Getting moss cleaned off roof

Gazelle1985

Hello everyone,

We have a fair bit of moss and lichen on our (very old) roof. We've had to have some work done this year to replace tiles and repair valleys, and apparently the roof is 'nearing the end of it's life.' For the moment it's fine though, and no longer leaking.

We've had conflicting advice about whether it's worth cleaning off the moss. I understand the benefits of doing so, but because the tiles are in quite a delicate state, we've also had to advice not to spend money doing this, as it could damage tiles further, and might not be worth it if the roof needs to be replaced.

Can anyone offer any advice??

Thank you

neilmcl

I wouldn't bother if you're going to replace the roof at some time. Having said that my slate roof has been at the end of it's life for a number of years now so it's a toss up between paying out a couple of hundred every year or so to fix the odd lost slate or nearly £10K to replace the whole lot.

greyteam1959

Leave it alone or you could cause more problems than you already have.

Zola.

Who looks at your roof and thinks "gosh thats very dirty, I wish they would wash it?"

Whats the point if it isnt a hazard?

Gazelle1985

Thanks everyone for the replies.

It's not the aesthetics of the roof that made us consider moss removal (in fact, because of the pitch of our roof, you can barely see it from the ground!). It's because the moss can cause problems in terms of retaining lots of water which can then soak into the roof, preventing water from running down the roof properly, and getting inbetween the tiles, leaving them susceptible to coming loose, or letting in water.

We are worried that the state of the roof could be made even worse by having the moss scraped off though. And I guess it could potentially even be holding tiles in by now!

Grenage

Don't do it; leave the moss alone. People bank on about water retention and freezing damage, but mainly it's a chore if it gets in the gutters. You wash it down and it will be back in a short time regardless.

gardner1

We have a a fair amount on our roof in the shady area and it gets washed off a few times a year in heavy rain,does mean i have to clear gutters out once a year as it doesn't always make it down the downpipe

As others have said leave it alone and it will last a lot longer than you think

parking_question_chap

Water will not soak into the roof. You will do more damage by trying to remove it. Just clear it out of the gutter a couple of times a year, that all you need.

Gazelle1985

Haha, sounds like the advice is unequivocally to leave it alone!

Thanks everyone

EachPenny

Gazelle1985 wrote: »

Haha, sounds like the advice is unequivocally to leave it alone!

Thanks everyone

Yes, the most likely outcome of having the moss removed will be tiles getting cracked in the process.

Tiles that are cracked will definitely leak. Moss covered tiles might leak at some point in the future.

Niv

As a way of saving time / reduce going up a ladder too often. I clean my gutters out when i put up the outside Christmas lights. two for one