Do you have mold in your attic? Mold is a common problem in attics because it is one of the area of the home that is easily forgotten about. People tend to ignore their attic, until they realize there is a problem of some kind.
Mold grows in dark and damp environments, and moisture can build up in attic quickly. Attics with a humidity or water issue can create perfect conditions for mold to grow. Roofs can leak, ventilation fans can fail, and excess insulation can block air flow throughout attic. These are some very common causes of mold growth in attics in the greater Chicagoland area.
Our team provides totally free estimates for anyone dealing with mold in their attic. Call 866-575-5814 with any questions you may have about mold in your attic. We are always glad to help in any way possible.
The mold remedation experts at 2nd Chance Water Restoration can help you find the cause of the mold and remediate the mold issues. They can also help you prevent future mold growth.
The winter months in the greater Chicago area can be very brutal on your home’s roof and attic for a variety of reasons. Mold growth can begin in the attics of homes due to high relative humidity, cold surfaces, and poor ventialtion. There are times where insulation blocks soffit vents, which leads to high humidity and mold growth, as in the photos in this article show.
It is very important to keep the air flowing and humidity down in your attic to avoid mold growth. The person that owns the home in our example photos goes up into their attic every couple months to check things out. This whole attic was covered in a layer of musty smelly mold in just a few months. The homeowner was able to smell a musty odor, which led to them heading up into the attic.
Mold can grow and spread very quickly, especially with the right conditions. Unchecked mold growth can also lead to structural damage. In this case, there was deterioriation of the roof’s plywood, so some areas needed to be replaced.
How bad is mold in the attic?
Mold in the attic or crawl space is as bad as having mold anywhere else in the home, because it is a major health concern. Some people have really bad issues with mold due to allergies. However, mold can also cause health issues in otherwise healthy people.
The mycotoxins from mold can cause a variety of adverse health effects and pose a serious health threat to both humans and animals. This is why it is always crucial to find and remove any mold in your attic or home as soon possible.
Mold spores move easily through air, so your HVAC system is going to pick up some of the spores, when you have mold in your attic. This is why we offer professional air duct cleaning services. By the time you notice mold growing in your attic, it has already been spread across much of your home. When you open the attic to discover the mold, you spread mold across your home.
This is why people are so scared of having mold issues in their attic or anywhere else in their home.
How does mold grow in the attic?
Mold spores are everywhere. There is a little bit of mold almost everywhere in the natural world and be found in food, dirt, dust, and even air. In fact, many mold testing companies use air test to determine what kind of mold is the enviroment. These mold test companies can also identify what types of mold are in the air.
Mold spore come to life and begin to reproduce when the conditions are just right. You need to have damp and dark environments with wet organic materials like wood, drywall, or carpet for example. Mold reproduces by releasing very tiny particles into the air that attach themselves to any surface they land on. When those surfaces contain organic material in a damp and dark environment, the conditions are perfect to grow a new mold colony.
For mold spores to stay alive and reproducing, they must have a steady combination of humidity and food, which wet wood, insulation, or other building materials readily provide. This is how mold begins to grow in your attic, walls, and ceilings.
What are some common causes for mold growth in an attic?
Many things can cause mold to grow in your attic including roof leaks, gaps in the siding, window leaks, leaks around your vents and HVAC system, and improper ventilation. You need to have air movement and a way to expel humidity to avoid moisture build up and mold growth.
Many mold issues are caused by having too little or too much insulation. Insulation blocking vents and exhaust fans is a very common problem. Your bathroom exhaust, kitchen exhaust, and clothes dryer should vent directly outside. We see a lot of mold growth issues due to contractors or home owners venting these exhaust fans directly into their attic. Your attic was designed for natural humidity. Constant humidity that comes with cooking, washing, drying clothes, or bathing causes a lot more humidity than normal, and can easily lead to mold in your attic.
Hot moist air always rises up. When you have excessive humidity in areas of your home and insufficient ventilation or bad venting, mold growth can occur. This is why is important to make your bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans work. You also want to make sure everyone in the home uses the exhaust fans while cooking, cleaning, or bathing. Exhaust fans are great way to reduce the humidity in your home.
