UBA Pressure Washing
& Sealer · Sarasota, FL
(941) 320‑6172
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Both are legitimate ways to fight algae growth on a Florida tile roof. They work differently, and the right one depends on what you’re trying to solve. Here’s an honest, side-by-side comparison from a 15-year roofing professional.
The short version, before the detail below.
| HydroLock | Roof-A-Cide | |
|---|---|---|
| Product type | Vapor-permeable sealant | Biocide/algaecide treatment |
| Forms a protective seal | Yes | No, it’s a treatment, not a coating |
| Roof types | Clay barrel tile, concrete flat tile, asphalt shingle, galvanized and face-screw metal | Marketed broadly across roof types, specifics vary by applicator |
| Written guarantee | 5 years, covers growth, fading, tile slippage, and tile cracking | Varies by applicator, typically shorter and narrower in scope |
| Documentation | Annual drone inspection with dated aerial photography | Varies by applicator, not standard across the industry |
| Who applies it | UBA exclusively (proprietary) | Multiple authorized applicators regionally |
HydroLock is UBA’s proprietary, trademarked sealer. It’s vapor-permeable, meaning it seals the tile surface against algae attachment while still letting moisture vapor escape outward, so it doesn’t trap condensation against the underlayment the way a standard vapor-barrier sealer would. It’s compatible with clay barrel tile, concrete flat tile, asphalt composition shingles, and both galvanized and face-screw metal roofs. Every application comes with a written 5-year guarantee covering biological growth, surface fading, tile slippage, and tile cracking attributable to the adhesive chemistry, backed by a 12-month drone inspection with dated aerial photography.
Over a 10-year ownership window, an unsealed or biocide-only roof typically needs treatment every 12 to 24 months depending on the product and climate exposure. A HydroLock-sealed roof needs re-service roughly twice in that same 10 years, with a dated inspection report generated each cycle instead of a bare invoice.
Roof-A-Cide is a widely available biocide and algaecide treatment used across the roof cleaning industry, including by other applicators in this market. It’s designed to kill and inhibit the return of algae, moss, and lichen on a roof surface. Unlike HydroLock, it’s a treatment rather than a sealant, it doesn’t form a protective film or coating over the tile, which means the comparison isn’t really “which seal is better.” It’s closer to comparing a preventative treatment against a sealed barrier. Guarantee terms, application methods, and pricing vary by applicator, since Roof-A-Cide is distributed to multiple companies rather than being any single company’s proprietary product. Homeowners researching it will find it positioned similarly across most applicator sites: an algae-fighting treatment rather than a sealed, warrantied system, which is the main reason it’s worth understanding the category difference before comparing price alone.
This is the core distinction. A biocide treatment kills existing growth and makes the surface less hospitable to new growth for a period of time. A vapor-permeable seal does that too, but also physically seals the tile surface, which is why HydroLock’s no-growth guarantee runs a full 5 years rather than needing more frequent reapplication.
HydroLock’s written guarantee covers four things: biological growth, surface fading, tile slippage, and tile cracking attributable to the sealer’s adhesive chemistry. That’s a broader guarantee than a typical biocide treatment, since a treatment-only product doesn’t put its own material in adhesive contact with the tile the way a sealer does, so there’s nothing structural to guarantee beyond the treatment’s anti-growth effect.
HydroLock is vapor-permeable and validated for clay barrel tile, concrete flat tile, asphalt composition shingles, and both galvanized and face-screw metal roofing, which covers most residential and light commercial roofs in this market. If you were told a sealant only works on tile, that information is outdated for HydroLock specifically. Biocide treatments in general are also marketed across multiple roof types, though the exact compatibility list depends on the specific product and applicator.
Every HydroLock job includes a 12-month drone inspection with a written report and dated aerial photography, whether or not anything needs attention. That kind of built-in follow-up isn’t standard across biocide-treatment applicators, since the product itself doesn’t include an inspection program, that’s specific to how UBA runs the HydroLock service.
HydroLock is UBA’s own product, applied exclusively by UBA. If something goes wrong, there’s one company accountable for the chemistry and the application. Roof-A-Cide is applied by multiple companies regionally, so the guarantee and service quality depend on which applicator you hire, not on the product alone.
We don’t publish pricing for either category online, since it depends heavily on roof size, condition, and the specific applicator. What we can say honestly is that a sealant with a 5-year guarantee is a different value calculation than a treatment that may need reapplication sooner, even if the treatment’s upfront cost is lower. The right comparison is total cost over the years you plan to own the home, not just the invoice for the first visit.
Both product categories require the roof to be properly cleaned before application, since applying either over existing algae or biofilm reduces effectiveness. Beyond that, application specifics (dwell time, coverage method, drying window) vary by applicator for any biocide treatment, while every HydroLock application follows UBA’s own documented protocol regardless of which UBA crew does the work.
We built this page to answer the question homeowners are actually asking when they search for it: how does UBA’s product stack up against a well-known alternative. We’re not going to pretend Roof-A-Cide doesn’t work, plenty of companies use it and plenty of homeowners are satisfied with it. What we can speak to accurately is what HydroLock specifically guarantees in writing, because that’s our own product. For anything we’re not the applicator of, we’ve stuck to general, verifiable category differences rather than guessing at specifics that vary by company. If you find a specific claim about Roof-A-Cide on this page that a licensed applicator tells you is inaccurate for their formulation, we’d rather hear about it and correct the page than leave a misleading comparison up.
If you want to clean your roof once and not think about it again for 5 years, with a written guarantee and a documented annual inspection, HydroLock is built for that. If you’re comparing options and a biocide treatment fits your budget or timeline better, that’s a legitimate choice too, just go in knowing it’s a different category of product with different guarantee expectations.
Different, not bad. It’s a legitimate industry product used by multiple applicators. The comparison here is about category (sealant vs. treatment) and what UBA specifically guarantees with HydroLock, not a claim that Roof-A-Cide doesn’t work.
No. HydroLock is UBA’s proprietary product, and it’s the only sealer we apply. If you specifically want Roof-A-Cide, you’d need to find one of its authorized applicators.
It depends on the applicator and the scope of the job. We don’t publish pricing online since every roof is different; you’ll get an exact number at a free quote either way.
HydroLock carries a written 5-year no-growth guarantee. Biocide treatment reapplication intervals vary by applicator and product formulation, so ask directly for the specific guarantee terms if you’re comparing options.
We assess any prior treatment at the site visit. In most cases a proper soft wash cleaning ahead of HydroLock application handles residue from a prior biocide treatment, but if there’s a prior sealant or coating involved, we check compatibility first since old sealer residue can affect adhesion.
Tell us at the intake call. We run a compatibility assessment before applying HydroLock over any existing sealer, since chemistry compatibility matters more than which brand was used previously.
Tell us about your roof and what matters most to you, longevity, guarantee terms, or documentation, and we’ll walk you through whether HydroLock is the right fit.