How we chose
We started from the 27 roof cleaning candidates Google Maps shows across Telford. Scheme memberships were sourced from the Checkatrade profile, the TrustMark and NFRC searches, each firm's own website and the public waste carrier register [4] [5] [6] [7]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. Ten firms met all three. We looked first at what customers say, then proof of competence, then trading history and stated cover, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the person to the job first. A dedicated exterior cleaner owns moss removal, washing and treatment. A roofing firm owns cleaning plus repairs, paintwork and re-roofs, which matters when slipped tiles or leaks hide under the moss. A window cleaner with a round owns conservatory roofs, gutters and fascias, not full roof cleans. Most Telford roofs are concrete tile, which takes gentle methods well and punishes aggressive ones, so pick the trade that fits what your roof actually needs.
Telford mixes old roofs with new. Dawley, Madeley and Wellington predate the new town around them, so older homes, post-war semis and newer infill stand side by side, with younger roofs on Lawley and the later estates [12] [13]. The methods stay the same across all of them, but the Gorge villages are a special case: homes in Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, Coalport and Madeley can sit inside the Severn Gorge conservation area and the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, where an Article 4 Direction removes some permitted development rights and the council runs planning surgeries for residents [9] [10]. Mention the conservation area when you enquire, and check with the council before cutting back overhanging trees, since works to trees there need six weeks' notice [9].
No mandatory registration applies to roof cleaning, so your checks run through the voluntary registers and the public record. Search the firm's name on the TrustMark find-a-tradesperson service, which lists government-endorsed businesses that meet its standards [5]. Where repairs may follow the clean, search the NFRC find-a-member pages, whose members pass checks on competence, insurance and financial standing [6]. A Checkatrade profile with a history of reviews adds another checkable footprint [8]. Then look the company up on the public Companies House register to confirm it is active [7]. Any firm that carts moss and debris away can also be checked on the public waste carrier register.
Insurance and access come next, because roof work means working at height. Ask for the public liability cover in writing and check the certificate is current before anyone climbs up. The HSE treats roof work as hazardous work at height, covering cleaning as well as repairs, and expects it planned and supervised accordingly [4]. Ask how the firm will reach your roof: ladders suit low single-storey runs, while steep or high roofs need towers or a cherry picker, and operators of that kit should hold IPAF or PASMA training. Access equipment adds real money, so agree who arranges it and what it costs before the day.
A sound quote reads like a work plan. It should name the cleaning method in plain words, say whether biocide treatment is included, list the access equipment and its cost, give one fixed price with the VAT position stated, note gutters and waste disposal, and carry the guarantee terms. Cost guides advise that a written quote should make clear which method is used, whether treatment is included and whether access equipment is extra [1]. Get two or three quotes on the same written scope and compare them line by line rather than on the bottom figure alone.
Most jobs run the same course. First contact is photos and a description: send clear shots of the moss, the ridge and the access on every side, and say how old the roof is and whether anything leaks. A serious firm answers with a visit or a survey, then puts the written quote on that scope. Agree the week, the working hours and what happens in rain before the ladders go up: biocide needs dry days to bind, so a treatment booked into a wet week should move rather than go ahead damp [2]. On the day, expect access kit first, gutters cleared as the moss comes down, and paths and lawns tidied before the crew leaves. Most firms in this round quote free and take payment after the job, so treat a demand for large money up front as a reason to pause.
Choose the method with your tiles in mind. Hand scraping with biocide treatment clears moss tile by tile and slows regrowth, while soft washing treats growth chemically with low pressure. Pressure washing is usually fastest, but cost guides warn it can damage or dislodge tiles, suits older or delicate roofs poorly, and lets moss return sooner without biocide follow-up [1]. Agree a per-tile rate for breakages before work starts, so a cracked tile found mid-clean becomes a small extra, not an argument.
At the end, keep the paperwork together: the written quote, an itemised receipt showing the business name, the guarantee terms in writing, and before-and-after photos of your roof. Roofing bodies recommend an insurance-backed guarantee on refurbishment work, kept separate from the contractor's own promise [6]. If a tile breaks later or moss returns inside the guarantee period, that folder turns a callback into one phone call.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford ranges run like this: a full roof clean on a typical semi-detached home costs around £400 to £700, a terraced house £300 to £500 and a detached house £600 to £1,000, with the typical job landing near £500 [2]. Pressure-wash averages sit near £575 for a semi with easy access, rising toward £900 for larger detached homes where scaffolding is needed [3].
Priced by the square metre, roof cleaning usually runs £8.50 to £14 across the common methods: pressure washing averages near £8.50, steam cleaning near £11, hand-removal with biocide near £11.50 and soft washing near £14, putting a semi-detached roof at £637.50 to £862.50 depending on method [1]. A biocide moss treatment on its own adds around £80 to £200 [2].
Moss removal alone is priced by roof size in the April 2026 Checkatrade guide: hand scraping with biocide on a small roof runs £520 to £975 against £325 to £780 by pressure washing, rising to £680 to £1,275 against £425 to £1,020 on a large one [1]. Thick growth lands at the top of each band.
A biocide treatment keeps working after the crew leaves, typically holding moss off for two to four years, less on shaded or north-facing roofs, with re-treatment at £80 to £200 far cheaper than another full clean, in the June 2026 Costwise guide [2]. Where moss returns fast, a follow-up treatment beats booking a second full clean.
Conservatory roofs sit outside these bands. The window-round firms price them as small fixed jobs from photos, often with frames, gutters and a house wash in the same visit, so send pictures through the quote form and ask for one fixed price covering panels, frames and gutters.
Roof size and pitch move the price most, then the method, then access and the state of the moss. A steep roof, dormers or poor access add kit and time, and thick moss needs hand work before any wash can start [1] [2]. Telford sits in the Midlands band, where the typical job matches the national figure near £500 rather than London prices, which run about a third higher [2]. Most of what you pay is labour and access, not materials.
None of the ten firms publishes a VAT position, so your quote must state whether VAT applies and what the guarantee covers. Get every figure in writing — method, treatment, access, waste and aftercare — on the same scope from each firm, and treat a price given without seeing the roof as a guess, not a quote [1].
Red flags
Quotes a full roof clean without seeing the roof or asking for photos of the moss and the access.
Names no cleaning method on the quote, so you cannot tell pressure washing from soft wash or scrape and treatment.
States no public liability cover and will not show the certificate when asked.
Prices a steep or high roof with no mention of access equipment.
Asks for full payment up front before work starts.
Works cash-only with no written quote or receipt carrying the business name.
Promises the moss will never come back after a single clean.
Sprays the whole roof on full pressure without a word about the tile type or age.
Leaves gutters choked and moss piled across paths, lawns and next door's garden at the end of the day.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.