There’s an old wives’ tale that’s been around for a longtime that says laundry detergent is a good homemade roof moss killer. Well, it will kill the moss. But it will kill your roof along with it.
My wife and I love to DIY. She’ll look at Pinterest and find projects for us to do, and I’ll usually give it a shot. However, there are certain things you just shouldn’t DIY, and one of those is your roof. There are two huge reasons to avoid it.
- It’s dangerous for you
When you put laundry soap on your roof and get it wet, you might as well be standing on a slip and slide. We’ve seen homeowners slip and suffer serious injuries and, unfortunately, even death.
It’s not worth it. Hire a professional to come out and maintain your roof the right way.
- It’s dangerous for your roof
Here’s the other thing: laundry soap is a de-greaser. A shingle is made from fiberglass mat and asphalt. Tar and oil are impregnated into the fiberglass and then granules are put on both sides.
Laundry detergent on a roof. It killed the moss, but only where it was placed.
Granules protect the asphalt from the sun so your roof will last its lifetime. They also provide the different colors your roof can have. When you put laundry soap on your roof, it de-greases it. It gets into the tar, loosens it, and then granules start to run off of your roof.
When you loose your granules, the asphalt is exposed, and your roof’s life is shortened by about half. It’s going to eventually kill your roof.
So, yes, laundry detergent will remove the moss from a roof, but it’s also going to take years off of your roof’s life. It’s not worth losing years off of your investment or taking the risk of seriously injuring yourself. Call Roof Life of Oregon and we’ll take care of your moss in a way that’s safe for you and your roof.