What is it about an attic that’s so attractive to mold? Just about everything that makes it a place people tend to avoid. Most attics are dark, warm, overly humid, stuffy, and dusty. In other words, the perfect accommodation for mold. Mold growth can be destructive to vital wooden structure in the attic and also ruin attic insulation. Moreover, microscopic airborne mold spores migrate down into living spaces and spread contamination further throughout the home.
Once active mold growth has established a foothold anywhere, including the attic, professional mold remediation services are required to effectively neutralize and remove it. However, there are several preventive steps you can take to make your attic less mold-friendly now.
Maximize Ventilation
Old houses seldom had moldy attics. Imprecise construction methods standard in those days made attics very drafty. Constant air exchange with the outdoors kept attic humidity low and mold growth seldom had a chance to get started.
Make sure existing attic air vents at the soffits and the roof peak are unobstructed and wide open to promote continuous passive air flow. For a more active approach, consider installing turbine vents on the roof that pull moist air up and out of the attic every time a breeze blows, or a solar-powered electric roof vent fan.
Dry It Out
Make sure that bathroom vent fans, kitchen vent fans and dryer vents aren’t exhausting directly into the attic space. They should all be connected to vent pipes that extend all the way to the outdoors. Also, make sure that vent pipes routed through the attic are intact, joints and connections are secure and not leaking vented air.
Check ceilings in bathrooms, kitchen and other humid spaces for cracks, gaps around light fixtures and other openings that could allow warm, moist air to infiltrate the attic.
During rain, look for dripping and other signs of roof leakage into the attic. Repair requires a roofing professional as drips often appear far from the actual leak.