DIY Mold Inspection Part 3 Attics & Garages DONE...multiple times. I’ve also assisted in writing home inspection laws and mold legislation, as well as provided seminar training for

Please share IndoorAir.com with people you care aboutPage 2

Table of Contents

Why trust the author? .................................................... 3

Preface ........................................................................... 4

Sharing this book ........................................................... 9

The book series ............................................................ 10

Garage inspection ........................................................ 13

Wallboard walls ..................................................................... 14

Oriented strand board walls ................................................. 18

Masonry walls ....................................................................... 20

Garage vents that cause mold .............................................. 20

Overhead door mold ............................................................. 22

Trash cans ............................................................................. 22

Attic inspection ............................................................ 23

Attic access ............................................................................ 24

Roof leakage .......................................................................... 29

Attic venting .......................................................................... 30

Appliance venting .................................................................. 33

Air leakage ............................................................................. 34

Vermin ................................................................................... 39

Helping others .............................................................. 42

© Copyright 2017 Indoor Air LLC, All Rights Reserved


Throughout my career, I’ve helped doctors discover causes for their

patients’ unexplained symptoms, and helped lawyers prevail in court cases

by testifying for clients who suffered physically and financially as a result of

real‐estate transactions, contractors, and insurance companies.

As an indoor environmental inspector, I have diagnosed thousands of

residential homes, condominiums, and apartment buildings, as well as

historic landmarks and commercial buildings such as churches, restaurants,

schools, universities, medical facilities, police and fire departments, and

shopping malls.

I’ve been interviewed by newspaper reporters and featured on television

multiple times. I’ve also assisted in writing home inspection laws and mold

legislation, as well as provided seminar training for housing authorities,

health professionals, building inspectors, real‐estate agents, insurance

adjusters, landlords, attorneys, builders, mold remediators, and a variety of

professional service contractors whose businesses are related to indoor

environments.

Why trust the author?

My name is Dan Schilling, and I have

spent over 30 years performing

unbiased building investigations and

teaching clients about conditions that

cause and contribute to health issues,

waste money, and depreciate

property value.


Through my investigative work, I discovered many of the causes of the

skyrocketing numbers of people suffering from symptoms such as

tiredness, fatigue, headaches, behavioral problems, lack of concentration,

learning disabilities, memory loss, snoring, ear and sinus infections, eye and

throat irritation, chemical sensitivities, chronic sneezing and coughs,

allergies, and asthma.

With so many experiencing the negative and even dangerous effects of

poor indoor air quality in their homes, schools, and workplaces, I felt called

to share my discoveries and helpful information through economical,

accessible books, which cost far less than an onsite inspection and are

aimed at non‐professionals.

The books, with related inspection photographs included, are helping

people discover and understand the consequences of unhealthy indoor

environments as well as fix the problems in their own indoor spaces. The

information in the books also helps protect people from unscrupulous

contractors, real‐estate professionals, insurance companies, and those

purporting to be air quality experts.

I hope that you too will benefit from the information in my books as you

take steps to make your indoor environment safer and healthier to live in.

Preface

As a building inspector, I never intended to work in—or write about—the

field of indoor environmental health. My work requires compassion for

people, the drive of a scientist in search of truth, and knowledge not


necessarily taught in a classroom. Thirty years after I started my career, I’ve

published this book about my discoveries and insights to help people live

healthier lives.

After a decade of investigating residential and commercial buildings, I felt

compelled to begin to explore indoor environmental health issues, because

I believed that so many of the defects I was discovering in buildings were

contributing to illnesses experienced by my clients and their families. Many

were either suffering related to indoor air or using over‐the‐counter and

prescription drugs to cope. Some of these building defects were due to lack

of maintenance; others were caused by contractors who either cut corners

or didn’t realize the consequences of their own work.

My own journey began when my furnace broke down in the middle of the

night during the winter of 1998. I knew what was wrong with it, so I called

a heating contractor friend who met me at his shop to give me the repair

part I urgently needed. While there, I noticed some strange‐looking objects

sitting on a shelf; they were about the size of a toaster and looked like

stereo speakers. When I asked him what they were, he told me they were

air purifiers that he was selling through his business. He then asked me to

take one home, try it, and let him know my thoughts.

