Five Ways to Protect Your Home From Moisture

This month’s intense rainfall has made for some messy clean-up in homes all around our state. From basement flooding to leaky roofs, lots of rain can cause serious issues if your house isn’t properly maintained. As summer continues and our weather becomes more unpredictable, it’s worth being prepared. Here are five key things to think about to protect your home from damaging moisture and the mold and mildew that come with it. 

Inspect Your Roof

Everything might seem ok with your roof but shingle damage or a chimney that’s not properly flashed could be allowing water to come into your home. These issues can be hard to spot from the outside, but leaks are a lot more obvious from the attic. A leaking roof is a problem to be taken seriously because water that’s entering the attic can easily penetrate into the walls and ceiling of the rest of the home. It’s also an easy place for mold to grow without being detected since we don’t spend time in our attics as we do in the rest of the house.

Clean Your Gutters

Gutters are a key part of proper home water removal. Most people think it’s enough to keep their gutters free from debris, yet few actually do it since it’s a messy job. I recommend installing gutter guards to cut down on maintenance and to ensure that gutters are clear so water can move freely away from the roof. I also highly recommend downspout extensions to homeowners who have suboptimal drainage conditions. A downspout extender allows water to drain an extra few feet from the house, ensuring nothing collects around the foundation. 

Change Your Landscape Grade

Whenever I walk around the perimeter of a house, I always make a mental note of the way the landscape meets the foundation. You always want soil to slope away from the home, ensuring that rainwater is draining away from the house instead of sitting at the foundation. Many homeowners actually have less soil at the foundation line, leaving the home susceptible to basement flooding. 

Use a Basement Dehumidifier

In these humid summer months, I find myself dumping my basement dehumidifier at least twice a day. You always want to have the humidity level in your home at around 50% and that goes for the basement too. Even a finished basement tends to be higher in moisture since the space is below ground so if you don’t have a dehumidifier, it’s time to get one. An appropriate unit will pull excess water from the air and reduce your exposure to mold which thrives on dark, damp places to grow.

Don’t Forget the Exhaust Fans

Finally, make sure you’re using your exhaust fans during showers and while using the stove. Exhaust fans help to pull water from the air in highly used areas such as the bathrooms and kitchens. Not using them will allow mold to spore, which can cause health problems such as allergies and asthma. Just make sure all fans are directed outside and not into the attic. The same goes for your dryer vent. 

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

A House That Can Breathe is Crucial To Its Health and Yours

I’m not shy about educating my readers on the importance of proper insulation in a house. But even if you’re one of only 20 percent of homeowners I meet with the right amount of insulation, chances are you’re still missing a critical piece of the puzzle. The missing component is ventilation and not enough of it can be harming both your home and your personal health in more ways than you think. 

In the winter, we crank up the thermostat, sending more heat into our homes than any other time of year. We all know that heat rises, which means a lot of what we’re pumping into the house will quickly find its way through the ceiling and into the attic. Think about when you’re in a car and the windows fog up. What do you do? Usually, you’ll increase the airflow either by using the vents or just cracking a window. A house works much the same way, except that if you don’t have air flowing inside the attic, the heat and moisture just gets stuck there. If the attic is very warm, that moisture will develop into mold and mildew which can feed on your insulation and rot the wood. If the attic is cold enough, the moisture will freeze into little domes or even icicles until the temperature rises enough for the water to thaw and then be absorbed into all the places that it shouldn’t. Neither is a good scenario.

So what’s the best way to protect your home? Start by investing in a hygrometer that measures water vapor in the air. A comfortable humidity reading is 30%-60%, but 45%-55% is an ideal level to maintain. If you’re seeing higher than 60% humidity in any area of your home, it’s going to be susceptible to mold, mildew and bacteria growth.

Remember, attic ventilation allows your house to “breathe” so you want to balance your intake and exhaust to ensure that what is coming in is going out equally. The best ventilation system will include soffit vents that are installed underneath the overhang of the roof and take in the air and ridge vents that are installed at the top of the roof for the hot air to escape. For this method to work efficiently, all louvered vents must be sealed off and you have to ensure that your insulation isn’t blocking the airflow. Believe it or not, most roof manufacturers will void the warranty if a proper ventilation system is not installed. Luckily, new roofing technology enables contractors to add intake ventilation directly into the roof as opposed to using soffit vents, so if you’re in the market for a new roof, be sure to ask for that option. 

It’s important to note that homes have different characteristics and what works well for one may not work well for another. With the right balance of air, homeowners can optimize their roof and maintain the overall health of their home and their families. Remember, it’s always a good idea to get advice from a professional before taking on a big remodeling project. 

Bob O'Donnell is the owner of O'Donnell Bros, Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro”. All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O'Donnell Bros, Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.