Thanks Guys! I wasn't sure if the regular would do the trick. But compared to yours, mine looks pretty easy. So I will just let him now it will take some time to come off. Does it take extra spray to penetrate the moss? I am trying to figure out what to charge for this place and wanted to know if I should budget extra chemicals?

Once that moss is a whitish color, it is dead. The roof is covered with lichen. Advise homeowner that when you leave the roof will look ugly until the lichen rinses off. All of the black steaks will be gone but the dead lichens/moss will still be there. You may even have to go back a couple months later to rinse the lichen from under the eaves where the rain will not hit. There may even be some spots under the lichen where the granules are gone. You won't know until the lichen comes off.

Also, one thing that helps in northern states like ours is the abrasion of the snow melting, and the freeze/thaw cycle almost certainly takes care of this over winter. I agree that managing expectations is the key here. In fact I am finding more and more that it is the key to EVERYTHING. I am working on a "expectations" card, about postcard sized. The customer will get it twice, once at the quote, and once as a door hanger after the job is completed with the tech's names on it.

Make sure to verbally tell the customer up front about what to expect but also document it for them. Homeowners seem to forget a lot of what they're told. Documentation helps remind them.

I like the expectations card Chad. That's really cool to have it documented that way b/c it's likely that the customer will ACTUALLY READ IT. We've had 2 or 3 customers this year that did not read through their quote packet very well and are knocking on our door wanting their roof to be perfect over night. Luckily, we had warned them up front that it could be up to 6 months until it all goes away. We did have to remind them about our previous conversations and sales documents.

Thanks for all of the information guys! I really appreciate it as I wasn't sure where to start. Those expectation cards sounds like a great idea, I may have to work on those myself as well. This one is a bit touch as he has 8 large stores in the area that may need work as well. Plus I have to do an estimate on his son's house as well next week. I am hoping this one is big for me, and really appreciate all the help you guys offer. Doing this on my own I would have no idea where to start.

David you are in the right place for knowledge and people willing to help out. All the guys that responded to you have helped me a ton.
From your pictures looks like a pretty straight forward cleaning. Like they said before me yes to extra chem and TIME. Believe me my confidence has tripled with all of the support on this forum.

Great tip Chad!. Reminds me of the "WHAT TO EXPECT" form we used in the roofing business. It grew as the company grew and for the last decade we required every job file to have one signed by the customer, along with our contract. We wouldn't start a job without it! I am starting to accumulate one for this softwash biz now too as I learn.

Quick story that made me realize we needed this- We contracted to re-roof a one story, two car garage that involved a gravel roof tear off and then install same. Simple, easy access job which we did in less than one day. Job turned out beautifully. That night when the customer came home he called me to tell me that a wheelbarrow he had stored up in the garage rafters (!) had fallen on top of his 1955 T-Bird!!!!! Obviously it was from the vibration of our re-roof work. Luckily he took responsibility and didn't blame us but adding a simple "secure loose items inside your property including china, wall hangings, antiques etc" saved our behinds several times in later years.

Chad and Steve - Really great ideas and points!

Question to everybody about this post - on roofs on homes that are about to go on the market and need to be clean quicker than the moss will decay and rinse away, do you see any harm in going back a couple of months later and rinsing the dead moss away with a garden hose?

I ask because I did a 10/12 pitch, 4,500 sq. ft. roof about 2 months back and the roof cleaned up nicely. The inspector saw moss on the roof that had not decayed and washed away and told the home owner (Dwayne) he had to repair these sections of roof before passing inspection. Dwayne turned around and called us and I asked if he could send me a photo from the inspection report. The image was moss that was next to a dormer but protected by the soffit overhanging part of the roof, and a section of roof over the garage that was against the side of the house.

When I got back out to the home I saw exactly what the inspector was talking about, the moss along the intersections of dormer and roof, but the moss was 100% dull grey/white with no green to be seen anywhere. I took a garden hose (on well water) and rinsed the moss off the roof. Underneath the moss were small 1/2 inch sized pieces of moss that didn't want to let go and rinse away, but it was also grey/white so it was dead too. There was also lichen that was on the roof that easily rinsed away with no damage showing underneath. I retreated these sections just to ensure every bit of confidence was delivered to Dwayne and the inspector so he wouldn't have any hiccups from the roof or my work.

I also put the before/after photos of the mossy sections into a Power Point slide show and made a few comments so Dwayne would have some form of document showing the areas that had moss, and photos of the roof after the moss was rinsed away, and documentation saying these areas were treated again as a courtesy. I resprayed to ensure the inspector was happy. I also took all these steps and time because this was a job that was referred to me by a very successful realtor that flips several homes a year as well.

What are your thoughts on this, and if a couple people could please send me a sample document that you've had to send to inspectors in the past, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks John!

Besides this I've never had to go back to rinse a roof. The moss hasn't been thick enough to be noticeable for pictures. Does the moss rinse off as easily on the original day of treatment as it does a couple of months later? Thanks for the tip on the waiver. Definitely something to keep in mind. I was a bit worried about spraying the moss because the angle I had to spray on probably had decent chance to push some water under the shingles.