Within 15 minutes of turning the unit on in my home, I noticed an

improvement in the indoor air quality. I called him the next day and told

him he was not getting the air purifier back! And I knew I wanted to learn

more about how they worked and offer them to my inspection clients.

After receiving my first shipment, I created a brochure that listed the

known symptoms related to indoor air quality. When I gave them to my

clients and asked if they or someone in their family suffered from any of


the listed symptoms, in virtually every instance the answer was yes. Often

they suffered from multiple symptoms, and in some instances clients told

me their family members experienced all of the symptoms on the list.

My inspection clients started purchasing the air purifiers, and the feedback

I received was astounding. People were telling me that their allergies had

gone away, that they had stopped taking asthma medications, that their

headaches were gone, that they could sleep again, that their snoring had

stopped, that their houses no longer smelled like smoke, pets, or mold. The

list went on and on.

As an inspector, hearing these testimonies made me more curious. Humans

have been breathing air since creation. Why would we suddenly—over the

last few decades—have so many health issues and breathing disorders?

Why did allergy and asthma doctors have long waiting lists? Why were drug

companies manufacturing billions of dollars’ worth of over‐the‐counter and

prescription drugs to help alleviate symptoms for something as routine as

breathing?

As amazing as the air purification systems appeared to be, I felt I had to

know what was making indoor air so unhealthy in the first place.

I began to do some research and uncovered some basic reasons, but

quickly realized that indoor air quality issues are complex. So I set out to

discover other contributing factors with the understanding that indoor air

is like vegetable soup—all the ingredients collectively contribute to the

final product. In order to determine the correct solutions for my clients, I

needed to find out more about the root causes.

What was most interesting to me was that virtually all of the contributing

factors I discovered in homes and commercial buildings were combinations


of construction errors and mechanical system defects that occupants did

not know existed, and things occupants were doing that were unknowingly

adding pollutants to their indoor air.

I also noticed a correlation between the increasing number of people

suffering from such ailments as allergies, asthma, and headaches, as well as

learning disabilities and memory loss, and the energy‐saving improvements

people began making to their homes and buildings in the 1970s. And I

believe that the overall number of people suffering from these symptoms

has grown exponentially worse as we’ve made our homes and buildings

more energy efficient.

Everything began to make sense when I connected the dots between my

building inspection knowledge, the indoor air quality problems, and the

health issues people were experiencing. The more I discovered during my

investigative work, the more I realized I had to provide people with the

help they needed to resolve their air quality–related health problems.

As my business focus changed from general building inspections to indoor

environmental inspections, people started spreading the word, and my

client base also changed. I began to work almost exclusively with people

who were already sick or who had justified reasons to believe that they had

indoor environmental conditions that could affect their health or the value

of their homes or businesses.

Since then, private and municipal building inspectors, attorneys, building

contractors, government health departments, holistic practitioners, and

medical doctors have all referred people to my investigation services.

I expanded my indoor environmental work across the United States,

discovering and teaching people the causes of their air quality–related


health problems, showing them how to safely eliminate those problems

and prevent recurrence, and explaining air‐purification strategies to help

control contributing factors that none of us can eliminate from our indoor

environments.

After working with people nationwide, I realized how extensive indoor

environmental problems had become, whether the outdoor climate was

Arizona’s or Alaska’s. With every reason to believe that the problems

existed inside homes and buildings throughout the world, I knew this

information had to be shared with others, and hopefully taught in schools

and universities.

I began conducting seminars and discovered that many of the attendees,

including building inspectors, contractors, doctors, lawyers, and insurance

adjusters, wanted more instructional training to help them either do this

type of work themselves or become more knowledgeable in their own field

of work. As I tried to organize the information for these training seminars, I

became overwhelmed and wanted to make it available in an easily

accessible manner to all people, not just professionals.

To help as many people as possible, I decided to create a series of

affordable, user‐friendly ebooks containing practical how‐to information

with real‐life examples, illustrations, and photographs.

And so began years of writing and archiving photos while also trying to

meet my professional obligations to clients who urgently needed help.

Writing these books was more work than I ever imagined, but it was

justified by knowing that they are helping protect people from illness and

disease, as well as save them money in energy costs, protect them from

being conned, and help them maintain their property values.


