How To Clean Moss From Asphalt Shingles

How To Deal With Green Moss on Roof Shingles?

Moss growth tin create several problems on shingle roofs. While a small layer of thin moss isn't as well troublesome, large clumps of moss can degrade shingles, get beneath them and create opportunities for leaks. Farther, many of the methods of removing moss that are recommended online actually impairment the shingles, which could significantly increment your odds of getting a leak. Then, how do yous safely remove moss from a roof? If you plan on replacing the roof, do you need to remove the moss first? And how do you forestall moss from growing back after you have removed information technology? Nosotros'll answer those questions and tell you other things that you need to know almost how to handle the moss on your shingle roof.

Table of Contents

• Why is Moss Bad for Shingles?
• What if the Moss Appears Expressionless?
• How To Remove Moss From a Roof
• Methods You Shouldn't Use To Remove Moss From a Roof
• Why Shouldn't I Add a New Roof Over Moss?
• Should You Remove Moss-Covered Shingles Before You lot 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 Yous Need Assistance Dealing With Moss?

Why is Moss Bad for Shingles?

You may feel that a scrap of moss gives your roof some charm, simply equally ivy growing up the side of your firm might. While moss may be beautiful, it is a detriment to your roof. Here'due south why:

Most plants get together 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-complimentary environs. They will grow roots straight into the shingles, which can destroy the shingles and create the opportunity for leaks.

When it rains, moss volition soak up water and retain it, creating consistently wet conditions on your roof. Moss growth will also interfere with proper drainage of water off the roof as water needs to trickle through or around the moss instead of running directly down to the gutters. The resulting abiding exposure to h2o can dethrone shingles.

Over time, moss tin can too work its way under shingles, lifting them up. This uplift creates opportunities for water to penetrate lower layers of the roof and, potentially, your habitation.

While minor moss infections may not cause many issues, it is likely to become astringent over time. Once you spot moss growth on your roof, y'all should have steps to resolve it. If yous accept a severe infection, you may have no choice but to remove the shingles that accept been damaged by information technology. A professional roofer tin help you assess what kind of intervention your roof needs.

What if the Moss Appears Expressionless?

If the weather condition has been consistently dry, moss may appear to be dead. However, some species of moss can stay alive when dried out for months. All it will take is i 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.

How To Remove Moss From a Roof

If your roof has sprouted a moss infection, you can remove it before information technology becomes serious plenty to bear on the performance of your roof. Moss is tough and typically you volition not be able to remove information technology by mitt. However, you lot tin utilize a chemical solution to loosen the moss without dissentious the shingles. We don't recommend that you lot step on the roof for moss removal.

Materials You'll Need

• A garbage handbag.
• A garden hose.
• A ladder (familiarize yourself with ladder safety before yous kickoff).
• A moss-specific cleaner that does not apply bleach and is rated by the EPA.
• Or your own cleaner mix of mild bleach or mild detergent mixed with water in a spray bottle. Yous may mix 2 cups of chlorine bleach with 2 gallons of water. Or you tin can utilise 8 ounces of dish soap with ii gallons of water.

How To Remove Moss From a Roof

• Step I: Safely gear up up your ladder near the moss. With either your homemade cleaner or a shop-bought choice, spray the moss.
• Stride Two: Follow the shop-bought cleaner's instructions for how long you should exit the cleaner on the moss. If using a homemade spray, leave it on for 15-twenty minutes.
• Pace Three: Using your garden hose on low pressure, rinse the moss thoroughly. You should find that most of the moss will come off from the spray of the water. Exist sure not to directly a pressurized spray beneath the shingles or directly against the shingles such that they might lift up. Otherwise, you could create a leak. Fifty-fifty if the moss is not coming off, rinse thoroughly. Information technology is very important to remove all of the cleaner that you sprayed on, or you could damage your shingles.
• Footstep 4: Any remaining moss should now be loosened enough that you tin manually remove it from the shingles. While standing on the ladder, gently lift the moss off the shingles and identify it in your garbage handbag for disposal. You can secure the garbage bag to your ladder and so that you tin can always have one manus on the ladder.
• Step V: If some moss is nevertheless too ingrained on the roof to be removed by mitt, you lot should not 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 Utilise To Remove Moss From a Roof

Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad communication out there about how to remove moss. While these methods may be constructive at removing moss, they may also damage shingles in the procedure. We don't recommend y'all try to remove your moss by:

• Scrubbing: You may be tempted to scrub the moss off the shingles because moss grips shingles quite strongly. However, scrubbing is likely to damage the asphalt shingles and remove their granules.
• Pressure washing: Pressure level washers tin be very strong and certainly strong enough to break a shingle'southward adhesive and lift information technology up. They besides tin strip asphalt shingles of their granule surface, which can ruin their performance and destroy their color. Any corporeality of pressure washing can cause serious issues with the roof, including major leaks. Never use a pressure washer or a pressurized stream of water on your roof.
• Using harsh chemicals: High concentrations of bleach and other chemicals may do permanent harm to the shingles, increasing your risk for leaks.

