​​How To Prevent & Remove Mold On Shingles

Did you know that people spend more than $57 billion on the services of roofing contractors every year in the United States alone? There are almost 80,000 roofing businesses in the country. Together, they employ more than 250,000 people to take care of our roofs.

Many people end up hiring roofing businesses to help them with mold on shingles. However, there is a lot that you can do to prevent mold from developing on your shingles in the first place. Learning more about mold prevention can do a lot to help you maintain the integrity of your roof.

If you already have mold on your shingles, it is also worth knowing about how you can remove it. Learning about mold removal techniques can help you get rid of mold so that it will not come back.

So what can you do to prevent and remove mold on your shingles? Read on to learn all about the most vital things to know about handling mold problems on your roof!

Prevent Mold by Decreasing Shade

There are a lot of different techniques you can use to prevent mold. However, all of them come from understanding what kind of environment mold needs to grow.

In general, mold prefers to grow in damp and dark places. There is only so much you can do to control how much moisture is available on your roof. However, it is often much easier to control how much shade lands on your roof.

Take a look at any tree branches that are growing over your roof. If they create certain consistent spots of shade, those will be the most likely areas for your roof to develop mold.

You can prevent mold by pruning any branches that are casting shade on your shingles. However, it is important to account for the angle of the sun when you are looking for overhanging branches. Even if a branch is not directly over the top of your roof, it might be casting shade on some part of your roof for hours out of the day.

It can be helpful to look at your roof and any overhanging branches in the morning as well as in the evening before the sun goes down. That can help you zero in on any branches that might be leaving shade on your roof during any part of the day.

Prevent Roof Damage With Clean Gutters

It is inevitable that your roof will deal with a certain amount of moisture. However, that does not mean that you have to leave standing water near your shingles. Gutters tend to clog up over time, which can lead to pools of water sitting in them and on adjacent shingles as well.

That increases the chance that your roof shingles will develop mold. The next time it rains, take a look around the whole perimeter of your rooftop. If you see any signs of pooling water, make a point of cleaning out your gutters.

Install Ridge Vents to Prevent Mold

In some cases, it is the humidity in your attic that leads to the development of mold on your roof. You can counter this by improving ventilation in your attic.

One of the most powerful ways to do this is by installing a ridge vent. Ridge vents go at the top of your rooftop. They make sure that hot and humid air can escape from your attic.

You can also try to improve ventilation in your attic by cleaning out your soffits. These are structures with many holes that sit on the underside of the eaves that stick out from your exterior walls. If the holes of your soffits become clogged, it can cause poor attic ventilation.

Using ridge vents and keeping your soffits clean will go a long way to preventing any mold on your shingles.

Have a Roofing Contractor Apply a Moisture Barrier

Many roofing contractors can apply a moisture or microbial barrier to a pre-existing rooftop.

These kinds of barriers make it much less likely that your roof will develop mold. In some cases, they can also prevent algae and water damage.

Pull Mold off of Your Shingles

If you already have mold on your shingles, it is important to remove it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will continue to grow and cause more damage to your roof. You can start by putting on some gloves and pulling the large pieces of mold off of your shingles.

However, that will probably not be enough to keep your mold from coming back. There will still be microbes left on your roof that will develop into larger mold growths. So how do you keep mold from regrowing?

Use Bleach to Kill Mold

You can use bleach to kill any microbes left over after you have removed the majority of the mold on your roof. You can mix bleach with an equal amount of water. Then, apply this solution across any areas of your roof that had mold on them.

After sitting there for a couple of minutes, make sure to rinse off this bleach solution. Then, you might want to apply some of the previous tips about preventing mold!

Know How to Handle Mold on Shingles

Mold on shingles can cause a number of aesthetic as well as health problems. We hope that this article has helped you learn more about how you can prevent problems with mold and handle them when they come up. If mold has caused excessive damage to your roof, you might need the help of quality roofing contractors to help you.

To learn more about how you can find the best roofing services for your needs, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!