When warm wet air mixes with cooler air, and the relative humidity is higher than 60%, it cause condesation to occur. This condensation leads to water soaking into organic building materials like wood, insulation, and drywall. If the relative humidity in your house remains too high on a consistent basis, you can grow a forrest of mold in days.
Does your HVAC system affect mold growth?
A home with a good HVAC system tends to avoid a lot of mold growth issues, because proper air movement helps keep moisture from building up and encouraging mold spores to become active. When the HVAC system fails in some way, excess moisture can linger in your attic, and cause mold to grow without any noticable water damage.
How can I remove mold in my attic?
We can provide you with some tips on how to remove mold from your attic. However, even a small amount of mold exposure can lead to health issues for you, your family, and your pets. Thererfore, we strongly recommend that exercise caution and call 2nd Chance Water Restoration now. We will be glad to come look at your issues and give you an honest assessment of what needs to be done.
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If the surface of the mold is larger than a few square feet, call a professional mold remediation company. You will need HEPA vacuums, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), air filters, and ozone machines to properly, and safely, remove any mold. Mold spreads anywhere that it can, so you have to make sure you remove it all at once, or you will be dealing with more growth.
If the mold is growing due to a leak in the roof, vents, or windows, you will need to remove all the wet materials that you see. You need to make sure to all remove anything soft or porous from your attic spaces. No linnens, clothing, cardboard, carpet, or fabrics should be up in your attic. When these materials get wet, they can grow mold quickly. Any insulation, roofing materials, shingles, old cardboard boxes, paper products, things made of thin wood, or anything similar should be removed from your attic.
Moisture issues often occur when there isn’t proper ventilation or insulation. To prevent these issues, make sure your insulation isn’t blocking your vents, but cover the floor of your attic. You also want to make sure that are no large cracks in the walls or ceilings that allow water to leak into your attic. Check for signs of condensetion. Make sure your HVAC system’s dripline isn’t leaking into your attic.
Water damage can be caused by outside air, rain, snow, or ice dams forming between shingles and siding. Frost buildup during the cold winter months can also cause issues.
Attic mold removal
You will need to set up proper containment chambers befor your begin the attic mold removal process; to avoid spreading the mold to the rest of your house. Use thick plastic, painter’s tape, and zippers to set up your containment barriers. You need to make sure there is no air flow from your contained areas to your not-yet-affected areas to avoid spreading the attic mold throughout the home.
It is probably going to be hard to remove all of the attic mold, especially if your home has big sloping roofs. To prevent mold from growing in your attic, make sure that your attic has proper temperature, humidity, and air flow control systems in place.
How to Prevent Mold in Attic
The best way to prevent mold from growing your attic is to check it for signs of excess humidity on a regular basis. You should inspect your insulation and wood every once in a while to look for signs of discoloration, water damage, or mold growth. Make sure to check all the nooks and crannies, because mold grows in the areas that are prone to cracks and leaks first. Check the areas around any plumbing stacks or HVAC system pieces. Humidity and condesation issues can occur due to issues with your HVAC system insulation too, so make to have an HVAC contractor check it during their maintenance visits.
Attics need proper insulation
You need to really make sure that your attic has the right amount of insulation in the right spots. Make sure outside air isn’t blowing your insulation out of place. Even a small area missing insulation can cause huge mold growth issues. Insulation helps to control the temperature and moisture levels in your attic, so it’s very important.
All of your exhaust fans and vents from appliances and plumbing should go directly outside. These vents and exhausts fans cause mold growth in just a few days. One of the easiest ways to overwhelm your home’s ventialtion system is taking warm wet air from the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry and releasing into your attic.
For Mold Remediation Services, Call 2nd Chance Water Restoration Today!
Mold grows all year around, especially during the colder winter months. 2nd Chance Water Restoration is IICRC certified and highly-rated by customers for many reasons. Whether you need mold removal or water damage restoration, call 2nd Chance Water Restoration at 866-575-5814 24/7!