Roof Moss: The Birds Love It
Full of tiny ‘Soil Mites’ make them a favourite snack for the birds and once they’re finished with their pickings, the clumps of moss are then discarded and will either make there way to the nearest gutter or more often than not they’ll land on the ground around your property and is a sure sign that it’s time to think about getting your roof cleaned and treated.
Can Moss Damage the Roof?
The large percentage of moss that ends up in your gutters can cause blockages which in turn can cause water to overflow and get into areas of the building it’s not meant to, fascia and gutter fixings, rafter tails etc., causing more serious damage. The weight of wet moss will put additional strain on the roof and when the wet moss freezes in winter it expands and can cause tiles to crack. So it’s quite important to consider having it removed to prevent any or further damage to your property.
Roof Moss: What’s the Reason for Moss Growth
Over time, the dust, dirt and organic debris that swirls around in the atmosphere will settle on your roof and lower surrounding areas like drives, patios, decking etc. Whilst the latter low lying regions are much easier to maintain, the roof is not so easy and is often neglected a lot more because of this, creating a haven for moss, algae and lichen growth.
Moss, algae and lichen need a combination of two things to grow, moisture and organic debris. The more water and debris, the greater the chance of moss growth.
Another critical factor is the amount of shade your roof receives. A well-shaded roof prevents the evaporation of moisture, creating excellent conditions for moss to thrive.
Notice in the image above that due to sloped nature of all tiled and slated roofs the rain does a decent job of rinsing away most of organic debris required for moss growth but the small percentage that’s not removed proves to have the right shade, moisture and organic debris to be the ideal conditions for moss to thrive, namely the gaps between the tile and slate, the rough front edge of the tile and the gaps and cracks that appear over time in the tiled valleys.
You’ll also notice on the tiled roof the white lichen that’s evolved due to the grime that’s formed over the flat areas of the tile.
Roof Moss: Can it be Removed or Prevented
Removed – Yes, Prevented – Yes with treatment. Take a look at the image below.
This is a client we had in August 2020 that had a Rustic Mix Two Tone flat tile that had a heavy concentration of grime and moss.
The BioWash team began the work at 8.00am, scraping all the moss, a spray application of our own biocide treatment to kill any organic spores that is left behind in the gaps was then applied.
The gutters were all emptied and cleaned along with fascia and soffits and by the end of the day you can start to see the colour coming back to the roof tiles in the top right picture.
1 month later the roof is fully restored and 21 months later you can see the long lasting effect of the biocide application, no grime or moss to be seen anywhere.
This client has agreed to a 4 year maintenance contract where we will come back in 2 years and provide a quick biocide spray over to keep it looking this good.
If you’d like to improve the aesthetics of your own property and see what we can do for you