We recently had our roof reshingled. Our neighbor says that we should add zinc strips to prevent moss from accumulating. Also he says that he sprinkles something called Moss-Out (a zinc based product) on the shingles for the same purpose. We live in Western Washington where it rains a lot. Should we follow his advice? He had 25 year shingles put on his roof whereas we chose 40 year. Don't know if that makes any difference.
Zinc strips work very well as long term solution. Moss-Out is a quick one time fix that also works well.
You put a stirp of zinc I beleive at the top of your peak and after a few rains it deposits the zinc molecules along the whole roof thereby eliminating the moss.
Searcher
In my experience, zinc strips work quite well for moss prevention in western Washington. (I'm in Pacific, used to be on Vashon Island.)
Moss prevention is *much* better than trying to clean the moss off your roof after it gets established.
My experience is it either doesn't make enough difference (the amount of metal that must be shed to kill vegetation is significant, you can't just put a strip somewhere), or it makes a difference (shingles with granules of metals) but this also kills any lawn or landscaping around the downspouts or downhill therefrom.
It works with a new roof. You can buy shingles with the zinc already in the shingle, but since yours is already up adding the zinc strips makes sense. It prevents moss, algae growth and the black streaking.
I was told by one seattle roofer to sprinkle garden lime on the roof. I believe it reduces the acidity that moss likes.
Bob
I talked to several roofers lately (Western Oregon). I need a new roof. I wanted them all to put up the zinc-strip. They all told me they were a waste of money (and, understand that they all would have been able to charge me extra for putting up the strip).
they say they work for about 3 or so years and then their effectiveness stops. And then you are stuck with an ugly zinc strip......
The moss-out granules are what I HAVE been using and they told me to continue. $8.95 a can at the local farm store. Need about two cans every two or three years.
Since I have to go on the roof at least once a year anyway to clear-out the gutters, sprinkling the granules is no big deal....
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