Roof cleaning in Hardwicke — moss-free for two years, Hunts Grove or village cottage.

It comes down to where Hardwicke sits. The parish is flat, low-lying Severn-Vale ground on heavy clay, with the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal running right through it past Sellars Bridge and the Pilot Inn. Flat clay holds water, the canal and the nearby Severn keep the air damp, and damp air is exactly what moss, lichen and algae feed on. So whether you're on a brand-new roof at Hunts Grove or an old cottage on Green Lane, the growth comes faster here than it would on higher, drier ground up towards the Cotswold edge.

It surprises a lot of Hunts Grove owners, but new roofs green up fast — sometimes faster than old ones. The modern concrete interlocking tile used across the estate by builders like Crest Nicholson and Bellway has a slightly textured, porous surface that gives airborne spores something to grip, and in Hardwicke's damp canal-vale air they take hold within a few years. Estates also tend to age together: a whole street goes up in the same phase, so a whole street starts showing green at roughly the same time. A soft-wash and biocide treatment now, while the growth is still light, keeps it off for years and is far cheaper than letting it mat up.

No — because we match the method to the roof. The modern concrete tile across Hunts Grove and the newer parts of the village gets a controlled soft-wash and biocide; we never blast new tile at high pressure, which strips the surface coating. The old clay, stone and slate on the cottages around Green Lane and Church Lane gets hand-scraping and biocide only — pressure cracks brittle old tile and forces water underneath. Either way it's the biocide, not the force of the water, that stops the moss coming back.

It does, for the houses near it. The canal runs through the parish past Sellars Bridge, and a standing body of water keeps the air around it damp and the mornings misty — you'll notice it sits longer in the low ground than it does up the hill. Properties along the canal vale, and any roof with a north-facing pitch shaded by trees or neighbouring buildings, tend to carry heavier growth and green up again sooner. It doesn't change how we clean, but it's why the free biocide treatment earns its keep here — without it the regrowth comes back quickly in this microclimate.

Up to two years, often longer, because the biocide we apply carries on killing fresh spores after we've left. Hardwicke's flat, damp Severn-Vale ground keeps roofs greening faster than higher, drier spots, and north-facing pitches near the canal may colour up sooner than open south-facing ones. Pressure-washing on its own buys you about a season — the moss is back the next autumn because the spores are still in the tile. The biocide is the difference between cleaning the surface and treating the cause.

Yes, when applied properly. We use approved biocides at manufacturer-specified dilutions, applied in dry conditions so the active ingredient bonds to the tile rather than running off. Pets are kept indoors during application and for an hour after; planted borders are sheeted and watered down before and after. In a parish with the canal and ditches running through it we're particularly careful about run-off, and we've never had an issue with ponds, watercourses or wildlife in years of doing this.

Yes, and it's the work we take most care over. The older village core around Green Lane, the village green and Church Lane has period clay and stone roofs, and Grade I listed St Nicholas Church and Grade II* Hardwicke Court are nearby, so there's genuine heritage fabric in the parish. On old cottages we hand-scrape only — never pressure — and keep biocide off lime mortar and old leadwork. Straightforward moss removal doesn't normally need listed-building consent because you're not altering the fabric; anything touching mortar, lead or original fixings does, and we'll flag it before we start so you can check with Stroud District Council first.

For most jobs, no. We work from a ladder or scaffold tower with a long-reach lance, which means no concentrated weight on the tiles and no boot scuffs on the ridges — that suits the modern estate roofs at Hunts Grove well. On steeper or older roofs, including the brittle clay on the village cottages, we use a roof ladder hooked over the ridge to spread the load safely. We'll tell you in advance which method we're using on your property and why.

Three reasons that matter, in order. Tile life — moss holds moisture against the surface, accelerating freeze-thaw damage and shortening the life of the roof, whether that's new estate tile or old village clay. Gutters and downpipes — moss sheds and washes into the gutters, blocking them and pushing water down the wall instead of away from the house, which matters on flat clay-vale ground that already drains slowly. Insurance and resale — some insurers query roofs visibly covered in growth, and on a Hunts Grove home a clean roof is a real factor in kerb appeal if you come to sell. Cleaning costs a fraction of replacing tiles or repointing ridges.

No roof stays clear forever — spores are always airborne, and in a damp canal-vale parish like Hardwicke they're never far away — but treating the cause keeps it clear for years not months: we scrape or soft-wash the moss off, then apply a biocide that carries on killing spores for up to two years. Pressure-washing alone just removes what you can see — it's back next autumn. Biocide (plus, on the right surfaces, a sealant) is the longest-lasting answer.

Spring (March–May) and early autumn are ideal — dry enough for the biocide to bond, and it sets the roof up before the damp months when moss grows fastest, which in this low-lying canal vale is most of the winter. We clean year-round, though; the biocide works whenever it's applied in dry conditions.