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Moss in gutters

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StuBeeDoo
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Moss in gutters

Post by StuBeeDoo » Sun Oct 11, 2020 9:40 pm

When I was washing my F25 this morning, I noticed there is moss growing in the gutters on the inboard side of both roof rails. :o I'm slightly surprised as I never park under, or even very close to, trees.

I tried blasting it off with the hose pipe, but our water supply isn't the greatest for pressure and the offending greenery didn't budge.

The only two possible solutions I can think of are:-
Wrapping a microfibre towel around a plastic spatula and scraping it along the groove
or
Going to the local buy-time jet wash and blasting from rear to front.

Either way am I likely to do any damage? I've never had this problem on any car before.

Any other suggestions for getting-rid?
October 2012 build X3 30d SE, Bluewater.  Now with Webasto sunroof and paddle-shift   8)
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sapphireblack
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Re: Moss in gutters

Post by sapphireblack » Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:57 am

Personally i would remove this by hand.

The old Touareg i bought for export had a lot of this stuck in the gutters, my Karcher wasn't powerful enough to remove it either. Reaching it with the lance at the correct angle proved tricky too.

I adopted your alternate suggestion and gently removed it by hand. A combination of Costa stirring sticks cut diagonally to give an edge, which can be done repeatedly as required, and a thin bladed filling knife. I used any rags i had to hand and polished all of the roof afterwards.

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Re: Moss in gutters

Post by Themoog2 » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:33 pm

I live in the countryside and the car are always getting green on them if not washed every few weeks.
I jet washed the in laws Rav 4 the other week and that actually had a weed growing from the wheel arch trim by the sill. There was moss in all the usual places. They live in a city too..

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Alan Gunn
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Re: Moss in gutters

Post by Alan Gunn » Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:04 am

This might sound daft so don't shout at me to loudly please.
I had a lot of the green stuff on my decking spindles that dad been varnished well sprayed with many coats.
Found some stuff on Amazon called "Green gone" pretty certain it was but anyway i thought i would give it a go.
Mixed a cap full with water in a garden sprayer and did the job.
Within hours the green had gone couldn't believe it but it worked so a quick splash with the hose job done.
Don't think it would affect the paint as not a mark on the varnish.

sapphireblack
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Re: Moss in gutters

Post by sapphireblack » Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:19 am

If thats an inhibitor as well as a removal aid i think i need some for my patio. Its 'Indian sandstone' and algae/ green growth just loves it :(
Last edited by sapphireblack on Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Alan Gunn
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Re: Moss in gutters

Post by Alan Gunn » Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:31 am

sapphireblack wrote: Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:19 am If thats an inhibitor as well as a removal aid i think i need some for my patio. Its 'Indian sandstone' and algae/ green growth just loves it :(
Only used it on the wood but it's not come back in 2 years so far but i think i have enough left to last my son's lifetime lol.

sapphireblack
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Re: Moss in gutters

Post by sapphireblack » Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:35 am

Just bought some :thumbsup:

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StuBeeDoo
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Re: Moss in gutters

Post by StuBeeDoo » Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:42 am

Hhmmmmm. Interesting. I've got a product called "Wet & Forget" that I use on our paved rear yard once or twice a year. TBH, I did think about using it on the car, :o :oops:

This one, though, gets rid of the algae - almost instantly - but although it does kill the moss you still need to scrape the clumps of it out.
October 2012 build X3 30d SE, Bluewater.  Now with Webasto sunroof and paddle-shift   8)
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