Summer Preparation: How Heat & Humidity Can Damage Your Home

With hot, muggy summer months looming on the near horizon, we offer these tips to prevent heat and humidity from damaging your home. As local independent agents, our goal is to proactively help our clients protect their homes. For example, while providing the best available options for your Home Insurance, we also inform homeowners on helpful topics such as how to avoid damage to your residence from summer elements.

Besides improving the quality of your family members’ lives, we believe that the following suggestions will help protect your home from preventable damage. First, we’ll break them down by zone, starting at the top.

Attics and Roof

A frequent problem is that many homes are built without adequate airflow through the attic, which heightens the issue that your attic is the hottest spot in the summer—poorly ventilated spaces where humidity buildup causes the insulation to degrade to subpar performance.

You should ensure your attic is well ventilated to prevent moisture buildup to avoid insulation breakdown that causes mold growth and worsens air quality. To avoid this problem, make sure your attic is correctly vented. Ventilating your attic is essential, and a design to promote a continuous ventilation system is advisable.

Dehumidifiers work well in warm weather but can be burdensome during winter. Although attic fans work, most professionals won’t recommend them in four-season weather because they allow frigid air into the attic.

Your rooftop gets excessively hot in the summer. Properly ventilated attics can prevent heat damage and moisture that lead to cracks in the shingles. Heat can dry out caulking and weaken the roof structure. Choosing a light-colored roof can help prevent heat damage. Regular maintenance checks are how to make sure everything is in working order.

Bathrooms Are Moisture Magnets 

Bathrooms collect moisture and humidity due to the volume of hot water running through showers and baths. And the buildup transfers the humid air and heat into your attic. It’s essential to vent every bathroom to the outside with excellent quality vent fans that are powerful enough to remove heat and humidity and prevent outside air from entering your home.

If you are installing or reinstalling ductwork to vent your bathrooms, it’s crucial to do the job correctly because inexpertly installed ductwork can cause different problems for homeowners. So, if reinstalling ductwork is above your paygrade or skillsets, hire a professional.

Moving on to Windows and Doors

Humidity can attack and cause undetectable damage around windows and doors because the builder or homeowner did not seal them well. Improper seals allow moisture to penetrate the home. Well-constructed windows and doors include a system to drain water safely down and away from the house.

Without proper seals, moisture and humidity can get trapped between a home’s interior and exterior walls. The trapped dampness can’t escape, leading to excessive moisture buildup between the home’s walls.

Plumbing

As with doors and windows, the key to good plumbing is preventing leaks. Start by making sure the areas of your home where plumbing enters and exits the house have adequate sealant. The goal is to prevent air and moisture from entering your home around the entry point where your plumbing is sealed.

Problems began when the sealing job was not done right initially or the sealant’s effectiveness has eroded over time. Inadequate caulking or foam is a problem sometimes when not installed to professional standards. Plumbing is like windows and doors in that it can lead to damage from heat and humidity if not sealed properly.

While you check the seals around your plumbing, it’s an excellent suggestion to make sure any pipes close to the outside of your home have enough insulation to keep them from freezing in the winter. Sealing pipes properly can prevent leaks and bursts. Plumbing problems are easily avoided by regularly having a professional plumber inspect your plumbing system.

The Crawl Space

Crawl spaces are found under houses or buildings that don’t have basements. In the distance between the bottom side of the first floor and the ground below it, stagnant air doesn’t move. Instead, it helps create an ideal mold and mildew growth environment because of dank air and high humidity.

You can prevent the problem of mold and mildew by encapsulating your crawl space. Encapsulated houses use spray foam or rigid installation for foundation walls and lay heavy plastic to cover the ground. The system works to block moisture from entering the house.

Humidity

There are ways to reduce the humidity in your house. Humidity monitors are helpful tools to monitor indoor humidity levels. If the humidity level is too low, you may want to add a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers are especially effective in damp basements.

Proper ventilation is essential in the bathroom and kitchen. Run your exhaust fans any time you are running water or introducing moisture in the room. Air conditioners work best when the humidity level is low. Humidity affects how much energy you use to cool or heat your house. To ensure that your air conditioner runs efficiently, check your home’s humidity level before installing a dehumidifier.

Cool, Comfortable, and Safe

We hope you find these tips to maintain your house at a comfortable temperature for your family while protecting your home from heat and humidity. As a leading independent local agency, we are here to help you protect your family residence with affordable, comprehensive Home Insurance. In addition, we help you evaluate your needs and discuss the amount and type of coverage you need to safeguard your home against property damage and liability risks.

About Dickstein Associates Agency

Dickstein Associates Agency has distinguished itself as a leading provider of personal and business insurance in the tri-state area since 1965. We pride ourselves on being advocates for our clients and providing them with quality and affordable coverages. As Trusted Choice™ independent insurance agency, we partner with various national and regional carriers, allowing for flexible coverage for each client’s unique circumstances. For more information on how you can leverage all your insurance to work best for you, and how we can secure the best insurance in the marketplace suited to your specific needs and business objectives, contact us today at (800) 862-6662 or www.dicksteininsurance.com.