How Do I Clean Moss Of My Roof?

How To Deal With Green Moss on Roof Shingles?

Moss growth tin can create several problems on shingle roofs. While a small-scale layer of thin moss isn't too troublesome, large clumps of moss tin degrade shingles, become beneath them and create opportunities for leaks. Further, many of the methods of removing moss that are recommended online actually damage the shingles, which could significantly increase your odds of getting a leak. And then, how practice you safely remove moss from a roof? If you plan on replacing the roof, do you lot need to remove the moss kickoff? And how practice yous prevent moss from growing back afterwards you have removed information technology? We'll respond those questions and tell you other things that you need to know about how to handle the moss on your shingle roof.

Roof shingles with moss growth

Tabular array of Contents

Why is Moss Bad for Shingles?
What if the Moss Appears Dead?
How To Remove Moss From a Roof
Methods Y'all Shouldn't Use To Remove Moss From a Roof
Why Shouldn't I Add a New Roof Over Moss?
Should You lot Remove Moss-Covered Shingles Earlier You Install a New Roof?
The Benefits of Removing Moss-Covered Shingles Before a New Roof Installation
How To Prevent Moss on Your New Roof
What if the Moss Grows Back?
What if I Like the Moss?
Do Y'all Need Help Dealing With Moss?

Why is Moss Bad for Shingles?

You lot may feel that a bit of moss gives your roof some charm, just as ivy growing up the side of your house might. While moss may be cute, it is a detriment to your roof. Here's why:

Most plants gather water from their roots, but mosses gather water from their leaves. Therefore, they do not listen that shingles, unlike soil, are a dry and relatively nutrient-free environment. They will grow roots directly into the shingles, which can destroy the shingles and create the opportunity for leaks.

When it rains, moss will soak up water and retain it, creating consistently moisture conditions on your roof. Moss growth will as well interfere with proper drainage of water off the roof every bit h2o needs to trickle through or around the moss instead of running direct down to the gutters. The resulting constant exposure to water can degrade shingles.

Over time, moss can also piece of work its style under shingles, lifting them up. This uplift creates opportunities for water to penetrate lower layers of the roof and, potentially, your home.

While small moss infections may non crusade many issues, it is probable to become severe over time. Once you spot moss growth on your roof, you should take steps to resolve it. If you have a severe infection, y'all may accept no choice but to remove the shingles that have been damaged by it. A professional roofer can assist you appraise what kind of intervention your roof needs.

What if the Moss Appears Expressionless?

If the weather condition has been consistently dry out, moss may appear to be dead. Even so, some species of moss can stay alive when stale out for months. All it will take is one rain for it to recover and continue growing. If your moss has stale out, take the opportunity to have a roofer remove the moss from the roof.

Moss growing on roof

How To Remove Moss From a Roof

If your roof has sprouted a moss infection, you can remove it before it becomes serious enough to impact the performance of your roof. Moss is tough and typically you will not be able to remove it by manus. However, you can use a chemical solution to loosen the moss without damaging the shingles. Nosotros don't recommend that you step on the roof for moss removal.

Materials You'll Need

A garbage bag.
A garden hose.
A ladder (familiarize yourself with ladder prophylactic before you start).
A moss-specific cleaner that does not use bleach and is rated by the EPA.
Or your ain cleaner mix of mild bleach or balmy detergent mixed with water in a spray bottle. Yous may mix ii cups of chlorine bleach with 2 gallons of water. Or you can utilise 8 ounces of dish soap with ii gallons of h2o.

