How To Remove Lichen From Roof Shingles
Removing lichen fully using this method is nearly impossible not to mention time consuming especially if you are dealing with a large surface like a roof.
How to remove lichen from roof shingles. When leaves and other material collect on your roof a perfect bed is formed for moss and lichens to grow. Lichen avoids galvanized steel copper and zinc because these metals work as a natural biocide. Lichen can be really tricky to remove because it grips strongly onto the surface. Always use a stable ladder and safety harness when climbing on the roof.
Lichen is a hardy growth known to firmly. An application of vinegar kills lichen. Hopefully the shingles will last another 15 years but the lichens and moss may have shortened the shingle life by 5 years or more. Removing shingles one of the first steps to installing a new roof involves removing the nails or staples securing the shingles in place along with tarpaper and any valley or ridge shingles.
You also risk the potential of accidentally damaging the protective top layer of your roof shingles while trying to remove it with this method. Remove moss and lichen from your roof with vinegar. Most professional roofers advise that it is possible to do more damage to the roof by trying to remove lichen than the lichen will ever do to harm the roof. Moss itself is a plant while lichen conisist of a fungus and a photosyntheizing plant living together.
I ve used the same products on the roof of my in laws house in florida and my mother s patio pavers also in florida to clean algae stains and three years later the roof and pavers are still stain free.