moss on a roof

boater · 12-07-2002, 03:36 PM

anyone know how to control the groth of moss on a roof, i brushed all the clumps off and want to keep it under control.

p.s. never used to have this problem and think its due to the weird weather we are having...

skein · 12-07-2002, 04:22 PM

Yep, go to Costco and buy one of their 5-gallon buckets of powdered laundry detergent. The cheap stuff works just fine. Then go up and broadcast it around on the roof, concentrating on the ridgeline. When it rains (please, please) it will dissolve and kill the moss. A treatment like that once or twice a year will keep it clear. LOTS cheaper than the moss-kill you buy at the garden store.

Skein

1pump · 12-08-2002, 07:33 AM

Never heard the detergent trick before. Might have to try that.
There's plenty of roof treatments out there to kill moss. I was going to try one but I got divorced and the ex got the house. (and the moss)

I'm going to have to do my new house pretty soon 'cuz half the roof faces north and doesn't get good exposure.
One thing that does kill moss immediately is iron. Not good for roofs because it leaves rust stains. I used to be a machinist so I would bring home a bucket full of iron shavings and sprinkle them on the lawn. Any moss in the grass would be dead in a week.

12-08-2002, 04:14 PM

Tin strips on the peak of your roof.

1pump · 12-08-2002, 05:31 PM

Oh yeah, I forgot about this one:

My ex-father-in-law knows a guy who had perpetual moss problems due to his house being surrounded by trees. He found a long piece of "trolley" cable somewhere and nailed it to the ridge. From what I was told "trolley" cable is just super-heavy gauge solid copper wire (not braided). Apparently the copper leaches into the rainwater runoff and kills the moss.

lost_sailor · 12-08-2002, 05:38 PM

Roof-guy recommended the detergent thing.

GutshotApe · 12-08-2002, 06:23 PM

Copper wire placed along the ridgeline will kill moss for several feet below depending on wire guage. Might need another wire halfway between ridge & eave. You can also kill moss by throwing your penny collection up on the roof. Hard part is getting good distribution - and then, of course, there are the neighbor kids..............

Elkhunter · 12-11-2002, 04:11 PM

Tide with bleach works for me, great for sidewalks also.

AuntyM · 12-11-2002, 05:52 PM

Buy enough rolls of zinc strip at the hardware store made just for this purpose. We used it and it kept the moss off for ten years.

Dipnet · 12-11-2002, 09:30 PM

My neighbor across the street used detergent about 4 years ago and the moss is still gone. I think you need detergent with bleach in it because the bleach is what kills the moss. :smile:

TheRogue · 12-12-2002, 04:55 AM

Not to be a drag, and everyone should really know by now that I'm NOT a greenie-enviro, but if you can, please try to avoid any of the radical chemical treatments?? That stuff does eventually run downhill and end up in the river, and a five gallon bucket of detergent on each Metro area home would probably not be a good thing to end up in our "pristine" waters...

Sorry, it's early, can't imagine this stuff is coming out of MY brain!!

TR

[ 12-12-2002, 05:56 AM: Message edited by: TheRogue ]

GutshotApe · 12-12-2002, 05:03 AM

Dittos, TR!

Those foam balls we see floating on streams aren't natural and aren't supposed to be there :depressed: . Detergent with or w/o bleach kills moss on the roof & driveway but it doesn't stop there - it runs off into the stormdrain or directly into the nearest creek and keeps on keepin' on

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