Tips for DIY Roof Maintenance

I’d say one out of every ten roof inspections we run into someone who just wants to do it him or herself. I affectionately call them our do-it-yourselfers. So I thought I’d offer a few tips and tricks of the trade so that you can DIY on your roof effectively and safely.

Start Sooner Than Later

The best thing you can do is start when your roof is newer. If you start before moss develops, you can apply over-the-counter products like Lilly Miller Moss Off or a Guardian product.

Safety First

Be sure not to step on the product once you’ve applied it or you’ll go flying off the roof. We’ve seen too many broken hips, heads, arms and legs of folks that got too busy working on their roofs and walked right off of them. You could always attach safety hooks and wear a harness. That way even if you do slip off, you won’t fall to the ground. I would also recommend utilizing a friend to help you out.

Removing Moss

So what if the moss has already started to grow? Well, you can’t get our machines to take it off unless you’ve got about twenty thousand dollars to build them. But you can manually remove it. Believe it or not, if you get up there and work gently with a stiff brush and putty knife, you’ll get most of the moss out of the keyways and butt ends.

It might take you a month of weekends, but it can be done. Once you get the moss off, go ahead and go back to the treatment step and apply your over-the-counter product, which will keep the moss from coming back for a year or two.

You can also go around to all your flashings to make sure none of them are cracked out or need to be replaced. Remember you can bring all aluminum scraps to us and we’ll donate them to Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.

There you go, do-it-yourselfers! If you have any specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them over the phone. As always, safety first.