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Given the right conditions, algae plaguing can turn into a real eyesore, to any masonry, brickwork and so on. Being relatively persistent, removing algae away from your facade, is not always the easiest task to do. Buildings in the Midlands are not any safer from this annoyance as well. How does it form and for what reason? How do you return your facade to its former face? The question which we will answer for you in this article.

How does algae form?

There are a few factors that make the growth of algae plaguing on your façade possible. Algae, regardless of its type, needs a lot of dampness and a good amount of light to thrive on your external walls. Places that are wet all year round, with nothing to dry them off are the perfect spots for algae to grow.

This is one of the reasons you can find out which way is north more easily, thanks to moss or algae infested walls, as these are the parts of the buildings, which receive the lowest amount of sun for most of the year (in the northern hemisphere at least). With enough dampness and not too much direct light to heat up this side, algae has the perfect conditions to grow. When it comes to the temperature, as long as the temperatures are not freezing, your facade could also be in danger of algae infestation.

How do you deal with existing algae plaguing?

1. Chemicals

There are a number of cleaners, which can help you remove smaller build ups. Ammonia can have a good effect in such a situation, for example. There are a great number of other cleaners which can help you out in this task, just make sure they would be friendly towards the exterior of your building. Household bleach is also a good way to eradicate algae, but in more severe cases, you could use an industrial one too. Vinegar is a relatively efficient two.

2. Dry off your wall

Since moisture is one of the major reasons why algae even starts thriving on your exterior walls, drying off the affected wall is one of the simplest ways to start the process of removing it. Now this can be a bit physically intense, but once the wall is dried off, you can use some type of a tool to scrub algae away.

3. Steam cleaning

Steam is one of the most efficient ways of tearing down persistent build-ups of dirt, bacteria and other details which might make your surroundings dirty. Especially vs algae, steam can do you a lot of good due to its ability to deep clean and the intense heat it offers. Give the affected spots of your walls at least a few minutes each, so steam can do its job properly. Once you have removed the algae from your walls, you should make sure to dry off your wall as much as you can, to stall the perfect conditions for another algae infestation.

Hardly limited to just those methods, taking algae off your walls can be annoying especially if you have to book yourself a day off in order to do it. This is why we, at Exterius, offer our cleaning services, for any type of growths you might have on the exterior of your walls. Located in the Midlands, we are happy to take this chore off of your hands, with highly trained cleaning teams. Apart from professional cleaning services, we are specialist facilities management providers, so make sure to give our service page a look! Or get in touch with us today