What is the safest method of cleaning the linches off my roof when its one side and that side of my house is on top of a small but very steep hill? The roof side is also very very steep I need this taken care of any suggestions and if it’s to hire someone how much on average would that cost?
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I would hire a roofer to install zinc strip that tucks up under the ridge, leaving a couple of inches exposed below the cap shingles. That will kill the lichen, moss, and algae over the course of a year or two and prevent it from coming back.
Zinc strips don't work. Or rather they don't work as advertised. I'm sorry to say I sold a lot of zinc strip installation jobs to my customers. If they made any difference it was impossible to see. Look at the roof below a lead boot and you'll see that the cleaning effects are only visible for 2 or 3 feet at the most.
I had agreed to help a friend in getting rid of moss on the roof that had been a year or so growing. We decided to try Wet-N-Forget for an area that could be reached by hand pump sprayer without going on the roof. It is a very steep roof and I am too old to be that stupid.
After a few weeks we could see progress in that the moss was turning brown. Weeks later most of the moss was gone and the brown remains had blown or were washed off by the rain.
My roof is very steep and I would have to use a ladder and spray with garden hose is there anything that can connect to the garden hose and spray the roof? Any chemical I mean
For the roof I did it was also steep. I used a submersible pump in a 5 gallon bucket. That went to a 1/4 inch poly tube sent up two 10 foot sections of electrical conduit that were connected by a nipple. On the roof end was a little 3 wheel trolley (Orange Store) to make the pipe easy to move without damaging the roof. The tube had a shutoff to limit the flow.
This worked like a charm delivering the liquid.
I like that method but aside from that could I just use a cleaned out fertilizer container that connects to the garden hose and just put the bleach in it? other than it taking longer to get the job done would it work?
Bleach can work, but the hose-end fertilizer sprayer likely will dilute the bleach too much.
(20-1 perhaps)
a plastic sprayer will work. I used a one gallon plastic spray tank with pump in the lid, and got on the roof (50% bleach solution in the tank). I used the same to clean an RV awning, but stood on the ground and adjusted the spray for a long-range point spray.
the long-wand method will provide better control, but a $20 or $30 sprayer might do the trick. you might want to get one, and see how you like the range (while safely on the ground)
If you decide to work from a ladder, think about using a rope to lift the sprayer, and secure to the ladder, vs trying to carry it up with you, or using a backpack sprayer.
Be safe.
Thank you very much for the information and Understanding .I will try what you say with getting the 20 or 30 dollar sprayer
if you are going to spray a bleach solution, you likely will want to provide yourself with eye and breathing protection, at least a covid style mask. (and rinse afterwards)
That's probably a good idea And when you say rinse afterwards are you referring to the roof? Will I need to go behind and rinse the solution off the roof?
not the roof, but anything else you get it on, like bushes, lawn, your face.....
Wet n forget makes a hose end sprayer. I have not yet used mine.
do you happen to know the distance it sprays?
Label says up to 30’ reach
UPDATE: Thank you all for the information on the wet and forget product the fact that it sprays 30' makes it easy for me to get the roof sprayed all the way to the very top with only having to stand on a short ladder. I first went to my local Lowe's to look for it but only found SPRAY and FORGET and it only reached 20' so I had to climb out a window upstairs in the house to get on a back addition part of the roof and spray as far as I could and it didn't reach the entire roof. I then needed to do some shopping at Walmart so I looked for wet and forget surely enough I found their last bottle 30' reach anyways I've applied to rest of the roof and have now noticed only a few days later that some of the linches have fallen off the roof and onto the ground. It looks like it's working! So thank you and also I learned not to be prejudice towards Walmart when it comes to purchasing garden and hardware supplies sometimes they have what your leading hardware stores don't and for a lower price.
Now that I have purchased the wet and forget and sprayed the roof it's been a week since one side was done and 3 dàys since the other side of the roof(the worse side) how long should I wait until reapplying the product? The container doesn't specify.
Well, you're unlikely to clean your entire roof with a small, stiff brush. Such cleaning can take a whole day. Maybe even two days. So, if I were you, I'd first take care of the roof's condition. That is, I'd hire a roofer who will assess the quality of the coating and fix all breakdowns and possible leakages. After that, I'd hire cleaning professionals. Cleaning with water under strong pressure is best suited for the roof. To clean my house (roof and siding), I hired specialists from https://sparklewash.com/. My roof wasn't clogged with moss or lichen, but it was polluted because I live by the ocean (10 miles from shore) because of the seagulls that settle on the roof.