id=”attachment_589″ align=”aligncenter” width=”448″ caption=”Determining when roof moss removal is necessary can be difficult.”

As attractive as the opportunity for a project might be, I’ve never been one to sell fear just to obtain work.   And fear definitely can get pushed upon the unsuspecting homeowner.   Yet there is a critical determination to be made with any home maintenance project in terms of when to proceed.   Like most situations, deciding when to proceed with roof moss removal depends on perspective and objectives.   For these purposes, I’ll leave the entire issue of aesthetics out of the consideration, since it is a personal preference.

Why Roof Moss Removal Is Needed in the First Place

Let’s start very briefly with what moss can do to a roof.   Roofs were designed to have rainwater quickly run down them into the gutters.   Large moss acts to block the flow of water, acting as a miniature dam and diverting water to where it should not be.   It causes the roof to stay wet when it should be drying out, accelerating deterioration.   While moss does not technically have roots, it has rhizoids, which act like roots by attaching to the roof’s surface.   This attachment works to breakdown the roofing material.   The bottom line is that moss shortens a roof’s live and increases the chances of leaks.

That being said, a small, new presence of moss is much different than large clumps.   No damming is occurring when there is just a green sheen on the roof.   Not until moss gets to be the size of a marble or gumball is there much chance of any “micro-damming” occurring.

Nonetheless, there are different types of moss and some types are more aggressive in attaching to the roofing material.   Aggressive moss is indeed fully capable penetrating into the porous areas of the roof and becoming strongly attached to shingle granules. At this point, perspective comes in.   Just like one cigarette not likely killing you, it is the start of something that could.

The same principal is true with moss.   A small amount will not cause immediate problems however, the longer you wait, the harder and more costly it will be to get rid of.   Roof moss removal can be a labor intensive job so the quicker it is brought under control, the less money it will cost you.   At All Surface, we strongly recommend adhering to a preventative treatment program once the roof has been cleaned.   It is always more affordable and gentle on the roof to just keep the moss from returning than it is dealing with a full blown problem every couple of years.   As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We just happen to offer both “ounces of prevention” as well “pounds of cure” – call Portland’s roof moss removal experts today for whichever you need.