Attic Plywood Mold

Mold usually causes a musty odor and may cause staining that may be black brown gray white yellow or green.

Attic plywood mold. Attics usually have a passive ventilation system in which outside air comes in through the soffit eave vents at the bottom warms up in the attic and escapes through the can or ridge vents at the top because hot air rises. It s been confirmed by laboratory testing that they don t kill all of the spores and in most cases you ll be just making a mess. In most cases testing for attic mold is unnecessary. Mix 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or tea tree oil with each cup of water that you need to attack your mold colony.

The mold itself may have a cottony texture but can also be velvety leathery or. Mold spores penetrate the plywood in your attic and it is difficult to completely eradicate it. On attic mold visible on pine tongue and groove roof sheathing near the building eaves. Even if you re dealing with a small mold contaminated attic area 10 x 10 is the maximum area recommended by the epa to be treated by non professionals forget about getting rid of mold killing mold by spraying it with bleach or other disinfectants.

The mold shown in the attic photographed above was identified as aspergillus sp. The most common cause of attic mold by far is blocked or insufficient ventilation of the attic space. Click photo for larger image. Even if conditions are conducive to mold growth elevated moisture plywood made from a fungal resistant wood will resist mold growth for quite a while.

Also notice the condensation stains at the shingle nail more evidence of a history of attic moisture which was a factor in this mold growth. Tea tree oil and white vinegar are both completely natural and safe for wood but. Now that you ve prepped the space it s time to attack the mold itself. If your attic mold is limited to a very small area you may be able to use a power sander or a wire brush to remove it.

Some woods are much more resistant to rot and fungal attacks.