Roof Cleaning & Moss Treatment in Curracloe, Co. Wexford
Had the roof done a year or two back and the green is already returning? That is the call we get most from around here, and it nearly always comes down to the same thing.
Why it came back.
Three things sit on a roof, and only the top one washes off. The other two are why it comes back, and they are the two we go after.
What you can seeMoss cushions and green film sitting on top of the tile. This is the part a wash takes away, and the part that makes the roof look done.
Spores in the surfaceThese sit in the texture of the tile itself, where water runs straight over them. Reach them and the roof is genuinely clean rather than clean-looking.
Roots in the surfaceMoss grips by threading fine roots sideways through the top layer of the tile, rather than down into it. A biocide gets right into that layer, which is what puts an end to it.
Washing it off is not the same as treating itA wash takes away what you can see. What it leaves behind is the part that grows back, and on a strand-facing roof it does that quickly.
A year is a fair inningsA roof around here that is cleared properly and treated after stays clear for a year or more. Anyone telling you it is gone for good is selling you something.
Two ways to have it done.
Same roof, same starting point, different result eighteen months later.
Washed only
Cleaned, not treated
The visible growth comes off and the roof looks right the day it is finished. The spores and roots stay where they are though, so on a damp, shaded, strand-facing pitch it gets going again quickly. It is the half of the job most people are sold.
3–6months before the green is back
Cleared and treated
Taken off, then killed at the root
Moss comes off by hand first, then a biocide goes on and is left to work. It kills what removal cannot reach, so there is nothing sitting in the tile waiting for the next wet spell.
12+months clear, and longer with a bit of sun
What we would do differently.
The aim second time round is a roof that stays clear longer.
1. We ask what was done
Tell us what was done before and roughly when. If it was a wash with no treatment after, that explains most of it and we can say so straight away.
2. We go after the root
Moss off by hand where it is thick, then biocide at low pressure, matched to your tile, and left the time it needs to actually work.
3. We leave it right
Gutters cleared of everything we brought down, and a straight answer on when you should expect to look at it again.
If you want the long version.
Written for exactly this situation.
Guide
Why moss returns
The long version, if you want it.
We wrote it up properly. What the root layer actually is, why biocide gets at it and washing does not, and how long you should reasonably expect a treated roof to stay clear.
Free check
Try the Gutter Check
Gutters worth doing at the same time?
The Gutter Check takes under a minute from the ground. Near the strand they fill with sand as well as moss, so it is worth a look.
Around Curracloe and the strand.
We cover Curracloe and Blackwater. A fair share of our work along here is roofs somebody else did eighteen months ago.
While we are there.
Everything that comes off a roof lands in the gutters. On a house near the strand that is sand and salt as well as moss, and it sits there until someone clears it.
What people ask the second time round.
Sharper questions than the first time, in our experience.
Does moss come back after the roof is cleaned?
It does, if only the visible moss is brushed or washed away and the spores and root layer are left behind. The green is back within months. Put a biocide on after clearing and it kills the moss at the root, which holds a roof clear for twelve months or more, and longer again on anything that gets a bit of sun.
Can you guarantee it won't come back?
No, and be wary of anyone who does — growth returns wherever conditions suit it. The honest question is how long, and a cleared and treated roof holds for twelve months or more, longer again on anything that gets some sun. We will tell you roughly when it is worth another look, and most people find that is a good deal further off than they expected.
What is the difference between moss removal and roof treatment?
Removal is us clearing the moss off the tiles by hand. Treatment is a biocide left to kill the rooting, algae, lichen and spores that no amount of clearing reaches. Where growth has come back on you before, treating as well as clearing is what makes it last.
How long does the work take?
Most domestic roofs are a single day. Heavy moss adds time, because it comes off by hand before anything else happens, and a treatment-only job runs quicker. You get a realistic window when we quote rather than a best case, so you can plan the day around it.
How the treatment works.
Which biocide, how long it needs to sit, and why it gets to the part a brush never will. All of it set out in full on the main roof cleaning page.
Get it done properly this time.
Tell us what was done before and when, and we will tell you what we would change.
Talk to us
Phone: 089-949-1525
WhatsApp: Send a couple of photos
Email: info@eireshine.ie
- Mon–Fri08:30 – 19:30
- Saturday10:00 – 18:30
- Sunday12:00 – 18:30
What happened last time?
Knowing what was done before tells us a lot. If it was a wash with nothing after it, that is most of the answer already. It is a straightforward thing to put right properly.
If you know what was done last time, say so, because it helps a lot.