Is Poor Drainage on Your Roof Causing Mold in Your Home?
If the mold in your attic is due to poor drainage on your roof, what can you do to change it? First, it is important to understand what happens to your roof when it rains. As the rain falls, the water should run down your roof, collect in your gutters, and be funneled away from your house by the gutter system. When this is done properly, both your roof and your foundation are protected from water damage. However, if the rain water is not able to drain properly through the gutters it can build up until it's too heavy for the roof. When this happens the water can then get under the roof's coating and damage the roof's surface and underlying materials. This sequence of water pooling up and then soaking through can lead to attic leaks and eventually attic mold.
An important step in stopping mold growth in your attic is to make sure your gutters are in good working order. There are a number of options when it comes to getting your gutters to be clear of debris so that water can funnel properly. The most common method is gutter cleaning. Although the concept behind this is very simple the actual execution of this can be difficult. Usually a ladder needs to be leaned against the house. The ladder needs to be tall enough to reach the gutters. A person must then climb the ladder and manually remove the debris from the gutters. The ladder must be moved often and the constant moving up and down the ladder can become very tedious. For this reason, many people who can afford to, hire someone for this job. Unfortunately, this is not a one-time solution to the gutter issue. Most experts suggest gutters be cleaned out twice a year, once in the late spring and once in the fall. Some even go so far as to say depending on your foliage (for example if you have a good number of pine trees) you should consider cleaning them three times a year.
An alternative to cleaning is having gutters with built in guards placed on your home so that water can enter but leaves and other debris cannot. This type of gutter has been around for a long time and different models have met with different levels of affordability and success. The main issue with this solution is you need to have your current gutters removed and these gutters installed. This option can turn out to be very pricey, especially if you have a large roofline.
There are companies that can add a guard to your current gutter system that will make your gutters maintenance-free and self-cleaning, like Cowleys! There are a number of models on the market, but RainDrop Gutter Guards are very highly rated and give the homeowner the option of using their existing gutters or having new ones installed.
When your roof and underlying materials are no longer being soaked, you can address your mold problem properly. When dealing with mold, getting to the route of the reason mold is able to grow will not only make mold removal easier, but it will help to make sure it doesn’t return.
