There’s something about bricks that people are drawn to. You might have several brick features on your property because of how nice you think bricks look.
People will often make brick patio areas in their yards because of how aesthetically appealing they can be. Bricks are also commonly used in garden areas to help create flower beds and other similar areas.
Some people are even lucky enough to live in beautiful brick homes. As amazing as this is, it’s a bit annoying when your bricks wind up getting covered in moss.
It isn’t unusual for bricks to have moss growing on them, but that doesn’t mean that you want to leave things looking like that. You very likely want to figure out a way to remove the moss that won’t harm your bricks or any surrounding plants.
Read on to learn how you can get rid of moss on bricks naturally. This will show you the best options that you have available to you when you’re trying to solve a problem such as this.
Is Moss Dangerous in Any Way?
You might be wondering whether or not moss is dangerous. Most people know that mold has the potential to be dangerous and that you want to avoid breathing mold in.
Moss and mold do have some similarities when it comes to how they form. However, moss isn’t necessarily dangerous to humans.
It isn’t even necessarily dangerous when it starts growing on structures either. Moss isn’t going to compromise the structures that it starts growing on.
The moss lacks enough mass to be able to cause any significant damage to the bricks or other things that it might grow on. This means that you don’t have to worry about it causing severe issues on your property.
This doesn’t mean that you should ignore moss, though. Moss is going to make your brick features look a lot worse and if you leave things alone, it could permanently stain the bricks.
This is why most people try to take care of moss problems before they get too bad. The sooner you take action, the less of a chance there is that your bricks will be stained permanently.
1 – Try to Prevent Moss From Forming in the First Place
One of the best ways to solve moss problems involves stopping moss from forming in the first place. In order for moss to form, it’s going to be necessary for moisture to be present.
If your bricks have moss growing on them, then there’s a good chance that they’ve been getting wet somehow. This could be happening for many different reasons, but you should be able to keep this from happening in the future.
Brick walls, patios, and other brick features will often be near sources of water. You might have a sprinkler system in your yard or you might simply have a faucet that’s a bit leaky.
If things such as that are causing your bricks to get too wet, then they’re helping the moss to form. You can take the time to repair any leaky faucets to keep this from happening.
Sprinklers might be a little bit different since you might need to set your sprinklers up so that they won’t hit your brick walls. A little prior planning might help you to avoid getting the bricks super wet, which will help you to keep moss from becoming a problem.
After you take care of the issues that are causing the bricks to get wet, the moss should start drying up. No new moss will form and you won’t have to worry so much any longer.
This might sound like a simple solution, but it really is one of the most practical ones. You can do your best to prevent excess moisture from touching your bricks and it’ll truly make a difference.
2 – Sunlight Can Help Too
Sunlight is going to be very helpful when it comes to preventing moss growth, too. You might remember from earlier that moss requires moisture to grow, but moss also grows in the shade.
If your bricks aren’t getting a lot of sunlight, then they’re in a shady spot that is going to be perfect for moss to grow. All that will be needed is a bit of moisture and the conditions will be right for moss.
Knowing this, you’ll be able to keep moss from growing by exposing the bricks to sunlight. Sunlight can help to kill moss and you might be able to make some changes to expose the bricks to more sunlight.
For instance, you could trim certain tree branches to get rid of shade near your bricks. If it’s possible for you to do so, then you’ll be able to use sunlight to help with your moss problem.
Granted, it might not be possible to eliminate shade in every spot of your yard. It won’t be practical to cut down whole trees and dramatically change your landscape, but you can try to do what you can.
If you have a brick roof, then you’re going to want to remove leaves and other debris that might be preventing the sun from getting through to the bricks. It’s also going to be beneficial to remove ground cover near brick walls to try to get more sunshine where it needs to go.
You might have brick pavers in your yard somewhere as well. Sometimes these can have moss growing on them due to being covered in dirt or mud.
Removing the layers of dirt and mud can help the sun to shine through. This can really help out a lot even if it is going to involve a bit of work on your part.
3 – Clean Your Bricks with Vinegar
One of the most practical ways to clean moss off of your bricks naturally is with vinegar. Vinegar can be used as a powerful cleaning tool when you don’t want to use products that contain chemicals.
To get this to work properly, you’re going to want to combine vinegar, water, and dish liquid in some type of container. One tablespoon of dish liquid will do the trick and you can use one cup of vinegar as well as one cup of water.
With your mixture created, you’ll want to pour it into a spray bottle. You can then spray the bricks with the cleaning mix and start scrubbing things down.
