How to tell if your insulation system has been damaged?
How to tell if your insulation system has been damaged?
When a building’s insulation is damaged it would bleed, just not in the form of blood but as heat and money (energy bills). Even with minimal usage of the air conditioner or the heater, you are ending up with heavy energy bills? It is your insulation system. Either your house is under-insulated or the insulation system has been damaged. The exact cause can be determined by one of the insulation contractors in Pomona, after a thorough inspection. Till then, here are a few tell-tell signs of insulation malfunctioning or under-insulation which can be read by untrained eyes too:
The walls are cold as if they are made of ice:
Using bare hands (or thermal leak detectors, if available) you can detect cold spots on walls and floors- the touch test. On touching the walls do they feel cold, colder than the ambient temperature of the rest of the room? Do they feel damp too? If yes, you have enough reasons to suspect insulation damage. If this had been the case from the very beginning, i.e. since when the insulation was installed, then it may be a case of poor insulation.
Cold walls in winters are a sign of heat loss; your insulation is not being able to retain the heat generated by the indoor heating system. And you are getting heavy bills courtesy of the heating system working overtime to regulate the indoor temperature. Consult an insulation expert and have the insulation system inspected, as soon as possible. These problems must not be kept unattended for long; delays can render the whole system obsolete.
Sudden condensation spots:
Moisture condensation can take many forms, sometimes like puddles suddenly appearing on ceilings, or just condensed vapor forming on windows and metallic surfaces. Exposed pipes may even burst, freeze, or leak during winters. These problems are very much related to insulation malfunctioning.
Mold infestation:
Do you have a green, grey, or black moss-like appearance on the walls, floors, or ceiling? You are having a mold problem. Mold infestation results from malfunctioning insulation, which lets in water, causing damps, which in turn becomes the food source and breeding ground for the fungi. Mold can cause respiratory issues, irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, chronic cough and phlegm, shortness of breath, or even asthma. Contact one of the expert insulation contractors in Pomona to deal with the fungus problem adequately. Mold infestation requires severe cleaning and decontamination and can only be done properly by trained insulation workers. According to authorities, mold can grow even within 48 hours of damage, so these problems must be dealt with harshly.