Most people don't think of their roof ventilation when trying to improve the air quality in their home, but it can play a key role in keeping your home and family breathing easy inside.
Often, poor air quality is caused by moisture that's not properly exhausted from the attic space. Moisture building up in your attic can be extremely detrimental to your home and your family's health, as it can lead to the development of mold and mildew and cause structural issues.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that most people spend 90 % of their time indoors. As such, the quality of the air you're breathing inside your home can have a significant impact on your health. Poor indoor air quality can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, cause headaches or dizziness, and even lead to respiratory disease.
Proper roof ventilation allows a continuous flow of air through the attic space, which helps regulate temperature, moisture levels, and air quality within the home. Keeping your family safe and healthy means ensuring all moisture is properly expelled through a balanced roof ventilation system.
Where Does Trapped Moisture Come From?
Moisture is generated from people, appliances, plants, and daily activities. One person in the home breathing can produce three pints of water in one day. By that metric, a family of four could generate up to 12 pints of moisture, or the equivalent of 1,5 gallons, daily. Cooking a meal can also generate a pint of water, and running appliances, like the dishwasher, can contribute to moisture entering your living space.
GAF Senior Product Manager Jeff Avitabile explains that, without proper roof ventilation, this moisture can make its way into your attic, leading to issues. "If you're not evacuating and getting the moisture from your dryers, your bathroom, your kitchen, and other living activities out of the living space properly, it will typically collect in your attic. This leads to issues, like mold, mildew, and building material rot."
When mold forms in the attic, it releases spores that travel through the air and can be breathed in by occupants of the home, which can have serious health consequences.
Michael Russo, product manager at GAF, reinforces the dangers of mold. "Without proper roof ventilation, homeowners are at a greater risk of suffering health issues if mold does develop. Plus, it's very expensive to hire specialists for mold remediation."
Talk to Your Contractor About Proper Ventilation
Avitabile explains that many homeowners don't even know if their ventilation is doing the job it was intended to do or whether it was properly installed. "If you have a bathroom being remodeled, unfortunately, a lot of contractors will just evacuate the heat and moisture from the shower into your attic space, and then, your attic ventilation system can't keep up."
The team at GAF has seen cases where they've been called out because a homeowner thinks their ridge vents are not functioning properly, only to discover that there's a bathroom fan exhaust that's pumping moisture into the attic.
He shared the importance of talking to your contractor about proper ventilation, saying, "If you're having home alterations like a bathroom or kitchen remodel, it's a great time to ensure proper ventilation with your contractor." When you're discussing the plans with your contractor, be sure to ask: "Are you going to properly vent this to the outside through the roof and not into my attic?"
When and Why to Replace Venting Systems
If you're replacing your roof, that's the perfect time to think about replacing your roof ventilation.
"If you're replacing a roof, we recommend replacing the rooftop vents and the bath and dryer vents," says Avitabile. "There are folks out there who will try to reuse one, but we recommend replacing the entire system whenever you're replacing the roof."
Replacing roof ventilation during a roof replacement, when installed by a GAF-certified contractor, can bring additional benefits, as one warranty covers both the roof and the vents.
"When a certified contractor installs them as part of a GAF enhanced warranty, the vents pick up all the enhanced warranty coverage," explains Avitabile. "You're dealing with one contractor and a system of products designed to function effectively together on the roof-all backed by one manufacturer."
If you're not replacing your roof but undertaking any type of remodel or construction project, make sure to have the conversation with your contractor about potentially replacing ventilation and, at the very least, about where any new exhaust vents will be placed.
If your remodel includes the installation of new household appliances such as bathroom & kitchen fans or clothes dryers, GAF has you covered with the Master Flow™ Bath & Dryer Rooftop Appliance Vent and by ensuring those new appliances are properly exhausted through the roof. Proper ventilation of appliances, like clothes dryers, reduces the risks of clogged or blocked vents, which can increase the risk of fire.
Improving Indoor Air Quality with GAF
If you're ready to improve your indoor air quality, start by contacting a GAF-certified contractor. They can provide an evaluation of the existing roof ventilation system as well as the condition of your roof and offer manufacturer-warranted ventilation solutions that will keep your family healthy while improving the efficiency of your home.
