Cleaning Roof Soffits

Avoid using a garden hose or power washer to clean the soffits on your roof. Many roof soffits also serve as air intakes; and as such, they may extend into the interior of your home. Spraying the soffits with water could damage the inside of your home by introducing harmful moisture.

Clean the siding on your home thoroughly with a high-pressure garden hose or pressure washer. Keep the siding wet while you are cleaning the roof soffits. If you allow the siding to dry out, the dirt you remove from the soffits will stick to the side of the house, and you will have to wash the siding all over again.

Fill a large bucket with water and add enough detergent to make it foamy and sudsy. If the grime on your soffits is particularly thick, use an outdoor-safe bleach in place of the detergent. Do not use regular bleach since it can kill your plants and grass.

Soak an extendable brush in the detergent or bleach mixture. Extend the brush up to the soffit and clean it thoroughly. Use an extendable brush and clean the soffits from the ground, rather than getting on a ladder. The detergent or bleach mixture could make the rungs of the ladder slippery and create a safety hazard. Cleaning the soffits from the ground is just as effective and much safer.

Turn your garden hose on and set the nozzle to provide a steady, but gentle, spray. Aim the hose at the freshly-cleaned soffits and continue rinsing until all of the suds from the detergent have washed down the side of the house. Keep spraying the soffits until the water runs clear. Use a gentle spray to keep water out of the air intakes and the interior of your home while still rinsing away the suds from the soffits.