roofing maintance continued

The last time we talked about rv roofing maintance we discussed why you should wash or not wash your roof. A lot of people in the RV industry tell you to wash your roof yearly and use a coating on your roof. This practice did not come directly from the manufactures. In a commerical application you would simply install the white on black EPDM membrane and leave it alone. Sure you might do a yearly inspection to look for holes or problems, but I can assure you they would never recomend that you wash your roof . This roofing product is made to withstand UV sunlight and exposure to the outside elements. A big concern I have about dealers recommending that roofs be cleaned yearly, is that a large percentage of RV owners are elderly and anytime that you work on a roof, there is a danger of falling. We need to remember the EPDM white on black roofing was designed to be a low maintance product. I own two different RVs with EPDM white on black roofing on them one is 14 years old and the other is 7 years old. I have never washed either roof and they are left outside all of the time. Rember once you start coating a roof it turns into an ongoing project. This could also prove costly over several years.