Can Moss Damage My Roof? The Roof Moss Cleaners Answers

Yes, moss can damage a roof, according to The Roof Moss Cleaners, but serious damage is unlikely unless it is left untouched for decades.

This is UK Business Voices.

The business explains it this way. Moss grows into the hairline cracks in roof tiles. When it freezes, the moss expands, and the cracks expand with it. Over time, tiles can crack and break.

Weight is the other problem. Some types of moss can hold twenty to thirty times their own weight in water, so a mossy roof carries a lot more weight after rain.

Moss also blocks gutters. On one house they cleaned in Princes Risborough, the moss that had built up over the years was blocking the gutters.

The answer, they say, is choosing the right cleaning method for the type of roof, so that cleaning it causes no damage. Their main method is scraping the moss off by hand, then applying a biocide treatment.

How long does the treatment last? The business guarantees a roof will be moss-free for at least three years. Some roofs they cleaned seven years ago are still moss-free, and some customers choose a maintenance treatment every three to five years.

And the best time of year? There isn't one, they say. They work all year round, and only ice, snow or high winds occasionally move a winter booking.

The Roof Moss Cleaners is a roof cleaning company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, run by Gareth Webb and Anthony Holt, who have cleaned roofs under the name since 2013, serving Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties.

You'll find them at theroofmosscleaners.co.uk.