Homemade Cleaner For Removing Mold And Mildew On Your Home's Tin Roof

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If your home has a tin roof, you may have mold and mildew growth that is marring its appearance. If so, use the homemade cleaner below to safely remove the fungi from your roof using ingredients you can find in supermarkets, hardware stores and home improvement centers.

What You Will Need

Before you begin, gather the following supplies and ingredients.

• Garden hose with a spray bottle attachment
• One-gallon bucket
• Four cups of white distilled vinegar
• Two cups of borax
• One-half of a cup of tea tree oil

Both the white distilled vinegar and borax soak into the roots of the mold and mildew, killing the growth from the inside out. The tea tree oil is a natural fungicide that not only kills the existing growth but can also make it difficult for new spores to take root, since its residue remains on the metal.

While cleaning your roof, you may also need a ladder if the stream from your spray nozzle does not reach. Do not attempt to walk around on a tin roof, especially when it's wet. The surface becomes extremely slippery, increasing your chances of falling.

Instructions

Once you have everything you need, follow the directions below to mix the cleaner and use it to clean your roof. 

1. Set the nozzle on your garden hose to its maximum stream, and spray the roof. The extra pressure will knock off any dust and debris, as well as the top layer of any mold or mildew to expose its roots.
2. In the bucket, combine the vinegar and borax, mixing thoroughly. Allow the borax to dissolve for about 15 minutes.
3. Add the tea tree oil, and stir.
4. Fill the spray bottle three-quarters of the way full with the cleaner, and screw it onto your garden hose.
5. Spray a liberal amount over the entire surface of your roof, saturating the surface. When the amount of cleaner gets low, refill it.
6. After applying the cleaner, allow it to remain on your roof for an hour to give the ingredients time to soak into the fungi.
7. Set your garden hose nozzle on high, and rinse.

Using the above cleaner every few months should keep your tin roof free from mold and mildew, keeping the metal from rusting. However, if you find areas where the fungal growth has eaten through your roof, you may want to contact a roofing contractor about with either repairing or replacing it.

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9 March 2016