How to remove moss from your roof

Although the green glow of the moss on your roof can look harmless, and even quite pretty when it glistens in the morning light, BEWARE – it is a lot more sinister for the health of your roof than you might think!

If left unchecked, moss will make its home in your shingles, growing, festering, eroding and damaging the material and structural integrity. It will lead to a very premature costly roof replacement if not addressed in early stages. Most commonly you’ll find moss in all types of shingles, all types of wood, asphalt, or even metal. Our pacific Northwest moist and cool environment makes if very easy for it to thrive on almost any surface.

To kill the moss and prevent it from returning, you must use a precise method to guarantee results. Our team has removed moss on THOUSANDS of west coast roofs, following a step-wise method:  

1. Identify the Cause of Roof Moss and The Extent of the Damage

This one is pretty simple for us - If you live in a humid area prone to fog in the early morning or dew in the late evening (as we do here in beautiful British Columbia’s coast), moss unfortunately has the perfect environment to grow and thrive. Roof moss is a familiar sight in Victoria, British Columbia. 

The spores can be dispersed in many ways, however you will notice more if you live in a heavily wooded area. This is two-fold: seeds are spread onto the roof with branches, leaves, needles and debris that fall. Once the spores take hold, the shade provided by the tree cover gives them the perfect damp and cozy environment to thrive.

Moss multiplies when it starts growing and can grow into thick layers that will weigh down your roof. You should remove the moss from an early stage. If the roof appears to be damaged from the moss, you will need to take extra care. 

2. Remove the moss

There are several ways to remove moss from your roof, but preservation of the roof material is paramount and unnecessarily rough methods will do more harm than good. 

We use water and a specialized soft-bristle brush. You will need a ladder, personal protective equipment, a hose, and often a safety rope / fall arrest to complete this task. Unless you have a metal roof we do NOT recommend a heavy duty power wash to get this done (however tempting that may be!)

Removing moss from a roof is a tricky job that actually requires a lot of skill. Get one of our skilled and trained Victoria Home Pros technicians on it, and avoid the pitfalls of an improper removal.

3. Apply a Chemical Treatment Spray

The last step is to apply a Chemical Treatment spray to annihilate the microscopic remaining moss spores, preventing them from respawning immediately. We use a quaternary amine-base spray. While this may sound like a scary chemical - not to worry! The beauty of this product is that it is totally environmentally friendly and will not negatively impact people, pets or other surrounding flora and fauna. It is SPECIFIC to targeting these pesky spores and works by creating a basic environment, opposing the acidic environment the moss needs to grow and thrive.

This is not a permanent solution: When we spray, we guarantee our results under warranty for 12 months. At the 12-month mark, we recommend having us back to re-spray, however no moss removal should be required! If you keep on top of the yearly spray, you should never have to deal with a major moss removal situation ever again. We are happy to help you out and set you up on a maintenance plan, and you can delegate your moss-management to us completely!

Victoria Home Pros is your local exterior home cleaning expert, resolving various issues, from roof moss removal to gutter cleaning, window washing, pressure washing, house siding cleaning and more! 

Roof Moss Removal is one of the most important aspects to roof maintenance in the Pacific Northwest - regular moss maintenance is a must. If you need roof moss removal services in Victoria, contact us today!