09 Aug It’s Time to Clean Up Your Attic and Crawl Space

What shape is your attic in? When’s the last time you looked in your crawlspace? If you can’t answer those questions your insulation might be in trouble. Here’s why – rodents, birds, water, and even the effects of time can cause your insulation to become compact, torn apart, wet, or otherwise unable to do its job. A cluttered attic or uninspected crawlspace could be the perfect place for one of these things to happen and go unnoticed for years.

Let’s look at the first issue, rodent or bird infestation. If you have rodents, they will chew at your insulation to create a nesting area. They will also leave droppings and urine throughout your space. If they are there for long enough they can start chewing through electrical wires and traveling in your air vents. If this happens it can lead to dangers including fires and airborne disease. Birds aren’t quite as bad, but they will tear at your insulation for bedding or nesting material. If you are already seeing the signs of this type of infestation, it’s probably worse than you think. Calling in a professional to clean out your attic and crawlspace can eliminate the problem at its source. Then your insulation can be replaced and your home brought back up to a higher efficiency.

If you have a leak in your roof or a ripped vapor barrier in your crawlspace, your insulation might be absorbing water. Wet insulation does not work. It simply becomes a nasty mess that needs to be cleaned out. Since most insulation is made of fiberglass, it can be extremely uncomfortable to work with. Hiring a professional with the ability to take the damaged insulation out without having to track it through your home can keep you from having residual fiberglass in your home. Professionals will bag up the insulation in your attic or vacuum it out directly into their truck so it never gets into your living space.

Once your spaces are clean you’ll want to keep them that way. That means sealing up all of the holes that pests get in through or any of the leaks that are making it into your home. Make sure your attic clean-up service fixes vent screens, windows and any holes in structure. And, if they are working in your crawl space, make sure that your vapor barrier is complete and there are no holes or areas that could allow critters to get in.