Like most other things, keeping a roof in functional condition requires cleaning and repair. Leaving your roof exactly as is for very long can ultimately destroy it. For about a hundredth of a percent of what you make in a year, you can call in an expert to look and figure out just how strong the top of your home is. Inspectors are incredible at noticing the smallest visual details, details that might never catch your own eye. They have such exceptional visual acuity that they hardly—if ever—miss a thing.

It’s widely recommended that homeowners check on their roofs at least once a year. Doing so lets the owner see how the environment has affected it, and maximizes its endurance for any severe weather and natural elements that could hurt it in the future. Advisors also say that you should take a look every single time harsh weather hits your area; such events can leave some bad marks. Doing so will make it less expensive to keep the roof strong.

The Rochester NY area is known to have thick precipitation about 44 percent of the year, averaging 3 inches per month. That’s triple the snow it takes to completely hide a roof’s surface from your sight, and about the same amount of water you’d get hit with going down the big hill on Splash Mountain (and you probably know from experience how penetrating that feels). So clearly, there’s a lot your roof could go through in a pretty short time. And it could come just about any time. So make sure it’s checked every once in a while, either by yourself or—if you have reason to believe it might be a real mess—a home improvement contractor.