Your roof is exposed to a variety of different weather conditions over the course of the year, from dry heat to heavy downpours. This can cause all sorts of different types of damage to your roof. One of the more common things that can occur to a roof that has experienced long-term moisture exposure is algae growth, which can actually grow on the surface of your shingles and eat its way through your roofing. This can cause all sorts of structural issues, including water damage within the interior of your home. Fortunately, there are a few preventative maintenance tasks that you can take to reduce the risk of algae sprouting up on your home's roof.

Trim Trees

Trees that overhang your roof provide shade that prevents water from evaporating from the surface of your roof, and also will drop debris onto the surface of your roof that will absorb and hold onto water against your shingles. Both of these things can greatly encourage the growth of algae, so trimming your trees back is a good way to prevent such growth from taking place.

Gutter and Roof Cleaning

Another relatively simple thing that can be done to reduce the amount of moisture that stays on your roof is to make sure that your gutters are completely clear of debris. Depending on how much rain you experience, you may have to clear your gutters out every few months or so to ensure that water is able to flow freely and quickly off of your roof. Beyond cleaning out the gutters, you should also use a roof rake or a similar tool to remove any sticks, leaves, and other pieces of debris which may land on your roof but not end up in the gutters, as these can hold onto water as previously mentioned.

Zinc Strips

Another thing that you can have done to prevent the risk of algae--and any other type of plant, including moss and mold for that matter--growing on your roof is the installation of zinc strips near the peak of your roof. Zinc will naturally kill plant growth, and so these strips will slowly degrade as it rains and spread a small amount of zinc over the surface of your roof, killing any potential algae or other spores before they have the chance to bloom. These will have to be professionally installed, and depending on how much rain and snow you see throughout the year, they will need to be replaced every two years or so.