Why is it important to remove moss from your roof?

Supreme Exterior Clean - Property Cleaning in Sunderland

Are you wanting to sell your home, but noticed your roof tiles look dirty, green, and stained? Are your pathways around the house getting slippery and dangerous? Or is your guttering overflowing with leaves, twigs, and horrible green sludge? These are just some of the signs that it’s time for you to consider hiring a professional exterior cleaner to remove moss from your roof.

As with most things, prevention is better than the cure (as you will see in another of my blogs). And if you leave such things as moss, lichens, and algae growing on your roof, it could become quite simply dangerous and potentially very costly!

The problem is, you don’t spend much time looking up at your roof, if you can see it at all. So, you might not know just how bad the moss growth on your roof already is, and the damage it could already be causing.

Here, I’m going to explain why hiring professional exterior cleaners to remove moss from your roof could not only leave your home looking clean and cared for now, but could also prevent further growth and unnecessary damage in future.

What damage does moss growth cause to your roof?

You probably recognise moss as the green fluffy blobs that you see on walls, rocks, fences, pathways, and high up on rooftops. But do you know how it gets there?

Moss has no roots, but instead has tiny spores (like seeds) which become airborne and get carried by the wind, birds, or combined with organic debris carried by other small animals. So, the spores are therefore deposited anywhere.

If these seeds settle in a damp, dark or shaded place, they will start to grow into a green carpet-like mass. Once the moss has found a place to grow, such as under your roof tiles, it then spreads across the roof, and gradually eats away at the protective surface.

So, your roof tiles, shingle, and slates start to look pitted and become less waterproof. If the moss is left to grow for a long time without treatment, eventually the join between the tiles is worn away, and the tiles will start to lift. The more they lift, the more space the moss has in which to grow. And so, it continues.

All this combined means your house is more susceptible to rainwater seeping inside, causing a serious damp issue. Tiles and slates will crack and could fall off completely.

And of course, with the additional water absorbed and retained, your roof is then carrying additional weight as well.

So, not only do the moss and lichens gathering on your roof look unsightly, but as it takes time for the moss to develop into the green patches, by the time you do spot it, the damage could already be serious.

Rainwater will gather in the affected areas, as it can’t drain away efficiently. The moss gets either wind-blown or washed off the roof, either blocking your guttering or causing dangerous slippery patches around your home.

You may reach a point where sections of your roof, or worst case the entire roof, need replacing.

But with regular maintenance and scheduled cleaning, we can remove moss from your roof and then treat it to prevent it getting this far.

How can Supreme Exterior Clean remove moss from your roof?

No two jobs are the same for us, so we make sure we’ve fully assessed the surface before starting any of our exterior cleaning services.

Our team is trained and experienced in safely reaching those awkward areas of your roof that you can’t! And while we’re up there, if there is anything we think you should know about, then we will tell you. As I’ve already said, we can help you prevent any issues before they set in.

We never use pressure washing in our roof cleaning service, as it can damage the tiles, force water underneath any which are dislodged, and potentially break them. None of which you would want to pay for, and we certainly don’t want to cause.

Our methods of roof cleaning are SoftWashing, which was designed specifically for roof cleaning, or DOFF steam cleaning. Depending on the extent of existing growth, we may need to scrape some of it away before we can start the chemical SoftWash process.

All our cleaning products are eco-friendly, and get to the root cause of the problem, in this case under the moss and lichens. So rather than simply pressure washing them away to regrow elsewhere, this process gently breaks them down in the form of biodegradable matter. In doing so, we are protecting the surface on which we are working as well as the surrounding areas and the wider environment.

So, if you want your house roof free of moss and algae, if you have a commercial property which is prone to growth and damage, or if you want to get ahead of the game and prevent it from happening by having your roof cleaned and maintained, contact ustoday to arrange a free quotation. Supreme Exterior Clean is the professional and reputable exterior cleaning company, in the North East and West Midlands, who can remove moss from your roof, and take care of your gutter cleaning, regular window cleaning and maintain your paths and driveways all at the same time!