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Moss blocking gutters

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Coldicote | 10:11 Sun 03rd Feb 2008 | Home & Garden
3 Answers
I live in an old bungalow and have problems with moss from the tiled roof roof blocking the gutters. I explored Guttershield (a kind of strainer covering) but this could not be fitted because the gutters would have needed lowering and there wasn't room to do that.

Please can anyone suggest an alternative to using steps and doing the job manually?
Is there such a thing as a long handled tool that could scrape the moss along the gutter and scoop it out?
If moss was cleared off the roof, is there some kind of sealant that could be applied to the tiles to prevent re-growth?

Most grateful for any ideas or information. Thank you.

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Here in the western U.S. some homes that are shaded extensively develop roof algae or moss. It's not an easy task to clean a roof and a tiled roof can be downright dangerous to walk on. However, with that caution, a solution of zinc sulfate sprayed on any roof will kill the moss. It's available at most DIY or garden stores here, at least. The roof should be pressure washed to remove all loose moss... again, quite hazardous execpt for professionals. If not done properly, the loose moss will fly all over the neighborhood, infuriating previously friendly neighbors. It's quite difficult to clean windows with the moss fragments attached.
Some acquaintences have had fair to middling luck with installing a 2 1/2 inch wide zinc strip just a few courses down fromthe ridge line of the roof. This is installed all the way across the roof. It interacts with rain and does diminish the re-occurrence of moss... at least for a while. Others have used heavy gauge copper wire, again strung near the ridge line. This might be esier with a tiled roof.
For gutter cleaning, any good DIY store will have a device called a wand that attaches to one's garden hose. It can be fairly effective. Additionally, if you have a pressure washer, they also have attachments for cleaning gutters. They will rech some 5 or 6 feet up and have a hooked end for such cleaning. Be sure to wear your rain gear... you'll get wet.
You might want to investigate trimming some trees to eliminate some shade, which is the biggest helper for producing moss...

Best of luck!
We had the same problem and use a thick netting , rolled in to a ball just to stop the down pipes in to the water butts getting blocked , we also have a set of rods which came with a gutter scraper , bought them in Wickes.
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Very many thanks for all this good advice and information. I somehow don't think I could tackle getting up on the roof tiles and may have to ask a builder of roofing specialist. I must find out more about a wand from a DIY. Also the gutter scraper from Wickes sounds interesting. Thanks again.

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