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While mold spores are
all around us - indoor and out - mold growth can be prevented. Mold
growing in your home requires Moisture, Warmth, and
Food. Depriving mold of any of these ingredients will stop it from
growing, but it will not kill the mold that is already there.
Mold spores will remain dormant, and if moisture, warmth and food are
reintroduced, mold will begin to grow again.
The most important
steps in controlling mold growth are to clean away existing mold and to
eliminate excessive moisture. Vacuum and clean regularly to remove
possible sources for mold growth. Pay special attention to bathrooms
and other areas of your home likely to generate a lot of moisture.
Attic Ventilation
“Free Flowing” Attic
Ventilation is the avenue of escape for moisture and excessive heat. Trapped
humidity creates a breeding ground for mold. This contributes to
the deterioration of the roof structure and reduces the R rating of
insulation by 30% or more. Proper ventilation draws external air up
through soffit vents beneath the eaves and out through ridge vents-gable
vents. The goal is to achieve a “Balanced Air Flow” where attic
temperatures and moisture content are identical to outside air. It is a
mistake to think attic air should be warm and therefore part of the home
insulation process. Good insulation is the thermal barrier that traps
heat in living areas, not in your attic.
Thermal Blanket
CREATING THE “THERMAL WALL.”
To help insulate homes for energy efficiency and keep wall cavities
drier, it is better to cover the entire home with some insulation than
to use high insulation levels in some areas and no insulation in others.
Overall coverage is more important than thickness. Since wood framing
causes thermal shorts through about 25% of the wall area, non-insulating
sheathing leaves about 25% of the wall un-insulated. No matter how good
the fibrous insulation product is, it is only being used between the
studs. Kil-N-Dri Venti-Board Insulation can be applied to cover the
studs and all the framing members, literally wrapping the house in a
“thermal blanket,” reducing heat and cooling loss in all parts of the
wall, not just the stud cavities. The Kil-N-Dri Venti-Board replaces
plastic house wrap and felts that trap moisture behind siding, stucco
and brick, creating a sidewall ventilation that allows moisture from
inside the home an avenue of escape into soffits and ventilated attics,
creating longer-lasting, healthier homes.
Soffit Ventilation
Soffit Ventilation is a
critical link creating a free flow of fresh outside air around the full
perimeter of eaves and overhangs allowing the humidity from the crawl
space and the sidewalls and avenue of escape up and out the attic
ventilation. At least 1/3 of the soffit area should have ventilators
and “tunnels” or “baffles” above the insulation.
Crawl Space
The Crawl Space is the Number
One source of all the mold growing components – moisture, warmth and
food – for mold, mildew and dry rot to exist. The constant existence of
GEO Thermal Heat (averaging 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit year round) and
high water tables (5 to 7 gallons of water a day) generates a vapor
which saturates the untreated floor joists, rim joists, sub-floors,
carpets and pads. Plastic vapor barriers should be applied to all stem
walls and ground areas, taped as tight as possible. Automatic
foundation vents should be installed to allow a free flow of fresh air
through the crawl space at all times. There should be R-19 open face
batts on all outside stem walls – most especially the rim joist between
the floor joists. In extreme conditions, a small exhaust fan controlled
by a humidistat will control the air in the crawl space to be as dry as
the outside.
There are many things
that generate indoor moisture. Normal perspiration and breathing of a
family of four adds about one-half pint of water to the air every hour.
Cooking three meals a day adds four or five pints of water to the air.
Each shower contributes one-half pint. In fact, every activity that
uses water (dish washing, mopping floors, doing laundry, etc.) adds
moisture to the air. The truth is, daily living activities of a family
of four can add more than 18 gallons of water a week into the air in
their home.
Bathroom, utility, spa and kitchen fans should be vented to the outside,
not to the attic. Clothes dryers should always be vented to the outside
using rigid materials and exhausted away from foundation or soffit
vents. |
