How Wet Insulation Can Affect Your Home?

Hurricane Ida came crashing up Louisiana as an unwelcome guest on Sunday, August 29 leaving a path of destruction as it continued to travel North. It even sidestepped on its journey and moved closer to New Orleans and stayed put hammering the area for a much more prolonged period than anyone wanted.  A real unwelcome guest that just wouldn’t leave.  The people of New Orleans are well aware of how this day affected them 16 years ago when Hurricane Katrina tore through the area. Both Katrina and Ida ripped through homes and left others flooded or without roofs. Ida left over a million people stranded without power for weeks. Due to the late change in the storm track, many people stuck around to ride out the storm, relying on generators to keep their homes cool. While others did not have access to generators and those that did were in short supply of gas. That weekend temperatures remained in the 90’s and brought thick humidity along with it.

Proper insulation in a home provides a comfortable, cool environment in this hot and humid climate. Homes located in this humid climate require a high R-value of R38 to keep homes well-insulated. While a proper insulated home can keep humidity levels down and your home cool, moisture can cause insulation to lose up to 40% of its thermal protection. This can turn your well-conditioned home into a hot box. After a storm like this, even if you don’t notice damage from afar, it is important to evaluate your whole house for any signs of damage. If your home has roof damage, then that means there is damage to your insulation as well.

It Can Cause Wood Rot and Mold

Wet and saturated insulation is no longer effective and creates an inefficiency in your home. If your insulation is wet from roof damage then it must be removed and replaced. Having damp insulation can be detrimental to the structure of your building and overtime the trapped moisture will start to eat away at the decking and will continue to work towards the exterior of your building. Elevated amounts of moisture will lead to wood rot and mold in your attic and the possibility of your roof collapsing. Fiberglass insulation is made up of water and microfibers of glass, that means when it gets wet, it does not absorb it. Picture hundreds of wet towels in your attic, over time those towels get moldy and add a lot of weight on your ceiling. Essentially when insulation gets wet it works the same way.

Creates Poor Air Quality

A good portion of our time is spent in our home relaxing, and enjoying time with our family. Especially at times when our overall health is so important, we want our homes to be as efficient and comfortable as possible. That being said, air quality is especially important. When the insulation in your attic is wet, it creates mold and bacteria to grow, allowing it to flow through your home. The longer wet insulation sits, the higher the risk for poor air quality. 

We’re All In This Together

Hurricane season is an especially stressful time, and it is important that we stay prepared especially in the months of August and September. Together we are strong and will do what it takes to protect our families and our homes. It is crucial to be proactive and make the necessary repairs to extend the life of our homes and keep our loved ones healthy. 

To learn more about the possible risks of wet insulation and to take the next step, give us a call today to schedule a FREE home evaluation.