How To Remove Moss From a Roof

Footstep I: Safely set your ladder virtually the moss. With either your bootleg cleaner or a store-bought option, spray the moss.
Stride Two: Follow the store-bought cleaner'southward instructions for how long you should leave the cleaner on the moss. If using a homemade spray, leave it on for 15-20 minutes.
Stride Three: Using your garden hose on low pressure, rinse the moss thoroughly. Yous should find that about of the moss will come up off from the spray of the h2o. Be sure non to direct a pressurized spray below the shingles or directly against the shingles such that they might elevator up. Otherwise, yous could create a leak. Even if the moss is not coming off, rinse thoroughly. It is very of import to remove all of the cleaner that you sprayed on, or you could impairment your shingles.
Pace Iv: Any remaining moss should now exist loosened plenty that yous can manually remove it from the shingles. While standing on the ladder, gently lift the moss off the shingles and place it in your garbage bag for disposal. Y'all tin can secure the garbage bag to your ladder so that yous can always have one manus on the ladder.
Pace Five: If some moss is nevertheless too ingrained on the roof to be removed by hand, yous should non resort to other methods, such as using a castor or a pressure washer, as they may damage the roof. Instead, consult with a professional person roofer as to what your next steps should be.

Methods You Shouldn't Use To Remove Moss From a Roof

Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad communication out there nigh how to remove moss. While these methods may be effective at removing moss, they may likewise damage shingles in the process. We don't recommend you lot try to remove your moss by:

Scrubbing: You may exist tempted to scrub the moss off the shingles because moss grips shingles quite strongly. Nonetheless, scrubbing is likely to damage the cobblestone shingles and remove their granules.
Pressure washing: Pressure level washers tin exist very strong and certainly strong plenty to break a shingle'due south adhesive and lift it up. They also can strip asphalt shingles of their granule surface, which can ruin their functioning and destroy their colour. Whatever amount of force per unit area washing can cause serious bug with the roof, including major leaks. Never use a force per unit area washer or a pressurized stream of water on your roof.
Using harsh chemicals: Loftier concentrations of bleach and other chemicals may practice permanent impairment to the shingles, increasing your risk for leaks.

Using whatever of these methods may besides void your limited warranty on the roof. If you're in doubt about the safety or effectiveness of a moss removal method you want to try, consult with a professional roofer. A scattering of roofers in areas where moss infections are mutual do specialize in removing moss. They may be able to exercise the work for you and, if non, may have recommendations virtually what your specific roof tin can benefit from.

Why Shouldn't I Add together a New Roof Over Moss?

When you need a new roof, it may be tempting to add a second layer of shingles over your existing shingles. Doubling up your shingles tin salvage time and expense on your roof replacement as your roofer doesn't demand to remove and dispose of the old shingles. This strategy is convenient for homeowners because the replacement won't take as long or brand as much of a mess. Nevertheless, there are some circumstances where only adding a new layer of shingles isn't a expert idea.

For case, when you have pregnant moss growth on your roof, simply covering it up with new shingles isn't wise. Several potential problems may occur if your roofer merely adds a new roof over your existing, moss-covered roof. These potential issues include:

Unknown roof status: If moss growth is severe, it may have compromised the quality of your existing decking and underlayment. The only mode to know for certain is to remove the shingles and look at these other layers. If your roofer doesn't do this, they may be compromising the quality of your new roof. Damaged underlayment and decking can interfere with the proper function of your new shingles. Moss won't die immediately and may continue to erode the decking, which increases the risk of a roof plummet.
Bumps in the roof: The combination of damaged and bloated decking along with moss growth can brand for a new roof installation that is anything but smooth. Bumps and dips in the roof surface can interfere with the proper drainage of water off the roof and forbid the shingles from sealing properly. This uneven surface may also reduce your curb appeal.
Unsafe conditions for roofers: Your roofers will need to walk on your sometime roof to install a new 1 above it, and moss makes for very unstable ground. Information technology is liable to slip below their anxiety and could cause a fall. While roofers will wear a personal fall abort system (PFAS) for safety, increasing their likelihood of a autumn is non wise.
Secondary infections: When moss is cut off from sunlight, it will somewhen dice. However, the dead moss will however be on your roof, where it may serve as a valuable source of water and nutrients for mold and fungi, which can grow in darkness. If you leave mold in place beneath your new roof, you risk secondary infections that can spread into your attic and harm your home. Rot and mold can harm your structural forest, impairment your drywall and make your air quality worse.
Voidance of your limited warranty: Equally it can crusade all of the damage listed above, adding shingles over a moss-covered roof may also void your limited warranty on the new roof.

