Are you suffering from Attic Mold? Beware: Never Encapsulate/ paint dry ice Blast or soda Blast!
If they are confronted with an issue with mold in the attic homeowners are often faced with the daunting task of dealing with an issue that is far from the usual home improvement tasks. Eliminating attic mold isn’t the same as renovating a kitchen or bathroom or painting the house. Mold is both hazardous and living. In terms of eliminating it, there is an abundance of conflicting information available.
A lot of homeowners didn’t even know that there was a noxious evil living right over their heads within their homes that was slowly eating the decking boards which constitute the roof. The majority of the problems with mold in attics that we see every day were found when the homeowner realized it was time to sell their house.
We’ve witnessed numerous, and many, homes sales go through the roof due to the fact that a home inspector found mold in the attic space which was feeding on the roofing boards. One of the primary reason for this is that the color of the most commonly found mold that is found in attics just north of the Mason Dixon line . It is the well-known color black. A lot of potential buyers are intimidated by this color of black mold believing that it is “the toxic black mold” the dreaded stachybotrys chartsarum. However, it is rarely the situation. The thing that makes a mold black is melanin, the pigment that is which is a benign pigment present in our skin that helps shield us from harmful UV rays created from the sun. It is the same reason in mold. Attic mold is hardly ever the most dangerous black mold since attic mold tends to grow in winter due to simple loss of heat, accompanied by inadequate or incorrectly built or installed roofing ventilation.
Ventilation Problems: How Mold Develops
When temperatures drop to freezing in winter, we turn on the home heating system. Naturally, heat rises. in the event that we do not have enough insulation, or when it’s too cold to keep pace with the loss of heat this hot air finds its way to the attic. When a roof’s ventilation is correctly, the hot air is pushed from the attic via what is known as outtake air vents. They are made up of power vents in the form of boxes, box vents Gable-end vents as well as ridge vents. To allow the outtake air vents to function correctly, the roof must have an air intake system. Vents like these allow colder air to flow through the attic while hot air is pushed out via the intake air vents.
If this is not the case, the hot air is locked in an attic, and then coalesces against the cold, freezing roofing boards. The hot air mass which meets a the cold surface of condensation, referred to as dewpoint which usually result in drops of frost or water. This moisture starts the cycle of mold growth , which results in attic mold growth.
Attic mold usually only develops during the winter months unless the cause is the occasional roof leak or a damp basement or crawlspace which is sending water in the form of vapor up. The reason why it only develops in the five to six seasons of winter because during the remainder of the year, the temperatures that is attained in the attic is much too hot for the growth of aggressive mold.
The Solution:
In deciding how to tackle the issue of attic crawspace mold homeowners are confused. Why? In obtaining multiple estimates for cleaning up, the homeowner is frequently confronted with totally different recommendations of local experts who claim their approach is “best” or “right”. We’ve met with people who’ve received five to six estimates, each with five to six different “solutions” that left the homeowners with a headache about what to do, they want the permanent elimination. The reason for several different methods for cleaning up mold is due to being trained by mold authorities, or the certifying bodies or institutions who do not actually define the products that should be used when. Additionally, the average contractor has a limited or no knowledge of the actual process of the mold as well as the actual microbiological processes it goes through.
Fix the leaks or vents:
When tackling any mold problem, it is essential to find the root of the moisture. this requires addressing the airflow issues. Although the most common method is to put in the ridge vent, we have found that they rarely let in the air as claimed. We suggest that box vents be placed at the same distance from the peak as you can, they virtually never leak or clog and perform exceptionally well, even though they have gone out of fashion. Then, ensure that there is enough intake air through the soffit vent. There is nothing as bad as excessive soffit ventilation.
Killing The Mold is Killing The Roots:
The most often thought about and misunderstood elements to permanent mold elimination and removal is that it kills the mold’s roots. When people think about mold, they typically think of a cheese or bread that was rotten. Human brains love to keep memories in association. We think of the fuzzy things that we see at the top of the mold issue in the same way as mold. WRONG! The fuzzy substance is actually the fruit body or the reproductive portion that molds. it’s the seed. It’s not the apple but the tree! If we are looking to eliminate mold for good, we must eliminate the roots that are the body that mold has. They are also inaccessible for the uninitiated eye as they grow under the surface. Just like the tap-root of a dandelions is located underneath on the Earth. Just like the dandelion, we must destroy the roots in order to kill the organism.
The most popular methods for removing mold all the time fail to tackle this issue. Most companies that deal with mold perform terrible work due to the fact that they don’t grasp this basic principle. To eliminate the mold, it is necessary to kill the root. What are these companies doing? There are a variety of strategies used, but they’re all ineffective. A majority of businesses begin with the application of biocide. It is normal to find this mentioned on every mold-related protocol. It is not often that the contractor mentions that 95 percent of these biocides don’t kill the spores , and also don’t kill roots. They also have a form of carcinogen that can cause cancer in laboratory animals! Then they apply an encapsulant, which actually is a way of painting the wood. This is a trap, waiting to be released because the paint will create an encapsulation of vapors and then be removed. Because the paint contains poisons within it, it could be a potential hazard in the future, similar to lead paint. It’s also a sure sign during a home inspection that there is an issue because attics usually be painted when there’s the possibility of fire or mold. This technique also leaves the moldy roots in good health as they wait to get moisture. Then there is a range of sanding techniques, including hand sanding, dry ice blasting. The companies who offer these techniques will inform you that they’re taking away the mold’s roots. This is not accurate! The roots of mold can grow in the depths of wood for at about 3/16’s of an inches. If you tried to sand that deep, you could result in roofing damage that is structural. Why do they do this? They take off the pigment layer by using these techniques, and then make the mold appear to disappear while keeping the roots intact and waiting for an opportunity to drink. Sanding firms typically charge an arm and leg to do this because it’s a labor-intensive process. It’s a good strategy for stain removal , but it’s not a permanent way to remove mold.
The Perfect Attic System for removing Mold System:
The best attic mold removal method uses ventilation correction to get rid of the water source. This involves using biocide, which is completely natural, as well as an sporicide that is rated for porous substrates to kill mold. It also works on removing the stains, or eliminating the tome evidence so that future buyers do not become frightened by the appearance of there was a problem with mold. It is important to focus on eliminating the roots and preventing mold from returning. The best method to accomplish this is to fill the the decking boards with non-toxic mineral salt , so that the existing roots soak in the salt and end up dying and the new spores have no chance to start developing. Additionally, you should use an inhibitor inside the insulation to keep dust out of the area that is accumulated from the growth of mold. In addition, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory proved it’s also necessary to utilize gas-out. This is done by filling the room with a reactive gas which can be absorbed into the small spaces of an attic, where mold spores may conceal, and destroy the spores.