If moss doesn't remove itself with my low pressure pump I leave the moss for mother nature to handle. It always comes of once it decomposes and dries out. I make sure all customers know that moss and especially lichen can take upwards of 5 months to come off. It gets real bad here. If they aren't ok with that then I move on. The last thing I would ever want is to damage someone's roof, and I never have.
I agree with you Zach, if it doesn't come off during the spraying process, I won't, pick, scrape or brush it off. I have it listed in my contract that it may take 90 + days for the moss to be washed off and sometimes longer for lichen. I've never had any problems with using this approach.
Most often when they are selling a house and really,,,,what does it matter if the roof is 25 years old and they can't afford replace it with a new one for 5k. There are exceptions, we help the dead grass off with a hose 4-5 times a year.
Who is paying you, the 25 year shingles or the owner that wants it gone.
As a nationwide organization we all realize that there are various types of mosses, lichen and of course GM . I have searched quite a bit and was surprised that there was not more conclusive information with photos of the different types of Bryophytes. Moss and lichen removal has different requirements depending on the type, which has to do with the location. Some on this forum have an incredible amount of knowledge for there area which is great, but we know that may not translate to Portland (for example).
I run into large lichen that practically fall off on there own, but some smaller ones are tenacious and always the last to go. Some moss that has grown large and clumpy comes right off with a light touch and no granule loss. Other mosses are hairy and stubborn as a mule. Many here are experienced professionals in the field. We would have to admit though that this is specific to their climate/region.
Who better than roof cleaners to provide information that pertains to the whole nation, regarding whats on there roof. I think it will be a valuable thread. Conclusive identification for what we all deal with would be beneficial for us as roof cleaners and many others. I will try to start the thread unless somebody else does first (which is fine) I think this would be a valuable collaboration that others would be hard pressed to produce. Seems to me it should provide photos and identification of the enemy.