Humidity: What Can It Do to Your Roof?

Humidity reflects the amount of moisture in the air. When moisture is combined with excessive heat, you’re likely to get water damage even if it doesn’t rain. The moisture can compromise your shingles, decking, and wooden roofing components. Moisture can also get through the exterior roofing materials and become trapped in your crawl space or attic. This can result in the growth of mold and compromise the structure and stability of the entire roof.

In this post, gutter installation expert STARR Roofing & Gutters reveals what humidity can do to your roofing system and how you can prevent its effects.

1. Water Droplets

If your roof, insulation, or ceiling is developing water droplets, you’ve got a condensation issue on your hands. If it’s summertime, you likely have a waterproofing problem in the assembly. But if it’s winter, then the humid air inside your home is making contact with the colder roof parts upstairs. Updating your weatherproof and reducing the interior humidity can help, but if you continue to notice water droplets, it’s time to contact a roofing expert.

2. Mold Growth

With moisture present, mold and mildew can spread and multiply, weakening the roof’s wood components like the joists, rafters and the plywood roof sheathing or decking. This problem must be dealt with as soon as possible because it poses both a safety and health risk.

3. Wet Insulation

Aside from storm damage, humidity can impact your roof when the moisture starts to saturate your insulation. And once the insulation gets wet, not only do you have to replace it but it can also lead to warping and structural damage to your roof assembly. Trapped moisture is also a breeding ground for mold and encourages rusting of any steel materials, leaving you with a potential problem on your hands.

How to Prevent Humidity from Affecting Your Roof

The best way to prevent humidity from affecting your roof is by improving your roof’s ventilation.  Lack of proper air circulation can allow moisture to easily affect your roof and cause water damage to your roof. This makes the right amount of ventilation important for every home’s roofing system. You can also install dehumidifiers around your home to prevent humidity from causing the moisture that encourages the spread and growth of mold. 

Observing proper roof care can reduce long-term repair costs and greatly extend its service life. STARR Roofing & Gutters is the Texas roofer that offers the most extensive choice of scheduled roof maintenance programs to extend the life of your roofing system – at a fraction of the cost of replacement.

Call us today at (512) 736-6539 or fill out our online form to schedule a free estimate.