What Causes Moss Growth?
When summer days are ending, your ongoing war against weeds in your flowerbeds is closing. As you sigh of relief, a new malevolent invader begins its slow assault. The invader Green, slippery, damp-loving moss, perhaps one of its nefarious cousin's algae, lichens, or the unsightly black spot. As the days shorten and weather forecasts turn from sunshine to raindrops, conditions become ideal for all organic growth and your patios, walls and driveways are endangered structurally and visually by this organic matter. You may groan at the thought of a new fight but worry not: your weapons against this new invader are easily accessible, easy to use, and ruthless.
What is Moss and Other Organic Growth?
It is easy to dismiss organic growth as an unattractive eyesore, but unchecked growth can cause significant surface damage and degradation over time. Moss, for example, attaches to surfaces with tiny roots and absorbs moisture from the surface to sustain itself. These small roots reach through the structure of the surface and cause disruption that could, in time, escalate to damage such as cracks or cause paving slabs to be moved out of alignment. The moist environment in which moss and other organic growth thrive also creates a perpetually wet surface that can make patios, paths and driveways artificially slipperier, a particular danger in wet and dark winter months. Unassuming and easily disregarded, organic growth should not be ignored, and removal treatment should be undertaken as soon as possible. But what treatment should you do?
What Is The Best Way To Remove Moss and Algae?
Would you use bleach? It's been used before. Would you carry out power washing? It’s a popular option. Good old elbow grease? You wouldn't be the first to try it. All of the aforementioned are tried and tested solutions for lichens, algae, black spots, and moss infestations in their thickest. All of them have indeed removed the offending organic growth. But at what cost? At what risk? And at what loss to your surface?
2 Ways You’ll Want To Avoid When Removing Moss
Strong substances like bleach will remove the growth, but even in a diluted form can accelerate surface erosion or cause harm to surrounding plants, making application in those dark and damp corners in which organic invaders thrive particularly difficult. You'll even cause harm every time you whip out the pressure washer: a quick and easy solution it is, but with a single clean solid being the equivalent of a year's worth of corrosive rainfall dulling and damaging your surface, drawing the dreaded and costly date of replacement ever closer, suddenly it seems a little less the easy solution.
The Solution To Cleaning Moss And Algae
So you'll want a surface-safe treatment without corrosive or damaging properties. You'll also want something that’s an easy application: pressure washing may seem easy the first time, but when you're washing away algae in the colds of winter for the third time, it may seem a little less the simple solution, a sentiment echoed by any who've ever tried to scourge black spot and algae by broom, trowel or barehanded belief. We want simplicity, and we want strength in our anti-organism treatment.
And we want something more: we want longevity. That singular treatment keeps our patios perfect and our tarmac tidy for an extended length of time. Unfortunately, spore-based organisms like lichens and algae spread thick and spread fast, while the mini root-like rhizoids that moss growth uses to attach to a surface can stay in place even once the main plant head has been washed away. These rhizoids aid the moss in affixing to a surface and in water retention, keeping that wet and moist atmosphere that feeds the organism, and if left untreated, will cause the moss infestation to regrow. If allowed to remain this way, your patio, path, wall or driveway becomes at increased risk of surface staining, unsafe slippage, and blocks under pressure from encroaching growth.
If these words have you gazing in the gloom at your mossy driveway or the black spot slowly advancing across your once pristine patio, then you needn't. Moss is a weed with speed, and its cousins a thorn in any homeowner's side but reads on for a savvy solution.
Smartseal Has The Moss Removal Solution
Smartseal is so adept at organic growth removal that we have formulated not one but three solutions for the complete and safe eradication of moss, lichens, and other organisms from your property.
Our most popular product is the all-purpose Green Clear. This targeted product thoroughly removes all manner of green growth from all surfaces from natural stone algae clean to tarmac moss removal, with results effective days after application. Our products are non-corrosive and suitable for all surfaces to ensure that as the offending growth is removed, the surface vivacity and integrity are not taken with them; however, they are still influential in effect with only a single application being required in most cases to complete a full removal.
