Attic Mold?

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  • pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    Put a new roof on a few years ago and now have an area of mold on the sheeting. I have no idea why. We increased the ventilation from when the old roof was on.

    Anyone recommend a mold remediation company. I think I'd like to blast it off with dry ice or the like.

    Thanks.
     

    BossmanPJ

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 22, 2013
    7,057
    Cecil County
    Also make sure you do not have a bathroom fan blowing on that part of the attic. Found that out the hard way when I moved into my house. Someone vented the fan into the attic directly and it creates mold on one of the sheets of plywood.
     

    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    Make sure the increase in ventilation didn't create a ventilation short circuit.

    Could be. We installed ridge vents where there were none before. We left the attic fan in as it was new. However, the fan is very far away from where the mold has popped up. We do have gable vents in the wall near where the mold is. Maybe the addition of the ridge vent and not closing off the gable vent has caused this problem.

    How can you tell?
     

    Aventus

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Sep 5, 2016
    778
    Put a new roof on a few years ago and now have an area of mold on the sheeting. I have no idea why. We increased the ventilation from when the old roof was on.

    Anyone recommend a mold remediation company. I think I'd like to blast it off with dry ice or the like.

    Thanks.

    STOP, that's the last thing you want to do! You want to contain the mold spores, not disburse them. If you spread the spores, the entire attic may become a problem. For now, put on a respirator first and duct tape plastic over the entire mold area. Once the water problem is resolved, you can focus on the mold but don't wait too long. Most DIYers can handle small mold areas themselves with a little guidance.

    You have a relatively new roof (assuming shingles) and some areas may not have sealed properly. Asphalt shingles have an adhesive strip underneath that get soft during the summer. When the shingles get hot, the adhesive secures everything in place. We had some very high winds this winter and even many roofs in good condition lost shingles. If a new roof didn't totally seal, a few shingles could have easily blown off. Check the yard, bushes and gutters to see if you can find any shingles. If you can visibly inspect the roof from the ground, look for missing shingles. Don't get on a ladder to inspect the roof unless you know what your doing. Many people get seriously injured or die from ladder falls every year!

    If the roof looks good, do you have any missing or poorly installed insulation or insulation penetrations like a non-insulated attic access? Heat and moisture from the home can travel up into the attic through vapor barrier/insulation gaps. Check for proper ventilation but it sounds like this isn't an issue. Poor ventilation would likely cause mold in many areas of the attic. Are there any mechanical (dryer, bath fan, water heaters or furnace) vents going into the attic? If there were, I also doubt mold would be concentrated just to one area.

    Since you recently had a new roof and the mold is concentrated, a good guess is you have a roof leak or ice damming from the winter. Were baffles installed between your rafters to allow ventilation to travel from the soffit to the roof ridge? Without baffles, the roof sheathing can warm up in the winter and ice damming could result. Note, baffles would not typically be part of your roofers work unless they removed and replace the sheathing and it was stated in the contract. Did the roofer install a self sealing water proofing membrane the first 3-4 feet up from the gutter? Is the mold problem a few feet up from the soffit or is it higher up towards the ridge. If the roof sheathing is getting wet higher up the roof, you likely have a leak and it's not an ice damming issue.

    Call your roofer and let them know you suspect their roof may be leaking or ice damming is causing a mold problem. Once you solve the water problem, you can then move on to cleaning up the mold.
     

    dontpanic

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 7, 2013
    6,631
    Timonium
    You only have airflow from the gable to the closest sections of the ridge vent. For a ridge vent to be effective, it requires soffit vents along the entire length of your roof.

    You completely altered the airflow in your attic by adding the ridge vent. And not for the better.
     

    Don H

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 17, 2013
    1,845
    Hazzard County
    You only have airflow from the gable to the closest sections of the ridge vent. For a ridge vent to be effective, it requires soffit vents along the entire length of your roof.

    You completely altered the airflow in your attic by adding the ridge vent. And not for the better.

    This was my thought.
    Soffit vents with insulation baffles allow air flow up and out through the ridge vent.
    Gable or ridge/soffit vents, not both.
     

    Mightydog

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    We looked into getting our 30 year old roof replaced. Issue is that we were told that WE MUST have a ridge vent installed for the warranty to be valid. We currently have soffit and gable vents with a attic fan with thermostat installed in one gable. I do not personally like the ridge vents. Have seen many where they just “peeled” off due to high winds leaving a hole down the center of your roof.
     

    BigSteve57

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 14, 2011
    3,245
    We had a new roof put on in 2010 and had a ridge vent added. We also have gable vents which we never covered.
    We do have soffit vents and baffles. I guess we're not getting the ventilation we ought to however the house faces south and the wind REALLY hits the Western gable vent.
    During the roof job we replaced the plywood near a bathroom exhaust fan that vented to the soffit.
    The fan now vents through the roof.

