There are some regions which just speak to a particular sensibility. The local weather or culture can veer so far in a single direction that appreciation among the locals can be assumed. Take the Pacific Northwest for example.

The Pacific Northwest covers the westernmost part of the US near the Pacific ocean. Notable cities include Tacoma, Portland and Seattle. Anyone hearing those names will probably think of cloudy skies and rain. And this touches on the earlier observation. People in the Pacific Northwest need to deal with rain on a regular basis.

It’s such a universal that many people who grow up in the area just give up on umbrellas. However, this tolerance for the rain can have a negative effect as well. People can become so used to the rain that they don’t even take much notice of it. This is an advantage when rain is normal and intermittently sprinkled over the year.

But when those raindrops come a bit too frequently it can begin to cause structural damage to some parts of one’s home. And people in the Pacific Northwest are so used to rain that they’ll often forget to stay alert for the signs of environmental damage. And many new homeowners simply don’t know why rain can be dangerous in the first place. And this leads into one of the most overlooked dangers.

When people think of rain damage they usually envision direct erosion of a house’s surface by the rain. But in fact, one of the larger dangers comes through a somewhat indirect route. Roofs in the Pacific Northwest are often damaged by a combination of rain and moss.

Consider a homeowner in Tacoma. He’s lived in the area his whole life but has only recently moved into a house of his own. As such, he doesn’t know that the pretty greenery on his roof is actually dangerous. That green covering is moss. And it has the ability to essentially soak up moisture like a sponge. Rain provides two things to moss. It gives the moss an increased ability to grow and spread on a roof. And it adds significant weight and moisture to the biomass as a whole.

This creates an effect where the man’s roof is essentially soaking in moisture almost every minute of the day. It can wear away at shingles, and even the roof as a whole over time. A proper roof repair Tacoma WA style will almost always spot moss. But like our example, many homeowners aren’t aware of how to assess the need to have someone check things out.

Of course the rain poses many other dangers. Heavier rain storms can cause direct kinetic damage to a roof’s tiles. This is especially true of the combined rain and hail showers which show up in the Pacific Northwest. And like moss, heavy rain can also damage shingles. Once the shingles are damaged the house is even more susceptible to rain damage.

It’s also important to remember that a little attention goes a long way. If one stays abreast of heavy rain and moss overgrowth than it won’t pose much risk. Roofers can deal with it before the problem escalates. But people in the Pacific Northwest should always remember to show proper respect to the rain.