[TheForge] OT - Asphalt shingle rot? (Lichen)

[Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer]

I sorta like the lichens and have actually started them 
on some of our landscaping boulders.
I also have some growing on my truck.
They are a symbiosis of an algae and a fungus and can 
actually dissolve and eat rocks.

Jerry Frost wrote:
> Lichen is generally an air plant meaning it only needs water and air to grow 
> so looking for organic causes is more a distraction than useful.
> 
> Forget bleach, while it'll work okay it will dry and leave an electrolytic 
> component on your roof so every time it rains galvanic action will degrade 
> nails, etc. You don't get a galvanic reaction without an electrolyte, clean 
> fresh water won't do it at all. You don't see zincs on metal boats in fresh 
> water, not a problem.
> 
> Just pick up a roll of copper wire long enough to run the length of the 
> roofline just under the peak on both sides. String it out and tack it down 
> or tuck it under a shingle corner every so often, or whatever. It isn't 
> complicated and so long as there's no electrolyte copper isn't going to eat 
> your galvy nails, aluminum flashing or rain gutters.
> 
> Trimming back shade trees and keeping organic litter off will help too but 
> isn't a must do if you can lay a little copper on it. Heck, if you want 
> immediate results give it a light spray with copper sulfate solution. I 
> don't suggest the last, it's a bit too harsh a toxin for every day use, the 
> flower planters won't like it.
> 
> Frosty
> -------------------------
> If it ain't forged
> It ain't real
> wrought iron is
> The Frostworks
> 
> 
> 
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