House and Roof Washing in Tuscumbia
Tuscumbia is the Colbert County seat, and it has the old-house stock to match. Around the historic downtown on Main Street and the courthouse, and out toward Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller, there are painted two-story homes, columned porches, old brick and wavy original glass. Spring Park sits right in town with its big spring and waterfall, and the whole area stays green and damp in a way that shows up on roofs and siding.
Newer homes ring the edges of the city too, vinyl and brick on bigger lots, and they get dirty the same way every house in the Shoals does. But the reason a lot of people in Tuscumbia call us is an old house that needs cleaning by somebody who will not take the paint off with it. The Colbert County offices are right downtown, and so are some of the houses we are most careful with.
Historic homes, gentle wash
On a historic house we do not use high pressure on anything but the concrete. Old paint, especially paint that has been layered for decades, can flake off under a wand, and old brick and mortar wear away faster than new. Original wood windows and decorative trim do not like water forced into their joints either.
What we do instead is soft wash: a mild cleaner applied at low pressure, left to break down the mildew and algae, then rinsed with plain water at roughly the force of a garden hose. If you want to understand the low-pressure approach for old paint, that page lays it out. It cleans the surface without changing it, which is what an old house needs.
We look the house over before we start and point out loose paint, rotted trim or failing caulk. Washing shows up those spots, and you should know about them before we wet anything.
Painters around town often ask for a wash ahead of a new coat, and that is a good use of it. Fresh paint does not stick to mildew or chalky old paint, so a soft wash a week or two before the painters arrive gives them a clean, dry surface to work on. Brick that has never been painted gets a cleaner suited to masonry and a gentle rinse, never a wand held close to the mortar.
Roofs and shade
Shade from old trees keeps Tuscumbia roofs damp, and damp roofs grow the black streaks you see running down from the ridge. That is roof algae, a living growth that feeds on the limestone filler in many asphalt shingles. Pressure washing it off also strips the granules, so we soft wash roofs with a cleaner that kills the algae and lets the rain finish rinsing what is left. The specifics on what a roof wash involves here are on their own page.
Moss on the north slope gets the same treatment. Thick moss may take a couple of weeks after the wash to fully let go, and we tell you that up front instead of overpromising. Metal roofs, slate accents and older porch roofs all get low pressure only. Before any roof wash, we wet down the shrubs and flower beds along the drip line and rinse them again after, because old foundation plantings around a historic house are usually worth protecting as much as the house is.
Services in Tuscumbia
In Tuscumbia we soft wash painted siding and vinyl, clean brick, clean shingle and metal roofs, wash gutter faces, and clean driveways, walks, patios and porch floors. Fences and decks get washed too. Downtown storefronts can book sidewalk and entry cleaning early, before shops open.
Tuscumbia is a short drive from Sheffield and Muscle Shoals, and our crews working Muscle Shoals cover all three towns on the same routes. Driveways on the newer edges of town, the long walks up to older homes, and the patios behind them all get a surface cleaner that leaves the concrete even, without the stripes a hand wand leaves.
Services we bring out here
Exterior Washing in Sheffield
We soft wash siding, clean roofs and clear gutters across town.
Pressure Washing in Muscle Shoals
We soft wash houses and clean concrete across town.
Roof Cleaning
No high pressure on shingles, plants and gutters protected throughout.
Soft Washing
Low pressure, the right mix and enough dwell time to do the work.
Start with a photo
The easiest way to begin is a few pictures of the house, the roof and anything that worries you, sent through the form. Every job is priced in writing before we start, by the surface and its size, from a photo or a quick walk-around. On older homes, we usually want the walk-around. Tap Get FREE Quote Today and add your street and a note about the house. We work Monday through Saturday, 7am to 6pm, and answer quote requests the same day.