Removal of Moss on roof - Lichenite

[RzB]

Has anyone had experience of a product called Lichenite...

'm considering giving it a try... Thanks, Roy

[Andrew Mawson]

All you need is a length of bare copper wire strung along the ridge of the roof. The copper salts leached out of the wire by the rain dribble down the roof and kill the moss and lichens which dry out and fall off over time.

Sure fire and cheap solution if you have a head for heights

AWEM

[Ian_m]

But in my experience only the tiles near the wire stay free, moss just returns on the rest of the tiles. A good brush down every couple of years is a better solution.

[Andrew Mawson]

message

ridge of

Then put more wires up !

AWEM

[RzB]

Andrew/Ian,

Many thanks for your responses.

I was also sort of considering the copper thing...

have just seen a house down the road with a VERY clean roof... and a sign outside..

is obviously not DIY - but my wife will no longer let me get up on the roof :-) Can't say I'm that keen anyway..

Hmmm... Roy

[doozer]

I've been watching this thread with some interest as we have the same problem of moss on the roof and I've been meaning to do something about it. As I'm not that great with heights I was thinking of watering the roof with a moss killer.

Now that I know that copper works though it has given me another idea. What do you think would happen if I just threw a hand full of some copper salt, copper sulphate for instance, on the roof once in a while.

I think it should work as after all the copper wire idea works because copper salts (some of which are probably copper sulphate produced by acid rain) are produced and run slowly down the roof. It certainly beats climbing around on the roof installing wire.

Graham

[RzB]

Hmmm - Might end up a bit patchy.... Yes/No? Roy

[RzB]

I must say I'm a bit confused. I have been speaking to all sorts of people and the recommendations vary wildly.

"Ooo - What ever you do don't let anyone pressure wash the tiles - it will ruin them."

"An Anti Mould Growth sprayed on to the roof will keep it clear for ten years or more.."

"CopperRidge is the answer... "

"Don't bother - it does more damage removing it than leaving it alone"

etc...

Not quite sure what to do at the moment. Something has got to happen because I'm fed up with the patio being rained on by great lumps of moss... Most anoying finding a lump of moss in your plate of salad and barbie... :-)

Roy

[doozer]

If it works I wouldn't have thought it would be patchy. The copper sulphate you get from chemical suppliers is generally in quite small grains and it's easy to crush up further if necessary.

The other reason I think it will probably not be patchy is because a handful of copper sulphate spread evenly over the roof would probably be give the equivalent amount of copper as having a solid copper roof for

50 years.

For those interested you can pick up a 1kg bag of copper sulphate from sigma-aldrich for 11 of you hard earnt English pounds.

[jacob]

Why is moss on the roof a problem?

cheers

Jacob

[bigcat]

Why not just make a pole up and pick it off?

NT

[doozer]

There seems to be a lot of old wives tales about moss causing problems on the roof. I have been told that over time it damages the tiles; particularly so if they are softer or slightly porous as many old tiles are. I can certainly believe that moss odes cause damage and if I can find a £10 solution to moss on the roof well I think it's worth taking it. The other problem is that it dries up in the summer and some bits fall off. Over time it block the guttering. I can think of much better things to do than remove hand fulls of decaying moss from the guttering.

I have noticed recently that the local birds are doing a surprisingly good job of keep our guttering clear. There must be bugs living in and under the moss that falls in the gutter. To get to at them the birds (normally black birds) sit on the edge of the gutter and throw bits of moss out. It makes a mess on the ground but that's much easier to clean up.

[Paul Mc Cann]

That our only complaint about moss on the roof. The birds throw it off.=20 I always felt they were working at it for nesting purposes but then I'm=20 no twitcher.

--=20 Paul Mc Cann