How To Tell If Your Attic Insulation Is Bad

“Bad” encompasses so much. A battery can be bad; a mischievous kid can be bad, but not bad the way potato salad goes bad. What about attic insulation? How many ways can your home’s attic insulation be bad? We know at least four ways your attic insulation could be bad. We also know how to fix it. 

Ah, those carefree days, decades ago, when homebuilders constructed homes with little or no attic insulation. If they did insulate the attic, they often put down some minimal roll of the cheapest stuff available.  Old insulation may not necessarily be bad insulation, but it is unlikely to be great insulation. Having a roofer examine your attic insulation is a good first step toward diagnosing insulation that has just grown too old to do the job. 

Leaky roofs have to send the water somewhere, and sure as gravity keeps tugging, water keeps dripping. It drips onto your insulation, dampening it. When insulation becomes damp, it loses the air pockets that make it effective. The insulation collapses, the paper backing on batts gets soggy, and the whole mess can lead to decay, rot, mold, and mildew. Damp insulation is bad insulation. 

You can buy R-13 batt insulation. It’s thin, mostly ineffective, and cheap. It is better than no insulation, but not by much. The plain fact is, the higher the R-value of your attic insulation, the lower your energy bills. Thin insulation is bad insulation. Better than thin, low R-value batts is blown-in fiberglass insulation. It reaches all nooks and crannies, it can be piled high as needed, and it provides full coverage. 

Bad insulation may not go bad all on its own. Sometimes it is the innocent victim of bad influences, like mold and mildew. Stinky, allergen-filled mold can fester in your attic insulation and lead to health problems for your whole family. Moldy insulation is bad insulation and should be removed by a mold remediation expert.

The fix for bad insulation is to contact a reliable, local authority in great attic insulation: Allstate Exteriors. As leaders in residential roofing, the technicians at Allstate Exteriors know how to provide complete protection to your home’s roof and attic, including a perfect blanket of blown-in insulation. When you contact Allstate Exteriors, you get our full, friendly service of experienced roofers and attic insulation experts. Let us help you save money, increase home comfort, and rid yourself of bad insulation.