What is the best time to prevent mould from growing on my roof?

1st December 2021 General

What is the best time to prevent mould from growing on my roof?

When your roof is new. This is the answer to what is the best time to prevent mould from growing on my roof.

Treating a brand new roof to a soft wash will ensure the roof stays clean for up to 5 years. This is the best way to prevent mould and other organic matter from growing on your roof. A reputable roof cleaning company will offer you a 5 year fully written transferable spot free warranty which lasts 5 years.

In this image you can clearly see after only 3 years the neighbouring properties are infested with organic matter especially on the North facing elevations. The roof in the middle was treated in 2012 when the owner moved in. The roofs are the fibre cement type.

For your own peace of mind, paying a monthly subscription when you first move into your newly built home will be the most cost effective option. Specialist soft wash roof treating and cleaning companies will have a subscription based service ranging from £17.99 – £24.99 per month depending on the size of the roof and also the height.

When you sign up to a maintenance plan, your roof will get an initial treatment which should be environmentally friendly, pet and child safe. Should you spot any type of mould growth on your roof in the 5 year period, you need to report this to your service provider who will come out and re treat within a few days. It could also be a good option to add on other services, such as twice yearly gutter cleaning for an extra few pounds per month. If you have rendered or cladded walls these could be added on too.

Subscription based roof cleaning services are by far the best way to ensure your home stays free from any type of organic matter growth. Organic matter when left untreated will thrive in only a few short years. Because it is harder to remove when established you could easily face paying a couple of thousand pounds or more to take care of it in the future.

Certain types of roof tiles on newly built homes are made up of limestone, these are fibre cement and are coated with a coloured textured surface to resemble slate. Although these tiles look amazing when first fitted, they quickly become covered in mould, moss and algae. The problem becomes evident when you try and remove lichen or moss from them. Due to the acids secreted from the organic matter growth, you will notice white spots when you remove them. This is because the acids have “eaten” their way through the very thin coloured surface revealing the white fibre cement underneath. In a case study performed in Ashford Kent, these grey coloured fibre cement roof tiles were soft wash treated in 2012. In 2019 the tiles were completely free of any type of organic matter growth. However neighbouring properties were and still are infested with mould and lichen growth. Removing this infestation today would be costly compared to an initial treatment, because not only would you have to remove the organic matter from the roof tiles, you would need to recoat/repaint the roof tiles to hide the holes created by lack of preventative maintenance.

You can see clearly in the images below what happens when moss has been allowed to grow on fibre cement roof tiles. The acids secreted “eat through” the thin top coloured layer. When the moss is removed, the white fibre cement is revealed. Soft Washing when the tiles were first installed and then retreated every 5 years would have prevented this from happening for the life time of the roof.

Moss Removed Reveals Damaged Already Caused by Acid Secretion

What is the best time to prevent mould from growing on your roof is now or when you first move in or when you have a new roof installed.

Take a look at How Do I Stop Mould Growing on My Roof

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