Sharing this book

If you’re reading this book, you’ve likely already read the book Six Steps to

Healthy Indoor Air. If not, please download a free copy at IndoorAir.com.

The book is packed with valuable information and available as a free gift to

help you begin understanding indoor air quality issues and solutions.

IndoorAir.com offers a collection of educational books derived from

decades of home and building investigations. The books are a resource for

people who care about the safety and health of their families and pets as

well as saving energy and protecting the value of their homes. They also

help protect you from being scammed by contractors, home sellers,

landlords, insurance companies, mold remediation companies, and those

purporting to be air quality experts.

All the books contain copyrighted and trademarked material. Please do not

distribute them illegally, but please do share the IndoorAir.com link via

email or social media to help others get started with their free and sharable

copy of Six Steps to Healthy Indoor Air.

Sharing the link helps those who suffer from allergies, asthma, headaches,

sleeping problems, learning disabilities, or other health issues, and helps

me save on advertising costs, which will keep all the books affordable for

everyone.


The book series

There are over 100 different locations around homes where mold

commonly grows. Most often occupants have no idea how much mold is

actively growing in their homes because they do not know where to find it

or how to see it.

The Do‐It‐Yourself Mold Inspection book series explains how and why mold

grows indoors, and shows you all of the hidden places you should inspect

for mold growth in your home.


The book series includes the following titles:

Part One Know Your Enemy

Part Two Hidden Moisture Sources

Part Three Attics & Garages

Part Four Kitchens & Bathrooms

Part Five Walls, Windows, & Doors

Part Six Carpet, Wood, Vinyl, & Tile

Part Seven Plumbing & Electrical

Part Eight Heating & Cooling

Part Nine Basements & Crawl Spaces

Part Ten Furniture & Personal Items

The table of contents for each book is viewable at IndoorAir.com.

This book is Part Three: Attics & Garages, and, like all the other remaining

books in the series, should only be read after you have read Part One:

Know Your Enemy and Part Two: Hidden Moisture Sources. Those two

books are critical to understanding parts three through ten.

Know Your Enemy explains how to make mold visible and familiarizes you

with all the nuances of mold growth to help you better understand mold

inspection. Hidden Moisture Sources explains all of the sources of moisture

that originate outdoors and indoors that initiate mold contamination

problems in indoor environments. After reading these two books, the

remainder of the series will be more understandable.


When inspecting your home for mold, you are certain to discover multiple

areas of it that you were entirely unaware of. To learn the correct methods

of contending with indoor mold problems, I recommend reading the book

Do‐It‐Yourself Mold Cleaning & Prevention from IndoorAir.com.

This book will teach you mistakes to avoid so you don’t make matters

worse by spreading mold, as well as precautions to be aware of in the

event you need to hire a mold cleaning company.


Garage inspection

An exterior inspection of a home includes walking through the garage. Like

the inside of a house, there are a number of places where mold can be

found growing in garages, and for various reasons.

Many garages have gypsum wallboard on the walls and ceilings, also known

as Sheetrock or drywall. The paper surface on wallboard comes preloaded

with mold spores right from the store because it is hygroscopic, which

means it can absorb moisture vapor directly out of the air. All that is

required for mold spores to germinate within the wallboard is for it to be

placed in a damp or wet environment, such as a garage.

Many garage walls are also covered with sheets of oriented strand board

(OSB). OSB is also used as sheathing behind exterior siding, and thus is

often exposed and visible from the inside of the garage. OSB sheets are less

expensive than plywood and have therefore been commonly used during

construction over the last few decades.

Similar to gypsum wallboard, OSB also comes preloaded with mold spores.

OSB products consist of man‐made lumber manufactured with chips and

strands of wood that were formerly considered waste during the milling

process. As a recycling effort, the wood scraps are now mixed with

adhesive resin and pressed together into sheets. Unfortunately, however,

these scraps of wood and bark are very hygroscopic and susceptible to

decay, and like wallboard they can absorb moisture vapor directly out of

the air. The mold spores within OSB products will germinate when exposed

to humidity or water.


