Managing Moss on Your Roof, Without Toxic Chemicals

[Music] during the rainy season moss is revived on roofs as it soaks up and stores excess rainwater the stored water can seep under to the shingles and then through the roof under layman and sheathing leading to growths of mold and costly repairs from rot we're going to show you three key tips for preventing and treating moss on your roof without using chemicals that are highly toxic to fish and other aquatic life tip 1 prevention dirt particles on roofs can create places for moss to start growing so the primary preventative measure each year is to clean your roof sweep and blow the roof once or twice a year when it's dry to remove leaves twigs and any dirt particles if possible trim back tree branches to minimize shade and prevent debris from falling on the roof tip 2 treatment after sweeping and blowing your roof apply baking soda at the ridgeline during the dry season you can also sprinkle baking soda directly on moss that's already on the roof and anywhere else you don't want moss growing moss needs a neutral or slightly acidic environment to survive baking soda will raise the ph of the roof and kill the moss allow several weeks for the moss to completely die baking soda washes off easily so more than one application may be needed each year products containing d limonene citrus oil are also effective at killing moss results are usually seen in two to three days with either treatment method some loss will fall off naturally as it dies three caution toxic to aquatic life avoid products containing zinc potassium salts of fatty acids and non-chlorinated oxidizing bleaching agents like peroxides zinc strips can be installed at the top of your roof to prevent moss but as rain runs over the strips zinc drips down your roof and makes its way to storm drains and waterways zinc is toxic to fish and encap does not recommend zinc products potassium salts of fatty acids can be effective for moss treatment but are also known to be toxic to aquatic life hydrogen peroxide and other non-chlorinated oxidizing bleaching agents are considered slightly hazardous to water if you use either potassium salts or oxidizing bleaching agents disconnect your downspouts during the application and cleaning process so that runoff can seep into the soil before reaching storm drains and then streams it's also best to use these early during the draft season for more tips on dealing with moss plus other weeds and pests visit www.pesticide.org

Channel: NCAP: Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides

Views: 43,149

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Id: jgSxfWajkm0

Length: 3min 1sec (181 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 27 2021