The Ways That Moss Damages Your Roof

A type of plant, moss thrives in a wet environment. It produces tendrils that extend upward. It can use organic debris, such as the debris that falls on a roof, for its food.

What sort of damage does moss create, as it grows on roofing?

As the moss’ tendrils grow, the development of those natural extensions manages to rob the shingles of their protective oils. Once the shingles suffer a diminished level of protection, some of them start to warp and crack. Roofing Contractor in San Mateo knows that the moss absorbs water, which allows it to keep growing. As the mossy growth follows the laws of nature, that new growth absorbs more water. The buildup of moisture puts weighty pressure on the roofing.

Mossy growth does not have to stay on the roof’s surface material. It has the ability to spread out onto the region under the shingles. From that area, it might start to invade the wooden materials that support the shingles. In that way, the moss’ growth can cause the rotting of some of the home’s wooden structure.

How can a homeowner prevent the development of mossy growth?

Moss needs food. A smart homeowner removes that food, the debris that has fallen on the rooftop. In the same way, smart homeowners remove debris from the gutters. Some of the homeowner’s money should be spent on a roofing service, because the workers employed by such a service know how to carry-out an efficient form of moss removal. The technicians that perform that removal have learned how to destroy all of the moss’s growing and expanding structure, even its roots.

Why homeowners should care about the possible development of lichens

What are lichens? They are members of the plant kingdom. Lichen is really fungus and algae, existing in a symbiotic relationship. That means that each member of that relationship relies in some way on the other member. Like mosses, lichen thrives in a wet environment. Like mosses, lichen develops from a spore. Spores can get scattered by the wind, and can land on a rooftop. If that same rooftop holds some moisture, the spore matures. Some maturing spores produce lichen; others produce moss.

Lichen’s ability to grow makes it as damaging as any mossy growth. It can find a way to grow under the shingles. In that way, it can work its way into the wood on which the roofing material was placed. The job of preventing lichen’s growth copies the method used against moss. That entails cleaning debris off of the roof. In that way, lichen gets deprived of its food, and cannot grow. The cleaning of gutters also works to limit development of the tiny plant that can do a surprising amount of damage.