When mold is growing on these wall‐covering materials in garages, people

can be exposed to it repeatedly as they pass through the space. In addition,

the spores from mold growth on the materials can enter homes each time

the door between a garage and a house is opened. This occurs because

warm air will rush in and out of houses at the top of the door while cold air

rushes in and out at the bottom of the door at the very moment the door is

opened.

Below I will show you examples of mold growth on both wallboard and OSB

in garages.

Wallboard walls

Mold growth on wallboard is most common when the wallboard has no

paint coating, because paint tends to seal the wallboard and help reduce its

absorption of moisture from the air. In most garages wallboard is not

painted—but note that a coat of paint is not a guarantee against mold

germination.

Ambient humidity in outdoor air is enough to cause mold to germinate on

wallboard, and the humidity in a garage can be even higher due to

automobile activity. In Part Two: Hidden Moisture Sources I showed you a

photo of moisture vapor coming out of the tailpipes of automobiles. When

an automobile is started it produces a burst of moisture that lingers in a

garage even after people leave their homes and close their garage doors.

In cold climate areas, moisture from the air inside a house can also add to

the humidity in the garage. When a door between the two is opened, warm

moisture‐laden air exits the house through the top of the door to replace


the cold air that rushes in at the bottom of the door. The warm moisture

rises up to the ceiling and can cause mold to germinate and subtly grow

directly above the door.

Mold that germinates on wallboard due to humidity is most commonly

white or amber in color, making it very difficult to see, so look carefully.

The white ceiling in the photo on the left is covered with a fine layer of

white mold that the homeowner did not know was there. Similarly, the

amber‐colored ceiling on the right is covered with amber‐colored mold that

is barely visible in the photo.

Distinctly visible mold can also grow in garages, however, due to water

incursions from roof, plumbing, and siding leaks.


The photos above show examples of visible mold growth due to a plumbing

leak and a roof leak.

This photo shows mold growth on the garage ceiling due to a second story

siding leak at the bottom flashing. The wall with the water stains abuts the

occupied area of the house, which means it is an insulated wall and likely

has a significant amount of hidden mold growth inside it.


Garage windows are often lower quality than house windows and

frequently have no storm windows or caulk sealant on them. This condition

can allow water to enter a wall and then cause mold to grow on the wall

and/or inside the wall cavity. If the wall cavity is insulated, the likelihood of

mold growth inside it is increased.

Wallboard is never supposed to be in direct contact with concrete, as it can

absorb moisture directly out of damp concrete as well as liquid water that


runs off of wet or snow covered automobiles, both of which cause the mold

spores in the paper facing to germinate and spread.

Oriented strand board walls

The photo above shows garage walls that are covered with OSB. Like

wallboard, OSB is also not supposed to have direct contact with damp

concrete because it can absorb moisture from the concrete and then grow

mold.


Due to the variety of colors of the wood scraps used in OSB products, mold

growth on its surfaces can be very difficult to see, yet the mold can cover

vast amounts of surface area and can introduce amplified levels of mold

spores into the air that can result in illness. The photo above shows a close‐

up of a very small area of OSB with mold growth on it. I enhanced this

photo to make the mold more visible for you.


Masonry walls

Concrete walls in garages are cold surfaces and therefore attract moisture,

as well as dust particles. Together they provide the food and water

necessary for mold germination and growth.

Garage vents that cause mold


The photos above show examples of two common venting mistakes made

in garages. The photo on the left above shows a clothes dryer exhaust vent

emitting moisture into a garage. The moisture was forming invisible

condensation on the walls, ceiling, and OSB sheathing behind the exterior

siding, which was then causing mold to germinate and grow on all of those

materials.

The photo on the right shows a similar situation where an air register from

a house furnace is installed in a garage. Prior to concerns over energy

conservation this used to be a common practice in homes to supply

moderate heat to the garage. However, building code did not allow air

return registers to be installed in garages (and rightly so) due to the

potential for carbon monoxide from automobiles to enter a home through

them.

What was not considered was that this arrangement essentially makes the

supply register an exhaust fan that depressurizes the interior of the house

resulting in negative indoor air pressure every time the furnace or air

conditioner runs. Negative indoor air pressure, due to any cause, has its

own long list of consequences, which is why I encourage you to read the

book How Indoor Air Pressure Can Make You Sick.

