April Showers… Clean your Roof? With Wet & Forget Outdoor, Yes!

The rhyme says that April showers bring May flowers, but did you know that they can also clean your roof? With Wet & Forget Outdoor, they can!

Wet & Forget Outdoor works with the wind and rain to eliminate moss, lichen, green algae, black algae, mold and mildew with no scrubbing needed. Just spray and leave, and let the April showers and Wet & Forget Outdoor do all the work for you!

While you’re at it, put those April showers to work cleaning your deck, awning, driveway, sidewalk, and siding, too. Let Wet & Forget Outdoor do the cleaning and get back to enjoying spring!

Read on to find out how to clean your roof.

The 5 Ugly Growths that can Plague your Roof

1. Moss is a green, carpet-like simple plant (see photo above) that can be a severe problem for your roof. Moss not only looks awful–it likes to grow in between and underneath your roof’s shingles. If it gets there, it can push the shingles out of place and lead to an expensive leak. It also has root-like structures that can cause permanent pitting in some shingles. It can even cause asphalt shingles to lose their protective granules. Moss is something you definitely do not want on your roof!
2. Lichen is a scaly, multi-layered growth that can be many different colors, from green to yellow or even red. Lichen is the grayish-greenish scaly growth you can see in the photo above, growing alongside the moss. It is very hardy and can be pretty difficult to get rid of. Like moss, lichen can also cause permanent pitting on some types of shingles. Scrubbing or scraping lichen to remove it can sometimes do more harm than good.
3. Green algae is a simple plant that forms a green, often slippery layer on your roof or another outdoor surface. It likes to grow in partially shaded areas, so it most commonly infests the north slope of a roof or a section of roof that is under a tree or other shade-giving object. Green algae can take over entire areas and make your roof a real eyesore.
4. Black algae is a simple organism that forms black, gray, or rust-colored stains on your roof or other outdoor surfaces. Its dark-colored protective capsule allows it to grow even in the brightest sunlight, including on your roof, driveway, or sidewalk. Black algae is probably the culprit if your roof has black streaks.
5. “Mold and mildew” is a term we use to talk about fungal growth that occurs in damp, shaded areas. It has a musty smell and can be black, white, or gray, and is usually fuzzy or slimy. Mold and mildew turns any surface it infests, including your roof, into a disgusting mess.

Wipe Out the “Funky Five” with Wet & Forget Outdoor!

Wet & Forget Outdoor works with the wind and rain over time to remove moss, algae, lichen, mold, and mildew from your roof and other outdoor surfaces (see “after” photo above). While harsh chemicals such as bleach can cause visible and invisible damage that can shorten the life of some shingles and other materials, Wet & Forget’s gentle, non-caustic formula is safe to use on all your outdoor surfaces.

Unlike Wet & Forget Outdoor, bleach runoff can corrode your downspouts and kill your lawn. If you’ve tried using a pressure washer to clean your roof, you’ve found out that it’s a hassle.

Also, one wrong move can tear loose your shingles or downspouts or force water past your roof’s defenses.

Wet & Forget is simple to apply and eliminates ugly growths with no scrubbing needed. And while moss, lichen, algae, mold and mildew can start growing back almost from the moment you put away the bleach or the pressure washer, Wet & Forget Outdoor continues working overtime to keep these ugly growths away for a year or more in most cases. It really is that easy!

Here’s how:

1. Connect the Wet & Forget Xtreme Reach™ Hose End product to your garden hose. Attach the Jet Setting tip to the sprayer so you can apply up to 30′ high!
2. Turn the water on from your faucet. Switch the dial on the Wet & Forget Xtreme Reach™ Hose End sprayer to the “ON” setting.
3. Spray the affected area with the diluted Wet & Forget solution, allowing at least 4 to 5 hours of drying time before the risk of rain or before the temperature will drop below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Leave, and let Wet & Forget Outdoor and the April showers get to work cleaning your roof!
5. Re-treat once a year, or at the first sign of re-growth.

For moss, be sure to saturate the area thoroughly to allow the solution to reach the moss’s root-like structures. To remove lichen, use these special instructions.

 

Photos courtesy of s58y and Wet & Forget.