Do your best to coat the bricks with the cleaner so that the moss will be killed. Some people choose to spray the vinegar mixture on the bricks every few days until the moss dies.
You can then come back to scrub the bricks after the moss has died. If all is going as planned, then the moss should come off of the bricks nicely.
Generally, this is going to be a method that will help you to clean up the bricks and get them looking really good once more. Significant moss issues might take a bit of time to allow the vinegar to truly kill the moss, though.
4 – Bleach Works Too
Bleach is going to be one of the better options when you want to get serious about killing moss. The problem with this is that many people aren’t going to want to use this since bleach isn’t a natural thing.
Of course, you’ll need to be careful if you choose to use bleach on your bricks. You don’t want the bleach to touch any of your plants and you don’t want it to get on your lawn either.
You’ll need to be very careful about where you’re spraying bleach and you’re going to want to scrub things right away. Use equal parts water and bleach in a spray bottle and things should go well enough.
If you keep spraying moss with bleach this way, then it’ll eventually die. Bleach is one of the most powerful cleaning tools for a reason and it can help you to get rid of moss on your bricks.
Substantial moss issues might be very stubborn, though. You might have to spray the bricks with bleach every day for a couple of weeks to completely rid yourself of the moss for good.
5 – Consider Buying a Pressure Washer
Pressure washers are going to be quite helpful when you’re trying to get rid of moss on your bricks. They can spray the bricks down and eliminate moss in a timely fashion.
Aside from removing moss, having a pressure washer is going to be fantastic for general cleaning purposes. You’ll be able to clean your walls and other brick features nicely if you have a pressure washer.
You do need to be safe when you’re using something this powerful, though. Using a pressure washer is a lot different than using a standard garden hose and you’ll want to wear some safety equipment to avoid any problems.
Wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants whenever you’re planning on cleaning with a pressure washer. Accidentally spraying your skin with a pressure washer will hurt a lot, but having clothing that’s covering your skin will help.
It’s also recommended to wear safety goggles just in case. There’s no reason to take any chances and safety goggles are so inexpensive that there’s no reason not to own a few pairs of them for when you’re doing work such as this.
The pressure washer sprays water with such force that it’ll be able to dislodge whatever is stuck to the bricks. You’ll be able to spray the bricks to get rid of dirt, grime, and moss.
Just try to spray your bricks as thoroughly as you can from top to bottom. As long as you’re getting every spot of the bricks, it should be possible to completely eliminate the moss.
In many ways, this is a lot simpler than trying to clean your bricks with vinegar or bleach. You can just spray the bricks and be done with it.
Even if you don’t own a pressure washer right now, it’s going to be wise to consider getting one. This is going to be useful for so much more than just getting moss off of your bricks.
You can use a pressure washer to clean your deck and you can also use it to help you to remove stains from your driveway or patio. It’s a useful thing to keep around and it doesn’t cost a ton of money either.
Good pressure washers have become affordable enough that just about anyone will be able to buy one if they want to. You can get pressure washers from department stores, hardware stores, and online retailers.
Final Thoughts
Getting rid of moss on your bricks won’t be all that hard when you understand what you’re supposed to do. There are things that you can do that will make it easy enough to get the moss off of the bricks.
It’s usually going to be best to start with figuring out how to keep moss from growing again, though. You want to ensure that you fix any leaks that are causing your bricks to get too wet.
Moss can’t grow without moisture and it’s also going to need things to be shady enough for growth. Exposing the bricks to sunlight can make a big difference.
You can get rid of the moss that’s on your bricks right now by taking the time to clean the bricks thoroughly. One of the best natural cleaners that people like to use for this is vinegar.
Mixing one part vinegar and one part water along with a tablespoon of dish liquid will create a powerful cleaner. You can keep spraying this on your bricks for many days and it’ll kill the moss eventually.
Bleach works very well, too, and you might even decide to turn to that before using vinegar. Just remember to be careful when working with bleach and try not to let any of it get on your plants or your lawn.
If you want to have the easiest time cleaning your bricks off, then you should get a pressure washer. Pressure washers can clean bricks in a timely fashion and they’re good for cleaning so many other things.
You’ll be able to get your bricks looking like new again if you happen to have a pressure washer. If you don’t own one yet, then you’ll be glad to know that they aren’t that costly, all things considered.
Take all of this information and decide how to approach cleaning the moss off of your bricks. You’ll be able to get good results and it shouldn’t be too hard to get things looking really nice again.
I have a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When I’m not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies…I’m at home with my wife, two daughters and a dog. Outside of family, I love grilling and barbequing on my Big Green Egg and working on projects around the house.