Is Your Roof Insulation Making Your Attic Smell Bad?
Sometimes, nasty smells linger around an attic hatch. If you have parts of an HVAC system in the attic, then it might spread the smell around your home.
If you notice nasty smells coming from your attic, then you might have an insulation problem. Why might your insulation be at fault, and what should you do about it?
You Have Old Insulation
If your insulation has been down for years, then it might not be in a good state. It might have years of dust trapped inside it. If the material has started to degrade, then some of it might have broken down into a dusty residue.
If your attic smells dusty, then you might need to replace your current insulation. A new install will fix the smell and prevent dust from spreading through your home.
You Have Pest Problems
Pests like to live in roof spaces and attics. These spaces are quiet, sheltered and safe. Plus, if you have a soft insulation material, then they have a perfect place to live and breed.
The longer pests stay in your attic, the more likely it is that your insulation will start to smell. For example, rodents have their own smells, which spread around through contact. They also use your insulation as a toilet. Their urine and faeces smell sharp and acrid. These smells get worse as they dry into insulation materials.
Plus, if a rodent dies in your attic, then you will get a rank, rotting smell in the space. While this smell dissipates over time as the body decomposes, body fluids will embed in your insulation if the rodent dies in it. This smell will never really go away.
Even if you've already called out a pest removal service, you won't fix the problem. Your insulation is now tainted. As well as smelling bad, pest urine and faeces spread bacteria and viruses, which are harmful to humans. So, you need to remove your insulation and replace it.
If you've already dealt with your pest problem, you should call out a professional insulation removals contractor for this job. You don't want to be handling contaminated materials that could make you ill.
If you still have pests in the space, then your insulation removal contractor and pest control service can help you decide the best time to take out the insulation. Once your pest control service has eradicated the pests and secured the space to keep them out in the future, your insulation contractor can put down fresh insulation.
You Have Water Problems
If water gets into your attic, then it can get into some insulation materials. For example, a leak in your roof or excessive condensation will fall down on your insulation and make it wet. While this water won't necessarily make your insulation smell too bad, wet or damp insulation can cause other problems in the space, which create stronger smells.
For example, constantly wet insulation might encourage dampness on some surfaces. Your attic will smell musty and damp. Mildew and mould can also grow on wet insulation and spread to places that the insulation has made damp. As these growths spread, your attic will smell mouldy, earthy or musty.
If your insulation can't cope with water damage, then you should remove it. It probably isn't fit for purpose anymore.
Then, you need to tackle the underlying problem to make your attic watertight. Fix roof leaks and install venting to fix serious condensation problems. You should also clean and treat mildew or mould growth. Once you've sorted these problems, you can put down new insulation.
If your attic smells bad, then call out the experts at Insulation Removals. We can check if your insulation is causing the problem or adding to it. We can them remove old insulation and replace it with new materials to help solve the problem.
