Attics are some of the most ignored spaces at home, and some homeowners don't even opt to step into them. Many consider them storage spaces. The usual practice is that the attic will only be opened once a year or whenever there is a need for storage space.
Despite that, the maintenance of the attic is important to the wellbeing of your home. The attic is just beneath your roof, so it is the first place to receive everyday temperatures and weather disturbances. It braves the heat of the summer and cold of the winter.
Many homeowners completely ignore their attic all year round and only clean them during the summer to improve airflow. However, this is a bad practice because during winter, the water from the snow can soak into your roof.
When left untouched or ill-maintained, an attic can become a source for pests, mildew, moisture, leaks, and dust inside the house. Since the attic also contains the insulation for the whole home, it can cost you money if the insulation becomes inefficient due to an attic needing to be cleaned.
In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released in their 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey that 90% of homes in the U.S. are under-insulated.
This gave rise to the program “Rule Your Attic” by Energy Star in 2014 to teach many Americans to increase their insulation for energy efficiency, ultimately saving more money. This program has also been promoted in other news sources.
It is daunting to enter something that, for many years, has been left uncared. This is why you need to be prepared before entering your attic. Here are some tips that can help you in your attic cleanout:
Going to your house’s attic usually involves stepping onto a staircase. Beware because this already presents a danger. Since you rarely use the staircase or the path to the attic, you might get injured due to poor lighting, imbalance, misstep, or staircase malfunction.
To emphasize, in 2019, 29% of preventable-injury accidents at home were falls, according to the National Safety Council. These preventable-injury accidents caused fractures and spinal cord complications.
That’s why you need to ensure that the pathway to your attic offers safe entrance and exit for you and your family members. Ensuring this safety will also speed up the process of your cleaning because you will have no worries lifting your heavy belongings.
Once you have secured the safety of your path to and from the attic, you need to have certain materials before entering.
Anticipate accumulated thick dust and dirt all throughout the attic. You need a strong protective mask. An N95 mask can best protect you from the small dust particles that you might inhale.
Since you are dealing with dust, using a vacuum is one of the more efficient cleaning methods rather than using a broom and a dustpan. The motion of the broom can stir up dust all over your attic, resulting in more work.
When using the vacuum, make sure you have different head extensions or attachments available since the attic contains uneven corner angles.
Bring a trash bag where you can immediately dump all of the dust once the vacuum is filled. It gets filled fast due to the thick accumulation of dust over time.
You can also wear gloves and an apron to cover most of your skin while cleaning. It might be necessary to use a headlight or a flashlight to make sure that your view stays illuminated to avoid tripping or breaking fragile parts of your attic.
Here is a consolidated list of the materials you will need when you clean your attic:
● Face mask (preferably an N95 mask)
● Vacuum and vacuum head extensions
● Trash bags
● Headlight or flashlight
● Gloves
● Apron
If you have been using your attic as a storage space, this is the time to remove all of your belongings and transfer them to another room or unused space Next, do a thorough inspection of your attic for leakages, mold, and other damage.
This is why it is important to clean out the dust first as it hinders your vision, causing you to overlook attic damage. Take note of the damages that need professional cleaning or repairs and the ones that you can do yourself.
While you are at it, reassess the insulation of your attic and take note of the damages that need to be repaired. With efficient insulation, you can save about 30% of your energy bill according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
This is also the time when you can reconsider if you will still use your attic as a storage space. This depends on the climate of the state in which you live.
If you experience a wide range of weather temperatures over a year, you may include the attic floors into the insulation of your whole attic. It is not advisable to use it as a storage space anymore if the attic floors are insulated.
Whether you decide to discontinue using your attic as a storage space or not, it is a good idea to take this opportunity to sort through your belongings.
Sorting can be as simple as deciding what to keep and what to toss away. If you want, you can dedicate boxes for the items you decide to throw out, donate, or sell. You can avail services of dumpster rental companies to help you with your garbage disposal.
Use plastic containers for the items you decide to store in your attic again. They provide better protection against elements and changing temperatures than cardboard boxes. Do not keep electronics or flammable items in the attic because they are prone to changing temperatures that can start a fire.
Cleaning your attic is a good habit to maintain, and you can align your cleaning schedule with the changing seasons to prevent leakages before spring rainfall, improve airflow in summer, or insulate in winter.
You will not need to deal with thick dust and built-up mold when you do this regularly. The maintenance of your attic goes along way in preserving the overall structure and longevity of your home.
Do you need help in garbage disposal for your attic cleanup? The Woodlands Dumpster Rental offers low prices, flexible time periods, and excellent customer service to homeowners and others performing cleaning projects. Click on their website to see how they have helped the cleaning process for both residential and commercial projects.