Using any of these methods may also void your express warranty on the roof. If you lot're in doubt about the safety or effectiveness of a moss removal method you lot desire to try, consult with a professional roofer. A scattering of roofers in areas where moss infections are common do specialize in removing moss. They may be able to exercise the work for yous and, if not, may have recommendations about what your specific roof tin do good from.

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

When you demand a new roof, it may be tempting to add a 2nd layer of shingles over your existing shingles. Doubling up your shingles tin relieve time and expense on your roof replacement equally your roofer doesn't need to remove and dispose of the old shingles. This strategy is user-friendly for homeowners because the replacement won't take as long or brand as much of a mess. All the same, at that place are some circumstances where simply adding a new layer of shingles isn't a good idea.

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

• Unknown roof condition: If moss growth is severe, it may have compromised the quality of your existing decking and underlayment. The only mode to know for sure is to remove the shingles and expect at these other layers. If your roofer doesn't do this, they may exist compromising the quality of your new roof. Damaged underlayment and decking tin can interfere with the proper function of your new shingles. Moss won't die immediately and may go on to erode the decking, which increases the run a risk of a roof collapse.
• Bumps in the roof: The combination of damaged and bloated decking along with moss growth can make for a new roof installation that is annihilation just polish. Bumps and dips in the roof surface can interfere with the proper drainage of water off the roof and prevent the shingles from sealing properly. This uneven surface may also reduce your curb appeal.
• Dangerous conditions for roofers: Your roofers will need to walk on your one-time roof to install a new one above it, and moss makes for very unstable ground. It is liable to slip below their feet and could cause a fall. While roofers will clothing a personal fall arrest system (PFAS) for safety, increasing their likelihood of a autumn is non wise.
• Secondary infections: When moss is cutting off from sunlight, information technology will somewhen die. Even so, the expressionless moss will even so be on your roof, where it may serve as a valuable source of water and nutrients for mold and fungi, which tin can abound in darkness. If you get out mold in place below your new roof, you risk secondary infections that can spread into your cranium and harm your home. Rot and mold tin can harm your structural forest, harm your drywall and brand your air quality worse.
• Voidance of your limited warranty: As information technology tin cause all of the impairment listed higher up, adding shingles over a moss-covered roof may also void your express warranty on the new roof.

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

When yous get a roof replacement, you may want to accept your roofers install the new roof over superlative of the sometime. In sure circumstances, this tin can assist you salvage money. However, if your former roof has moss growth, can you still use this method?

You may need to bargain with the moss before the total roof replacement. Your roofers will need to remove all the shingles on your old roof, or they may need to remove the largest chunks of moss with a force per unit area washer and and then apply the new roof. It is only advisable to use a pressure washer considering yous no longer demand to worry about the condition of the old roof. The new i will offer the protection your domicile 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. In that location are many benefits of removing the moss-covered shingles, including:

• Reduce long-term costs: By removing the quondam roof, yous keep the opportunity to double-up roof layers during your next roof replacement. The maximum layers of shingles allowed to exist on the roof, according to well-nigh building codes, are two. So, in one case y'all use this strategy, you must tear off both roof surfaces during your adjacent roof replacement.
• Maintain home value: Are you planning on selling your home soon? A properly replaced roof is more likely to appeal to potential buyers, while a poorly replaced roof may negatively affect your home value.
• Avoid the risk of harm: Y'all can avoid all of the risks listed before in this commodity by simply removing all of the moss-covered shingles.

How To Prevent Moss on Your New Roof

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

• Remove sources of shade: Moss prefers to grow in the shade, so exposing more than of your roof to sunlight will assist deter it. You should consider trimming trees that shade out the roof or moving garden features, like pergolas or trellises, so that they practise not cast shade on the roof.
• Choose algae-resistant shingles: Where at that place'due south moss, there is likewise algae (Gloeocapsa magma), as they thrive on the same wet and shady conditions. Yous tin can avoid an algae infestation by installing algae-resistant shingles, such every bit IKO'due south Nordic™ shingles. Though algae-resistant shingles will not forbid moss, they will aid you lot avoid pesky algae.
• Install a metal strip: A copper, zinc or a galvanized metal strip installed on the ridge of the roof tin prevent the growth of moss, algae and lichen. The strip will oxidize over fourth dimension and wash downwards the roof plane when it rains, making the roof plane much less habitable for moss, algae and lichen. This is also why y'all might come across a gap in the algae or moss growth directly beneath your existing flashing or adjacent to an aluminum-sided dormer. However, information technology is important to note that adding a copper strip will have time to start inhibiting moss. You shouldn't await it to handle a current moss infestation past itself, only to forbid a new i.
• Get regular inspections: Roofers can often prevent moss growth past ensuring that your roof is draining water properly. They should inspect and clean your gutters at least yearly to avoid the fill-in water that could concenter moss.

What if the Moss Grows Back?

If the moss does return, do not rely on harsh chemical treatments or dry out spells to kill it. Chemic treatments may damage shingles every bit well as moss, creating a more pregnant problem. Dead moss must still be removed by hand, or it will impede the flow of water off the roof and create issues. It may crusade standing water. It may likewise clog gutters or let for leaks.

What if I Like the Moss?

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

Exercise You Need Help Dealing With Moss?

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

Source: https://www.iko.com/na/blog/how-to-remove-moss-from-shingles/

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