Ways Mold Can Grow in Your Attic

You’re pretty diligent when it comes to the state of your home. You clean out your refrigerator every week and wipe down all your surfaces. You squeegee your shower after every use to avoid steaks, mildew, and potential mold growth. (All of this in a perfect world, when there are no distractions and nothing binge-worthy on Netflix, right?) But how often do you go up to your attic? That’s more than likely no-man’s land, a house-wide equivalent to a storage closet that you pray no guest will ever open, thinking it’s the bathroom. However, your attic should be more top of mind when you’re reviewing your housekeeping checklist. Here are 3 ways mold can grow in your attic:

1.    Roof Leaks

The first and foremost thing you need to know about mold is that it (typically) requires a habitat that is both warm and moist in order to grow. There’s no running water in your attic, so no need to worry about moisture, right? That would be true if you didn’t have to worry about leaks in your roof.

Even the slightest crack can bring in enough moisture to nurture mold growth. And if you’re not actively keeping tabs on your attic and shooing the ghosts away, you’d be none the wiser and wondering absently why you’re so sniffly and itchy all of a sudden.

2.    Unattended Storage Items

You might be thinking, “OK, so there’s a little mold growth between my roof and my attic. That’s no close enough to me to impact me inside my home.” Well, one: Thanks to your (hopefully) flawless ventilation system, the vapors from the mold in your attic can and will access you in your home. It’s possible that you’re breathing the toxic fumes right now. Have you been feeling a little itchy lately?

Besides the insulation and wooden structure immediately surrounding the leak in your roof, your storage items can become fast victims of mold. As water leaks into your storage boxes, likely made of cardboard, mold creates a little nest in your well-loved but poorly-attended belongings.

3.    Water Damage

If you’re seeing signs of water damage in your ceiling—as in, the bottom of attic floor—then it’s too late: The killer is calling from inside the house. If you’re seeing signs of water damage, then there is certainly mold lurking nearby.

Water damage in your ceiling means that the water leaks in your ceiling are worse than you thought. The water dripped down into the floorboard and soaked through. The worse the water damage is, the worse the mold growth will be. The two nearly interchangeably interlinked.

It’s Time to Call a Professional

If you’re seeing signs of mold growth, it’s really important that you do not try to remove or remediate it on your own. For one thing, breathing the fumes up close can be hazardous to your health. For two, any cleaning solution you may concoct can have negative impacts on your respiratory system. It’s a lose-lose situation. Better to call a licensed mold remediation specialist from RestoPros.