Going Green, Not Always Best Idea For Your Roof

Your roof going green with moss is not a good thing! Today I received a question about removing moss and thought I would share my answer.

First let me say that if you are in a hurry; you should scrape the moss off with a wire brush the best you can. But, you can treat it and then brush off the dead stuff as best you can then treat again. Moss attaches to the roof as long as it is alive. After killing the moss, it releases and is easier to brush off.

At one time I spread laundry detergent to kill moss and it worked great. Slow but great. However, I have come to learn that the detergent has degreasers in it. That degreaser helps clean the clothes but isn't good for asphalt roofs, which are a petroleum product, as the degreaser attacks the petroleum binders and the roof slowly deteriorates. Not good.

I have since been using zinc sulfate, the main ingredient in the product Moss Out for roofs. I buy it in bulk from the farm store. In a nut shell, one ot the easist things for a person to do would be to buy the Moss Out granules for roofs and spread it all over if the moss is heavy. When you get to just a maintenance program you can just spread it on the peak and let the water wash it down. I do it every Feb on the rentals and probably twice a year, Feb and Oct, on our house.

If you are in a hurry and want to scrape a little this year; use bleach water at a rate of 3 quarts bleach to 3.75 gallons water. This acts fast but isn't a good preventative. Follow up with a Zinc sulphate treatment as a preventative measure. Should work fine.

Creative Concepts and Contracting has the experience you need to solve maintenance and repair issues quickly and easily. Contact Joe for more ideas on how to maintain your home!