Should Yous Remove Moss-Covered Shingles Before You lot Install a New Roof?

When you get a roof replacement, you may desire to take your roofers install the new roof over top of the quondam. In certain circumstances, this tin can help yous save money. However, if your quondam roof has moss growth, can you lot still use this method?

You may demand to deal with the moss before the full roof replacement. Your roofers volition need to remove all the shingles on your erstwhile roof, or they may need to remove the largest chunks of moss with a pressure washer and then use the new roof. Information technology is only advisable to use a pressure washer because yous no longer need to worry virtually the status of the old roof. The new one will offer the protection your habitation needs.

The Benefits of Removing Moss-Covered Shingles Before a New Roof Installation

While you may not necessarily have to remove the moss-covered shingles before a new roof installation, you should consider it. There are many benefits of removing the moss-covered shingles, including:

Reduce long-term costs: By removing the sometime roof, you lot go on the opportunity to double-upward roof layers during your next roof replacement. The maximum layers of shingles immune to be on the roof, co-ordinate to most building codes, are 2. Then, once you use this strategy, you must tear off both roof surfaces during your side by side roof replacement.
Maintain home value: Are you planning on selling your home soon? A properly replaced roof is more probable to appeal to potential buyers, while a poorly replaced roof may negatively affect your home value.
Avoid the risk of damage: Y'all tin can avoid all of the risks listed earlier in this article by simply removing all of the moss-covered shingles.

Roofer using roof stripping shovel to remove shingles with moss

How To Prevent Moss on Your New Roof

Now that y'all have a brand-new roof, you lot'll want to take steps to protect it from getting a moss infection every bit the last one did. Here are a few ways to prevent moss growth on your roof:

Remove sources of shade: Moss prefers to grow in the shade, and so exposing more of your roof to sunlight will help deter information technology. You should consider trimming trees that shade out the roof or moving garden features, like pergolas or trellises, so that they do not cast shade on the roof.
Cull algae-resistant shingles: Where there's moss, there is as well algae (Gloeocapsa magma), as they thrive on the same moisture and shady weather. Yous can avoid an algae infestation by installing algae-resistant shingles, such as IKO's Nordic™ shingles. Though algae-resistant shingles will not prevent moss, they will help you avoid pesky algae.
Install a metal strip: A copper, zinc or a galvanized metal strip installed on the ridge of the roof can prevent the growth of moss, algae and lichen. The strip will oxidize over time and wash down the roof airplane when information technology rains, making the roof plane much less habitable for moss, algae and lichen. This is as well why you might meet a gap in the algae or moss growth directly beneath your existing flashing or next to an aluminum-sided dormer. Nevertheless, it is of import to note that calculation a copper strip will take time to start inhibiting moss. You shouldn't expect it to handle a current moss infestation by itself, only to prevent a new one.
Become regular inspections: Roofers can oft preclude moss growth by ensuring that your roof is draining water properly. They should audit and make clean your gutters at least yearly to avoid the backup water that could attract moss.

Roof gutters with leaves

What if the Moss Grows Dorsum?

If the moss does render, do not rely on harsh chemical treatments or dry spells to kill it. Chemical treatments may harm shingles every bit well as moss, creating a more pregnant problem. Dead moss must even so be removed past manus, or it will impede the flow of h2o off the roof and create issues. Information technology may crusade standing water. Information technology may also clog gutters or allow for leaks.

What if I Similar the Moss?

Some homeowners find moss enchanting, similar ivy growing up the side of their home. If y'all'd like to grow moss or other plants on your roof, you could consider investing in a residential green roof. Thin, extensive light-green roofs are enough to grow succulents and mosses. If y'all're interested in taller plants, consider an intensive green roof.

Do Y'all Demand Assist Dealing With Moss?

Whether you need to remove a few moss-infected shingles or supercede the whole roof, a professional roofer is your best resource. Accomplish out to one through IKO's Contractor Locator.