Hi,
I got a roof that is accumulating alot of moss on the one side of the house. The part that gets less sunlight.
Somebody I had talked to suggested a metal cable with zinc in it. He said that if you run it along the ridge the rain will over time cause the zinc in the cable to leach out onto the roof which will kill the moss.
Anyone ever heard of this????????????
Thanks
Replies
yes, and copper will work even better.. copper and zinc will leach a natural anti-fungicide
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike
Moss grows in high-acid, high-moisture environments. I don't think fungi have anything to do with it.
So now, I've gotta remember my high-school chemistry LOL and figure out why zinc or copper plus acid rain will raise the pH enough to kill the moss.... Whoof!
I shoulda paid more attention to empirical equations and less to inventing neat stuff to do with the Bunsen burner to scare Mrs. Dorkin....
Anybody?
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Who says that ph has anything to do with it.
There are a number of different items required for any plant growth.
Copper has long been used for inhibit plant growth. Copper anti-fouling paints for boats.
Copper sulfate is used for alge and plant control in ponds. And copper sulfate is used to control root growth in sewers.
I am not sure what all kinds of compounds letch from the copper or zinc roof elements, but I suspect that sulfate would be one of them.
"Who says that ph has anything to do with it?"
The soil analyst at the farmers' coop in town.
I figure he knows a lot more about it than I do; he's been doing it for over 20 years that I know of.
It stands to reason that the pH of the growth medium is important in general; otherwise why would serious gardeners buy pH meters or take soil samples in for analysis?Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Well it does, but ph is not the only thing that affects the plants.
True.
I know copper sulfate is used to control some kinds of plant growth. But is there enough sulfur content in acid rain (we've all got acid rain in N. America, and I'm not gonna open the can of worms labelled 'why' tonight) to combine with the copper wire and produce a moss killer? Most copper left exposed to the weather goes brown/green. I think this is copper oxide.
Which begs the questions: Is it zinc sulfate that is working when you use a zinc wire, or is it zinc oxide? And why doesn't the galvanizing on the roofing nails prevent the moss from ever getting started.
And what nutriments can moss find in asphalt shingles in the first place? Cedar shakes I can understand--but ASPHALT? Hydrocarbon city.
I really shoulda paid more attention in chemistry class....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
They grown on the organic material. That is dirt and bits of leaves that stick to the roofing.
It is interesting that plants require copper, in very minute amounts, for proper growth.
But any concentrated amounts it is posionus to the plants.
From what I gather, while the sulfates might be one of the more common plant killers, at least in common stand alone products, it is not the only compound.
I would need to do some research as to the actual compounds. But CCA is a copper, chromium, arsnic combination that is anti fungal. And it is beign replaced with several other non-arsnic compounds, but they all include different copper compounds.
And there is copper naptha.
Now if you look at the links in the other message you will see them mention zinc sulfate, zinc choride, and zinc naptha (zinc oxide). And I think that some of the anti-fungal materials for boat hulls now are based on tin oxide.
Now it has been too long since I studied chemistry, but if I am not mistaken an oxide just means that the compound contains oxygen.
And copper sulftate is CuSO4, so it might also be called a copper oxide.
BUT, there is also a cuprous oxide (Cu2O) and cupric oxide (CuO). I found that the cuprous oxide is sold for a fungicide. And anti fouling paints use cuprous oxide or cuprous thiocyanate (whatever that is).
Also I found that the inital weathering of copper to redish brown is caused by the formulation of cuprous oxide. But the Verde Green is formed when it converts to copper sulfate, also an oxide.
I really don't remember much from HS chem, other than if you mix up sulfur, carbon, and salt-peter and pour some into the teacher's ashtray (yes, I went to school that long ago), you get sent to the office LOL....
I'm fairly certain that the word endings in chemical compounds are indicative of something, but I can't remember what. There are -ates, -ites, and -ides that I can think of off-hand. I doubt if an -ate can also be an -ide at the same time. I think each of these compounds is a different form of metallic salt, and it's one of the results of a chemical reaction between a metal and an acid. Or is that an acid and a base? Or is that...whoops, out of brain-bullets! Where's that potassium nitrate, hee, hee, hee!
Did you know that if you drop metallic calcium pellets into the head cheerleader's carton of milk in the lunchroom, it'll foam like crazy all over her tray and she'll bite you so hard you need stitches...?
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Did a quick search in Google: "How to kill moss on roofs" and here is a good place to start for you. The first is about the use of wire, as already recommended:
http://www.z-stop.com/article.htm
i've used zinc in the past.. until a wood scientist here on BT pointed out that copper was superior to zinc..
so , my point is.. why bother with zinc when copper is superior and easier to get ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Both copper and zinc compounds are effective in moss control. Also, don't overlook that moisture and shade contribute, so trimming branches and such will also help.
I've seen white asphalt shingle roofs that were stained black with mildew, except below vents, whose galvanized flashing gave off miniscule amounts of zinc which prevented mildew growth and left clean streaks of white shingles below vents. Copper and zinc will work with moss, too.
You can use copper wires or flashing, zinc strips, or asphalt shingles which contain copper or zinc. I've wondered if doing just the ridge in these shingles is enough to provide protection for the entire roof in mild conditions.
It's not the pH of these compounds that kills moss, its the toxicity of these metals to these types of plants.
Here are three websites
http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/releases/063098/mossmild.html
http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/household/BK650.html
http://www.uaf.edu/coop-ext/publications/freepubs/HCM-04956.html