The other issue that was not taken into consideration was the humidity in

the air coming out of the air supply register, which condenses on garage

walls, germinates, and spreads mold.


Overhead door mold

A garage door is often the coldest surface in a garage. Because of this,

moisture vapor in garage air will migrate to the garage door, which then

causes dust particles to stick to it, which then results in mold germination

and growth.

Trash cans

Most garbage contains food for mold, and when mold is inside a trash can,

it can grow 24 hours a day. Thus, when a person drops a new bag of trash


inside the can, they are instantly and acutely exposed to countless mold

spores that are simultaneously pushed up and out of the can. They might

have an immediate reaction to the mold, but most symptoms are

experienced shortly after walking away from the trash can, which can make

it hard to identify exposure to the mold in the can as the cause.

Attic inspection

In addition to garages, I want you to understand attic spaces and why they

can become hotbeds for mold contamination.

I discover mold growth in attic spaces of many homes. The mold is often

unbeknownst to the occupants until the rare occasion when someone

enters the attic and sees it, or when a home is being sold and a home

inspector or appraiser finds it.

Even though attic mold is technically outside the occupied area of a home,

spores from that mold can intermittently affect the air in the rest of the

house by passing down through points of air leakage between the attic and

the occupied space below.

When inspecting an attic it is important to have someone with you in the

event of an emergency. If you intend on using a ladder to view an attic

through an access on a ceiling or high up on a wall, I also recommend that

you go to www.osha.gov and learn about ladder safety.

You’ll need a bright flashlight and/or headlamp to effectively see in a dark

attic. And if you’ll actually be climbing into an attic space, I also recommend

wearing gloves to prevent slivers in your hands when hanging onto framing


lumber. If you bring your camera up there, be sure it is strapped around

your neck so you do not lose it. Or, if you use a phone camera, be careful

not to drop it, because it can be difficult to find if it falls down into the

insulation.

In addition, never open an attic access or enter an attic without first putting

on a respirator mask. Even without a mold problem, many types of attic

insulation are known to be irritants. Many attics also have contaminants

from insect, mice, bat, squirrel, bird, snake, and raccoon infestations. And

of course if mold is present, you need to protect yourself from that

contaminant as well.

Before I show you what goes on inside an attic space, I want to teach you

about the accesses between the house and the attic, because they are very

often the cause for problems up in an attic.

Attic access


The first rule with attic accesses is that you need to have one. The photo

above shows a house with no attic access but with an obvious moisture

problem up inside the attic, as is evidenced by the anomalies on the ceiling.

Every attic should have an access to allow for periodic inspection and

corrections of deficiencies. If one is not present, you should have one

installed.

Before opening the attic access panel, you should inspect it for possible

water damage or urine stains from vermin.

Water damage around an access panel is usually caused from warm

moisture‐laden indoor air exfiltrating around the panel. However, the

stains might be caused from the urine or excrement of mice, squirrels, bats,

and/or raccoons.

The panel should be slowly pushed upward and off to the side without

spinning or flipping it so that you remember how to reinstall it in the same

position.


Many attic accesses have wall panels installed around the sides of the

opening called insulation dams. They prevent insulation from falling down

into the house when the access is opened. If your access does not have

these panels, you might be surprised when insulation falls all over you. This

is another reason why you want to open the panel slowly and have a mask

on.


Once the panel has been removed you want to inspect around the outer

edges were the access panel normally sits to see if there are accumulated

dust particles. Because house dust has weight, it usually settles downward,

so when you see dust particles around the access you know it was sucked

upward. This means air from the house has been escaping into the attic. If

that air has moisture in it and the attic is cold, there is a good possibility

mold will begin growing in the attic.

Water stains or peeling paint on the insulation dams is another indication

of air leaking up into an attic.

Insulation that sits on top of access panels that has mold or discoloration

from house dust is another indication that significant amounts of air have


been leaking from the house up into the attic space. It also indicates

possible mold growth in the attic.

When humid air from a house has been leaking up through an access panel,

the moisture can condense on the insulation dams, not only causing water

stains or peeling paint but also significant amounts of mold growth on the

panels. Then, when the air pressure changes and the air passes from the

attic back down into the house, for instance when a clothes dryer is sucking

air out of the house down below, mold spores can be pulled down into the

occupied home below.


