How To Remove Moisture From Attic

Attic clean upwards professionals always await for signs of wet in attics, and homeowners should regularly exercise this equally well. While many homeowners usually associate dampness with basements or crawl spaces, attics tin can endure from wet bug merely as easily, which can atomic number 82 to damaged insulation, structural issues, and problems with mold.

Common Signs of Moisture in Your Attic

musty smells
frost
water ice on cold surfaces in the wintertime
foggy windows
condensation on windows or other polish surfaces
visible mold
woods rot
the deterioration of masonry
the staining, discoloration or warping of construction materials

If whatever of these signs are credible, it's best for homeowners to make up one's mind the cause right away and fix the source of the moisture before it causes expensive impairment.

How Did Moisture Become In My Attic?

Unfortunately, finding the source of moisture can exist a difficult job, even for cranium clean up specialists. One sign of excess moisture can exist created by several sources, while one source of moisture tin create multiple, seemingly unrelated signs. Here are some of the some of the common causes of attic wet that attic clean up professionals will usually evaluate first:

Roof leaks

These leaks may be small plenty that evidence of water harm is not yet visible in the home's living quarters. Attics are often one of the first places to testify signs of a leaky roof.

Pipes

Pipes that run through the attic can sweat and leak. The pipes should be checked to ensure that water vapor is not condensing on cold pipes and that the pipes are not dripping.

Foundations

Believe information technology or not, h2o in a dwelling house's foundation can create signs of moisture in the attic. H2o in the ground tin can hands travel through the basement or crawlspace floors and walls. This h2o then evaporates into the air inside the firm and travels to the cranium through "bypasses" – any area where warm air flows into the attic. These bypasses can be anything from openings around light fixtures to cracks in the ceilings, and these seemingly pocket-sized passageways can allow enormous amounts of warm, moist air into the attic.

Ventilation to the exterior: Attics should be properly ventilated to the outside so that moist air does not go trapped. This is particularly important during times of high outdoor humidity. However, sometimes attic ventilation systems stop working or become blocked by debris such as leaves or animate being nests.
Interior ventilation. Wet from appliances like clothes dryers – and from areas like the kitchen and bathrooms – commonly leads to problems in the attic. Sometimes, ventilation pipes are inadequate or become asunder. In these cases, the warm, moist air is beingness pumped into the cranium, rather than being carried to the outdoors.
Air conditioners. Air conditioners typically operate past sensing the indoor air temperature, not the humidity level. If the indoor temperature drops enough and the humidity stays high, moisture tin can condense on the ducts that move the chilled air. This is mutual with air conditioners that are too powerful for space.

There'south more to keeping your dwelling rubber and mold-gratis than attic cleanup; you as well take to consider what'due south below your house. If you are experiencing moisture issues in your dwelling house, y'all may need to examine and clean up your crawlspace. Read on to learn the simple steps ofcleaning up crawlspace moisture.

How to Clean Up Moisture In Your Cranium

Pace ane: Inspecting the Area

The first affair you demand to do is find a fashion into the clamber infinite. Often, there is a small door through the foundation on the outside of the home, though some homes have an interior trapdoor. If you lot cannot find a way in, contact a professional. Once yous are in, take a look around. You should look for h2o, mold, or damp insulation. These are all signs of crawlspace wet.

Stride 2: Removing Affected Materials

Get-go, remove all the debris and insulation. Exist careful to accept safety precautions when dealing with these materials. Next, you need to get any standing h2o out by using a sump pump. Finally, remove all contaminants such as mold or asbestos. It is wise to contact a crawlspace and attic clean up professional to advise or help you in proper removal of these contaminants.

Step 3: Eliminating Moisture

Prepare a dehumidifier and place several fans around your crawlspace. Direct the fans on damp areas around the walls, floor and ceiling. These will aid to increase the dehumidification rate past improving airflow.

Step 4: Maintaining Depression Moisture

Addressing any drainage problems is the first step to maintaining depression moisture in your crawlspace. As well, since nigh crawlspaces have clay floors, a considerable amount of moisture can exist prevented with the addition of a crawlspace vapor barrier. To observe out if vapor barrier insulation is needed in your home, consult a professional insulation installation service.

How To Get Rid of Your Cranium's Moisture

If you lot call up the ideal weather condition for mold and mildew are present in your attic, there are a few at-home tests you tin can perform to gauge the moisture level.

Pace #ane: Consult a thermometer.

An excessively high temperature in your attic allows the air inside to hold more water vapor. Depending on the climate and level of insulation and ventilation in your cranium, temperatures can achieve upwards to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. To properly guess the temperature of your attic, you lot should utilise three thermometers – 1 in the middle of your attic, 1 well-nigh your cranium entry and i at the far cease of your cranium – then record and take the average of these temperatures. Based on your location, a significantly high number could indicate a potential moisture problem – specially when hot, boiling air is immune to cool and create condensation.

Step #2: Check for excessive moisture.

While there is a special device, called a hygrometer, that can measure humidity, this musical instrument is not a common household item and tin be hard to interpret. Fortunately, you should be able to gauge moisture levels in your cranium via a visual inspection. If there'south condensation on cranium windows or surfaces are wet to the touch, the humidity of your cranium is too loftier. Colored spots, musty odors and other signs of mold can besides be detected with unproblematic observation.

Got Moisture In Your Attic? Atticare Can Assistance

A nationwide company serving the San Francisco Bay Area, Northern and Central New Jersey and the Los Angeles Area, Atticare provides attic cleaning and insulation services to remove mold-damaged insulation, minimize temperature fluctuations and improve humidity command. If you lot think your home has a mold or moisture problem, schedule a free consultation with Atticare. Call us at ane-866-692-5449 to book an appointment.

Updated: seven/23/twenty at 11:00 am

Source: https://atticareusa.com/identifying-common-causes-moisture-attic/