Outdoor carpets can be great places for moss to grow, especially in humid environments, but what is the best way to get rid of it?
The best way to remove moss from an outdoor carpet is to use a vinegar solution, and in cases pressure washing under low pressure can also be a good solution.
Let’s take a deeper look at why moss actually grows on an outdoor carpet so frequently, what you can do to prevent it from happening in the first place and also the steps you need to take to properly remove it!
Why Does Moss Grow On Outdoor Carpet
Moss only needs two things to start to grow – moisture and sunlight – both of which are in excess for outdoor carpet, even more so in warmer climates. Places such as Florida where outdoor carpets are used frequently for swimming pools are notorious for growing moss very quickly.
Outdoor carpet usually has a large surface area as well due to all the fibres that are contained within it, which provides a larger medium for the moss to grow on as well. There is a reason that outdoor carpet can cause rotting to your deck; it is suited to collecting and storing water.
How To Reduce Moss Growth On Outdoor Carpets
If you want to prevent moss from growing and building up in the first place, there are a few methods that you can use to help.
Regular Cleaning
The most obvious solution is to clean your outdoor carpet more regularly, particularly paying attention to how dry it is after you have done cleaning.
Whilst cleaning itself will remove small amounts of moss, keeping the carpet dry will work to prevent any moss from growing in the first place. Remember that a damp carpet is the perfect breeding ground for moss to grow and develop.
If you have an outdoor carpet next to a pool then it can be very difficult to keep it dry, but sweeping some excess water out of the carpet after the pool has been used can work quite well to at least maintain the moss to a suitable level to be removed.
Cover Your Outdoor Carpet
If you have a plastic sheet big enough to cover your outdoor carpet then you can use this to protect it from the sun when the area is not in use.
This is similar to the way that swimming pools are usually covered when they are outdoor and not in use to prevent the growth of algae. If you have an outdoor carpet that can be easily covered it’s worth doing so if you are not using it and especially in sunny weather.
Ways To Remove Moss From Outdoor Carpet
If your moss problem has gotten too big to prevent and you need to remove a fair amount of it then the two methods below will have this sorted in no time.
1. Vinegar Solution
Vinegar is a tried and tested method for getting rid of moss due to the acetic acid that it contains.
Acetic acid is harmful to moss and will work to remove any moss in your outdoor carpet, but household vinegar only contains enough acetic acid to destroy small moss growths and larger moss plants are likely to survive.
So, you can spray household vinegar onto smaller moss growths and it is likely that this will work. For larger amounts of moss you’ll need to buy a ready-to-use herbicide with an acetic acid concentration of around 25%, but you need to be very cautious and follow the guidelines below.
- Do not use the herbicide near open water, such as lakes or rivers, as it can cause harm to aquatic life.
- Use the herbicide spray on a very dry day to prevent it from running into open water from rainfall, and ensure the temperature is below 65 degrees farhenheit.
Both solutions will cause damage to any other plants that are in the vicinity as well so be careful during the application of the solutions.
2. Pressure Washing
If you own a pressure washer there is little doubt that you will have had the satisfaction of using it to blast away any weeds or plants growing where you don’t want them, especially between cracks in concrete slabs.
Luckily, pressure washers are also pretty good at removing moss.
Simply pressure wash your outdoor carpet on as high a setting as possible that doesn’t damage the carpet itself working from one end to the other to prevent a build-up of water. You can use any washing solution during this process as well.
Pressure washing is a method that removes the moss physically. It doesn’t cause the moss to die as a vinegar or herbicide solution would, but it does remove the moss by cutting it up under the force of the water stream.
Final Thoughts
Moss growth on an outdoor carpet is something that can be easily managed if you’re willing to put in a few hours, but don’t worry, even if you have a large build-up of moss it is still entirely possible to tackle this with a simple herbicide spray or pressure washer.