Attic access panels and doors that enter into attic spaces through sidewalls,

stairways, or pull‐down stairs essentially have all these same hidden issues,

so be prepared.

This is probably a good time to mention that the remedies for mold and

moisture problems are provided in the book Do‐It‐Yourself Mold Cleaning

& Prevention. The purpose of this inspection series is to help you

understand how and where to inspect your house for mold.

When mold grows in attics it can grow within insulation, on the tops of

ceilings as viewed from the attic space, and on rafters, but it most

commonly grows on wood sheathing underneath roof shingles. The

sheathing can consist of OSB, plywood, and wood boards, any of which will

be visible from within the attic space.

Roof leakage


While roof leakage is common, mold growth as a result of that leakage is

far less common because liquid water typically dries out between

incursions, whereas moisture vapor can linger for long periods of time.

When mold does grow as a result of leakage, it will usually be in isolated

areas, making the cause obvious, as shown in the photo above.

Attic venting

Air must flow into and out of an attic for the space to be properly

ventilated and eliminate moisture. Very often vents are blocked, however,

which can result in attic moisture and mold problems.

The photo on the left above shows the attic side of an air intake soffit vent

that is partially blocked with insulation. Often these vents are entirely

blocked with insulation.

The photo on the right shows what is called a chute vent, which allows air

from a soffit to pass through the chute and enter the attic. These are

required by code when insulation is added to an attic space to prevent

blockage of the soffit intake vents, but they do no good when an insulation


contractor fills them full of insulation, as shown by the arrow. Both of these

conditions can cause mold growth in attics, as shown on the underside of

the roof in the photo on the right.

Some roofing contractors cut corners by covering exhaust vent openings

with underlayment and shingles and then not installing new replacement

vents like they are being paid to do. Another common mistake they make is

installing new ridge vents up at the peak of the roof but not cutting the

ridge open as they are supposed to do to allow heat and moisture to exit

the attic. Both of these mistakes eliminate an attic’s ability to get rid of

moisture, which can result in mold contamination problems.


Roofing contractors also mismeasure and then do not center the vents over

the tops of the roof openings, thereby significantly reducing their ability to

provide adequate exhaust ventilation.

Ridge vents that are commonly used in new construction and roof

replacements have fabric on the underside of them. Even when these vents

are installed correctly, the fabric can collect dust particles as air passes up

and through them, no different than an air filter. The particles eventually

stop air flow and the ability of the attic to eliminate heat and moisture‐

laden air. They can also support the growth of mold, as shown above.


Appliance venting

Today air ducts from clothes dryers and kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans

are required to vent to the outdoors. There was a time when they were

allowed to vent into attic spaces, but this was never a good idea. There are

still do‐it‐yourselfers and corner‐cutting contractors who continue to try to

get away with this, but doing so is asking for a mold contamination problem

in an attic.


Simply hanging an air duct near an existing vent as shown in the photo on

the left is not sufficient. The damp air coming out of the duct will follow the

path of least resistance, which means it will stay in the attic space where it

can condense on all of the wood near the end of the duct.

Air ducts should also be attached securely to a roof damper so they don’t

fall off and cause attic mold to grow, as shown in the photo on the right.

Air leakage

In most instances when attic mold is spread over a wide area on the

underside of a roof, it is due to significant amounts of moisture‐laden air

leaking up into the attic from the house below. The points of leakage can

include attic accesses as shown above, as well as electrical junction boxes,

sill plates on the tops of interior walls, gaps around chimneys, and exterior

walls. Usually you can see mold or discoloration within insulation at the

points of air leakage.


The photo on the left above shows insulation that is directly above an

interior wall and discolored with house dust and mold growth. The photo

on the right shows the same around a bathroom exhaust fan.

In the pair of photos above, the one on the left shows mold on insulation

due to air leakage through a hole where electrical wiring was fished down

into an interior wall. The photo on the right shows discolored insulation

around an electric junction box used for a light fixture.

Gaps around plumbing pipes and chimney penetrations through attic floors

are also significant points of air leakage into attics that can contribute to

mold growth.


