Attics, Moisture, and Mold: Part 1

As a Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania roofing company, we often warn our customers about the dangers of having a warm, moist attic in their homes. In this blog series, we’ll discuss the relationship between moisture and mold including how it grows, the parts of your home and lifestyle that contribute to its growth, and what you can do to prevent it.

What We Know About Moisture

Moisture is considered water vapor that is usually found on a surface and frequently occurs in warmer temperatures. Because it’s found in warmer temperatures, warmer air can hold more moisture than cooler air. The warmest area of a home (and therefore the area with the biggest possibility for moisture) is usually the attic, which can provide the perfect environment for mold.

Mold Living Conditions

Mold needs certain environmental factors to live. These include:

• A temperature between 41 degrees and 140 degrees
• Food, which includes the wood in your attic
• Oxygen
• Liquid water (which is often found in wood and wood products)

What You Can Do

While you may be tempted to keep your attic at a temperature above 140 degrees in order to kill any mold growth, our Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania roofing experts don’t recommend this. An attic temperature that high can “bake” your shingles and shorten their lifespan. It can also put stress on your air conditioner and increase your energy bills.

Instead, make sure your attic has a proper ventilation system. Your home should have an equal number of intakes and exhausts so that attic temperatures and moisture can balance out. Intakes should be low on your roof or in your soffit while exhausts should be high on the roof. This ventilation will make sure that warm, dirty air is expelled from your home while cool, clean air is filtered in.