    We now have absolutely no mold issue AFAIK.

    I'm wondering, in general, what is the process that would enhance mold growth in the case of having a ridge vent and gable vents? :confused:


    EDIT: something MUST be working ventilation-wise because we noticed a marked change in temperature on the 2nd floor in the summer. In other words that attic is cooler. Or maybe the shingles themselves are insulating/reflecting heat?


    EDIT2: shingles are black, so were the originals.
     

    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    Thanks Adventas and everyone.

    Whatever I do it is going to be hiring someone but thanks for being concerned.

    All the mold is concentrated in one section of the attic. We have a really big attic with three Gable vents, two of which are near a power attic fan. One, where mold is, is pretty far away. All the soffits are clear, with baffeling, and show sunlight. The mold appears to originate near the one Gable vent, up the wall and then along the roof sheeting. As you move further toward the power vent just some spotted nail holes show a little back around the nails. I've ruled out leaking. It's a ventilation problem. The roofing manufacturer of the ridge vent and shingles states Gable vents should be covered if installing a ridge vent. Why the roofer didn't mention it is perplexing. They are a good company with good people. Before installing the shingles, the owner and I went into the attic and made sure the soffits we're clear. We did a full inspection but never talked about the Gable vents. I didn't know anything about them vs. a ridge vent.

    I think the one Gable vent is causing a disruption in the airflow from the soffits to the ridge vent. With the other Gable vents being so close to the power fan the fan was able take over and ventilate the area that didn't get mold.

    I do need to do this one step at a time and am hoping the roofer admits his mistake but he is going to want to try and do the remediation and I don't think that would be a good idea. I hate these types of confrontations.
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    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    Also we have a radon fan that exits at that Gable vent so that would have to be moved somehow.
     

    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    After I typed that last part I beelined it to the radon pipe. It was leaning on the Gable vent not through it. So all that basement cold air was hitting the warm air in the attic and creating the problem.
     

    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    Roofer thinks I should get a suit a mask and plastic to cover the insulation. Then use a spray mix to kill the mold. Then spray on a stain remover after it is dried up
     

    squirrels

    Who cooks for you?
    Jan 25, 2008
    4,021
    MMR. https://www.fastmoldremoval.com/product/mmr-mold-stain-remover/

    It's essentially highly-concentrated Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) with proprietary surfacants to penetrate into the material. Some mold remediation companies use it.

    When you see the video claims, you will think, "no way it works that well". But it does exactly what they claim it does.

    Make sure you eliminate the source of moisture...or mold WILL come back.
     

    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    MMR. https://www.fastmoldremoval.com/product/mmr-mold-stain-remover/

    It's essentially highly-concentrated Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) with proprietary surfacants to penetrate into the material. Some mold remediation companies use it.

    When you see the video claims, you will think, "no way it works that well". But it does exactly what they claim it does.

    Make sure you eliminate the source of moisture...or mold WILL come back.
    Thanks. Yes the source is being fixed as I type this.
     

    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    So I've been warned by a lot of people that mold remediation companies will pray on your fears of mold and tell you that you need things you don't. I'm thinking of suiting up and spraying the mold with one of the many commercial mold killing sprays and stain remover if necessary. Then monitoring the area to make sure it doesn't come back.
     

    Don H

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 17, 2013
    1,845
    Hazzard County
    MMR. https://www.fastmoldremoval.com/product/mmr-mold-stain-remover/

    It's essentially highly-concentrated Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) with proprietary surfacants to penetrate into the material. Some mold remediation companies use it.

    When you see the video claims, you will think, "no way it works that well". But it does exactly what they claim it does.

    Make sure you eliminate the source of moisture...or mold WILL come back.

    Those proprietary surfactants would be a touch of dishwashing liquid. This breaks the surface tension of the water and allow penetration into porous materials such as wood.

    Your Radon fan pulls lots of cold damp air from below your concrete basement floor. It's suppose to exit outside and above the roofline. This is the source of the moisture needed for mold to grow. The radon pipe should go straight through the roof, and if you can eliminate a few elbows along the way all the better.

    Suggest you cover the gable vents, punch the radon vent through the roof (there a special caps for the pipe to prevent rain from going down the pipe) and use a solution of bleach and water (1 cup bleach in 1 gal. of water) to treat mold.

    Spray a fine mist with a bug sprayer directly on mold. This may take a few treatments. I've had to scrub mold with a brush to get it off. There are commercial treatments you can buy but I find bleach does the job.
     

    pilot25

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 13, 2016
    1,822
    The radon pipe should go straight through the roof, and if you can eliminate a few elbows along the way all the better.

    Thank you. It was done today with a couple 45 degree bends that were unavoidable.
     

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