The photos above show mold caused by moisture‐laden air entering attic

spaces after passing through insulated exterior walls.

In cold climate regions, the undersides of roofs will frost up from excessive

moisture in attics. The process begins with ice balls that develop on nails

that protrude through the roof because the metal nails are efficient

thermal conductors.

I was called to investigate one home where the clients told me that they

had water coming out of all their light fixtures. When I inspected the attic I

discovered a quarter‐inch of ice on the entire underside of the roof

sheathing that had slowly accumulated during cold weather and then

began melting quickly when the weather warmed up.


The photo on the left above shows elongated black spots where shingle

nails protrude through the underside of the roof. These stains or rusty nails

are a direct indication of excessive moisture trapped in an attic space, as

well as an indication that the home is about to have an attic mold problem.

The photo on the right shows circular black spots on the underside of a

roof. If you see these black spots in an isolated area while all the other

wood appears clean, then you are likely looking at mere splattered ink,

which occurs at the lumber factory as they print required identification

labels on their wood products.

Attic mold, on the other hand, is often discovered over much larger areas,

as seen in the photos below, including on the undersides of roofs, rafters,

and sidewalls, and sometimes extending down into soffit areas. As I’ve

mentioned, these conditions can occur when high levels of humidity are

trapped inside an attic space. And they can occur in attics that have walk‐

up stairs, as well as attics with ceiling or sidewall access panels. Mold can

also grow unseen inside attics that have no access at all.



Vermin

Sometimes nesting materials from bees, wasps, mice, and birds are

discovered inside the attic vents, which prevent them from functioning

properly, thereby trapping moisture in the attic space.

In some instances critters find ways to enter attics through vents to find

safe and comfortable places to live and raise their families. The photos

above show evidence of squirrels and birds that made their way into attics.


The photo on the left above shows evidence of squirrels chewing nuts and

tunneling in insulation, and the photo on the right shows what mouse

tunnels look like in a mice‐infested attic. Not only can squirrels and mice

initiate mold problems in attics, but their elimination materials can also

cause health issues. Additionally, they chew electrical wiring which can

start house fires.

The photos above show a bat roosting in the upper area of an attic and bat

guano on attic insulation.

I showed you these examples of vermin infestation in attics because the

elimination materials, odors, and associated mold growth from all vermin

can cause health issues for those living inside houses below.


When I discover vermin in homes, I find that almost all of the homeowners

are unaware of the problem. For this reason, you may want to read

Unwelcome House Guests, available at IndoorAir.com, which explains the

most common vermin, how they get into homes, where they hide, the

damage they can cause, and how they affect your indoor air quality and

health. The book also includes practical solutions to eliminate vermin

without hiring an exterminator, as well as measures to prevent recurrence.

Do‐It‐Yourself Mold Inspection is a ten‐part book series. The next book in

the series is Part Four: Kitchens & Bathrooms. These rooms have food

items, bio‐matter, plumbing fixtures, and high moisture generation. You

will be surprised at how many different locations mold grows in in these

rooms, and I can assure you that after you read the book you will find mold

in some of those areas in your own home.


Helping others

If you enjoyed learning from this book, I’d like to ask you to help your

family and friends. Just email them the IndoorAir.com link or post it on

your favorite social media space so they can see the educational resources

available and download their free copy of Six Steps to Healthy Indoor Air.

All the books were written to help people who are concerned about (1) the safety and health of their families and pets, (2) saving energy,

(3) safeguarding the value of their homes, and (4) protecting

themselves from being scammed by contractors, home sellers,

landlords, insurance companies, and those who work with mold or air

quality.

The books are based on decades of field work and are packed with inspection photos to show readers exactly what to look for in their

own homes and workplaces. Readers promptly get the help they need

no matter where they live and for far less than the cost of an

inspection.

Thank you for sharing the link. If you would like information on air

purification systems, just email me at [email protected].

Thanks,

Dan

© Copyright 2017 Indoor Air LLC, All Rights Reserved

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DIY Mold Inspection Part 3 Attics & Garages DONE...multiple times. I’ve also assisted in writing home inspection laws and mold legislation, as well as provided seminar training for