debris found on roofs that should be removed include leaves, tree limbs and twigs, goose droppings, fireworks and even bullet shells.

Western’s experts also recommend checking HVAC access panels on the roof to make sure they are securely in place during routine housekeeping.

“I can’t tell you how many times, probably three out of every 10, that you go up on a roof and find an access panel laying on the roof,” said Gender. “How did the contractor set that door down? Or did they just toss it down because they had a bad day and now you’ve got a puncture in the roof? Are they just going to leave it on the roof, and the next time you’ve got these 80-mile-per-hour winds come through it gets picked up and does cartwheels across the roof, putting holes in it along the way? Or it blows off the roof and lands on the parking lot.” 

Most roof manufacturer warranties will take into consideration whether housekeeping was performed on the roof, so it is important to make sure that any potentially damaging debris or trash is regularly removed.