Moss Menace

Our roof is turning a nice shade of mossy green. That's because of the green shaded moss currently proliferating on the roofal area. It's really getting thick and out of hand and somebody needs to do something about it. When you are talking about a steeply pitched roof two stories above the ground, it's unfortunate that the somebody has to be me.

Tonight was a perfect time to get started because Susan had to work a hockey game. That means I didn't have to worry about her worrying about me worrying about falling off the roof. I had all the worry to myself.

The first thing I did was climb out on the roof from the front balcony with an ice scraper. It's the perfect tool for removing moss. The steeply pitched roof heavily laden with moss and greatly affected by gravity somewhat hindered my ability to make very good progress. I got a little moss removed but for the most part, it just laughed at me.

Next I decided to use gravity to my advantage. I loaded up my weed sprayer with a 50/50 mixture of bleach water. Then I climbed up the roof from the deck which is a much easier ascent.

I moved myself into position on the chimney and commenced to hosing down the roof with my poisonous mixture. I am aware that this mixture could easily drip into the front garden and kill the couple of pitiful shrubberies trying to eek out an existence there. I don't care. I can replace bushes easier and less expensively than I can a roof.

I'm going to buy more bleach tomorrow and hit it again. Once I see that it is doing the job, I will haul the hose up there and give the whole thing a good squirt down. Once I have eliminated the dreaded moss, I will lay down some zinc strips into the shingles. The rain washes the zinc down the roof which prevents moss from growing. This is the natural, tree hugging way to eliminate the menace of moss.