How To Prevent Moss Growth on Your Roof

If you spot moss on your roof, you are well on your way to having problems. Moss indicates dampness, and even worse, moss works as a sponge to hold dampness on your roof, eventually soaking through the shingles.

Take it from the experienced Northern VA roof contractors at Style Roofing: it is far easier to prevent moss than it is to remove it. Here’s how.

Promote Air Circulation

Moss forms in damp areas. Promoting good air circulation will make your roof dry out a little more quickly, reducing the likelihood that moss will form. You can do this by cutting back any tree branches that are too near your roof.

Keeping branches at least 10 feet away from your roof not only improves air circulation, it reduces the amount of debris that the tree can add to your roof. Sap, pollen, needles, branches and leaves all promote the growth of moss.

Ideally, you will not have any overhanging branches at all, but if you have a tree that towers high above your home, consider having an arborist in to thin the crown of the tree. That will let in more light, and the sunshine will help keep moss at bay.

Apply a Preventative Treatment

If your yard is shady, or your roof has many sheltered valleys, you may want to have a preventative treatment applied to your roof. You will want to have this professionally done, since many “folk” treatments are ineffective or dangerous. The effective treatments are strong chemical sprays similar to herbicides, so they require special training and safety precautions to ensure that the job is done properly.

Zinc strips are one example of an ineffective technique. In order for zinc to prevent moss, you almost have to shingle the whole house in zinc. It’s not that the principle is ineffective, it’s just that it’s unreasonable to apply it in a way that would make it effective for the area you want to protect.

A bonus of the preventative spray is that it will prevent moss spores, which are carried on the wind or by birds, from colonizing your roof if your neighbors are suffering from a moss infestation.

If you need a moss preventative treatment, or if you think you might, please call us at Style Roofing. We will send an experienced estimator out to your house to take a look at the situation and give you our advice.