HOW MOSS AND ALGAE CAN DAMAGE YOUR HOUSE
It’s not a secret that moss, algae, or mold each influence on how your house look, but it is also a threat to human’s health. Any surface that holds moisture can create a perfect environment for algae, mold, or moss growth.
Even if your property is clean and dry enough, it is recommended to do regular checkups. Algae, mold, or moss are more common than you think. Climate change around the world is one of the reasons why these plants can be found in most of the residential areas nowadays. Moist and warm air stimulates their growth.
Algae
This little organism can easily damage your roof shingles. Most often algae grows on a north side of the roof beneath trees. And it’s not only about your house appearance. Asphalt shingles usually contain limestone. It’s necessary to keep shingles heavy, durable and reflective. Algae consumes limestone and as a result shingles lose their strength. More of that, algae cells generate a special pigment that helps roof to absorb more sunlight. As a result, in summer, house accumulates more heat which causes cooling costs raise.
Even if for vinyl siding algae is more a cosmetic issue, it can be dangerous for wood.
Ask professionals to wash your house at least once a year to prevent algae growth.


Moss
Despite of the popular opinion, moss is not fungus – it’s just a regular non-vascular plant. It means mosses don’t have real roots, but it doesn’t make things easier. Similar to algae, moss likes shady environment and usually appears on the north side of a roof (as it gets less sunlight). Do not panic if you noticed some moss on your house, it’s not an instant disaster. However, over time it can start damaging the surface. You can easily physically remove moss from the roof, but it won’t kill it all. Moss will do everything to conquer each small crack of your roof. We use special chemicals that we apply during the roof washing. It kills each cell of the moss. This is why we recommend include roof moss removal when you get a house washing service.

How to get rid of them?
Moss and algae can be killed by a 50-50 mix of household bleach and water. Spray it around the roof (or another surface), let it sit for 20-25 minutes and then rinse it with a low-pressure water. Do not use high pressure on a roof. It might damage the shingles.
Once you rinse the roof, don’t expect to see an instant effect. It usually rakes 7 to 30 days for the full result. Algae will wash away with rains and moss will loosen, so you can blow it away with a simple blower.
During roof washing process, we usually first clean the roof properly and make sure there are no big chunks of moss, we then clean the gutters, and finally spray chemicals. Walking on a roof as well as using chemicals can be dangerous for you. This is why we recommend to hire only professionals. We are licensed and insured, and will be happy to help you to make your house better.