Adequate Attic Ventilation Can Reduce Your Home’s Risk of Winter Damage

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You may not know it, but a lack of attic ventilation could be putting your home at risk of all kinds of damage. Namely, damage from increased moisture compromises the building’s structure without an effective attic ventilation system in place.

Further damage may result from mold growth and ice dams. Learn how attic ventilation improves conditions within the home.

Moisture and mold

During the heating season, moisture control is essential. Moisture in the attic not only leads to damage to the wood structure, causing wood rot, but it eventually leads to the growth of mold in the space, a hazard to home occupants’ health and the health of the attic. Here’s how moisture develops in the attic:

  • When warm, humid air from the interior of the home is able to access the attic, the warmer air condenses when it meets the cooler attic walls and other spaces.
  • This warm air holds more moisture than the cooler air around it, which is released as water vapor and then accesses the dryer, porous wood in the attic.
  • Without ventilation, this condensation builds up, eventually rotting wood, compromising the sub-roof, causing exterior paint to peel and more.

Ice dams

Ice dams are another concern that results from lack of ventilation. Without a means to move heated air out of the space, the attic’s temperature becomes uneven. The much warmer temperatures at the peak of the roof allow snow and ice that form there to melt, which refreezes once it reaches the cooler temperatures at the edges of the roof. This dam of ice causes any water that’s trickling down the roof to back up, penetrating beneath the shingles and possibly resulting in moisture damage to the home, mold problems and more.

During the winter season, effective attic ventilation prevents moisture problems and heat buildup that leads to ice dams. An added perk: It prevents heat buildup in summer that greatly increases energy costs. Schedule a free home consultation with the experts at Apollo Home Heating, Cooling and Plumbing to find out if your attic ventilation requires an upgrade. We’ve served homeowners in greater Cincinnati since 1910.

Image via Shutterstock.com

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