I'm currently renting a place surrounded by pine trees, which means I have to deal with regular pine needle buildup on the roof—at least every three months according to my rental agreement. We accidentally broke the roof rake that came with the property, so I'm looking for a replacement. The previous rake was plastic and lacked bristles, and now I'm considering an extended push broom, which seems less likely to scratch the shingles. I'm aware that using a leaf blower is an option, but I'm trying to avoid going up on the roof. Would the push broom work well, or do you have other suggestions?
3 Answers
Honestly, I think it's kind of unreasonable for a landlord to expect tenants to climb on the roof. That said, a leaf blower can be really effective if you can access it from the ground or a ladder. Just be careful with the debris—sometimes it can go flying everywhere!
Have you thought about using a drone? Sounds crazy but could be a fun way to blow the needles off without climbing up there! It would give you a good bird's-eye view, too.
I asked a buddy if I could borrow his drone for that, but he mentioned he crashed it. Guess I should keep looking for alternatives!
It really depends on the steepness of your roof. If it’s a low pitch, I’d say try using a broom or even getting up there if it’s totally safe. For steeper roofs, definitely hire someone to avoid any accidents!
Ours isn’t steep at all. We managed fine with the previous rake from the ground, which is why I'm looking for updated suggestions instead.
No climbing is required for us! The landlord gave us an extending roof rake which we just broke. I'm exploring options to replace it but the market has limited choices for roof rakes—mostly snow ones! I'm hoping a broom works better.