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How to remove moss off roof: a step by step guide

Read our easy-to-follow guide for the best way to remove moss from the roof to clean yours quickly.

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

House Roof

Ever stood in your garden, looked up at your house and wondered why your roof was full of green patches? Whether you’re doing it for cosmetic or structural reasons, moss can be tough to shift. No worries, though! We’ll show you the best way to remove moss from the roof. Follow our step-by-step guide to get rid of even the most stubborn moss.

Vinegar and detergent are great options if you want to know how to remove moss from roof naturally. Spray it on, leave and then brush off. Let it sit for a couple of days for hard-to-shift moss.

Equipment needed to clean moss off roof

The first step in how to get rid of moss on roof is to gather together the equipment you’ll need. Always remember to take care when using a ladder, and wear proper safety clothes like goggles and slip-resistant shoes when carrying out tasks such as this:

  • Ladder

  • Gloves

  • Safety rope

  • Hose

  • Moss removal solution (if necessary)

  • Long handled brush

  • Spray bottle – the type you can attach to your back is safest

  • Safety glasses or goggles

  • Workwear/old clothes

  • Slip-resistant shoes

How to clean moss from roof

We’re here to help you learn how to get moss off roof. Follow our step-by-step guide and you should be able to get your roof moss-free with ease. Just remember to don your safety goggles and shoes first, and be careful whenever you use a ladder:

  1. Soak moss affected areas with water from your hose.

  2. Work from the top so that the water runs down off the roof.

  3. Use your long handled brush to gently scrape loose moss away.

  4. Work downwards in small sections to avoid damaging tiles.

Sometimes the above steps will be enough. However, it’s more than likely you’ll need a cleaning solution. If that’s the case, continue with the next steps:

  • Fill your spray bottle with a cleaning solution (we’ll come to that in a moment).

  • Soak the moss and leave for the advised amount of time – instruction labels will tell you how long.

  • Rinse off the now dead moss and brush it away – and repeat the process if necessary.

There are plenty of quality chemical cleaners that’ll do the job, but if you want to know how to remove moss from roof naturally, these methods can work really well too:

How to clean moss off roof with vinegar

Vinegar can be amazing at getting rid of moss. All you need to do is to follow these 3 steps:

  1. Spray undiluted vinegar directly onto the moss.

  2. Leave for 10 minutes.

  3. Scrape off with your brush.

If all of the moss isn’t budging you can let the solution sit for a day, and the acid in the vinegar should shift it.

How to remove moss from roof with detergent

Getting rid of moss with detergent takes a little time, but it’s really easy to do:

  • Just sprinkle on powdered detergent or spray on liquid detergent.

  • Leave for a couple of days.

  • The moss should die off and you’ll be able to sweep it away.

We started off by asking the question how to remove moss from roof, and now we’ve got the answers. Follow our simple plan and you’ll soon find that the pesky green stuff won’t be hanging around for much longer.

Key steps

Our easy-to-follow key steps show you how to remove moss from roof:

  1. Gather your equipment together.

  2. Be safe – ropes, goggles, anti-slip footwear etc.

  3. Soak your roof with water.

  4. Gently brush away moss.

  5. Use a commercial or homemade solution for stubborn moss.

Originally published