Guest guest Posted March 8, 2002 Report Share Posted March 8, 2002 There's four kinds of insulation that I know of: fiberglass, polystyrene, asbestos, and cellulose (paper). Fiberglass can be irritating if inhaled, but I haven't heard about it causing disease. Polystyrene (so far) seems to be pretty harmless. Asbestos you should already know about. Cellulose (shredded paper) should be harmless, but is a great place to grow mold! First determine what type of insulation you have, and then you will know how to procede from there. Jeff ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 24 Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 23:38:34 EST From: IINDWND@... Subject: question There are many people getting sick at our workplace most likely due to this debris that has been coming out of the vents for the past 5 years. The vents are very dirty and it has been inspected and was found that a fan broke and hit insulation which tore it apart and was coming out of the vents. Several people have gotten samples of this debris and my question is does anyone know where to turn to get this tested? Does anyone know about insulation? can it be dangerous? Please help, any suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated......thanks, deb ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2002 Report Share Posted March 8, 2002 In the past, nearly all home forced air heating and cooling systems used sheet metal ducts. More energy conscious commercial buildings also used sheet metal, but insulated it, most often with fiberglass. This was sometimes exterior, and sometimes interior. 10-15 years ago, much new residential and commercial duct work was fiberglass ductboard, preferred by installers who were less likely to receive serious cuts, and because pipes were fabricated on site by cutting boards as needed and gluing and taping sheets together as needed. It also has the advantage of sound suppression. In the early 90's, NIOSH and other researchers began to realize unlined fiberglass ductboard and unlined fiberglass insulation inside sheet metal ducts trapped significant dust and became an ideal mold habitat in the humid environment of a cooling system. All such insulation is now to be lined in the air flow channel to retard growth and to inhibit release of any growth present. The fan tearing into your HVAC liner disrupted any protective film, and loosened the tightly bound fiberglass. Particles blowing out by themselves may be lung irritants. But even more, they are probably coated with mold or bacteria, the reason they have turned black. A chemical analysis will probably show the silica from the fiberglass, and not be able to detect the microbes. Biological culturing will show the trace levels of organisms present. For reference, look up " Fungal contamination of fiberglass insulation in the air distribution system of a multi-story office building " in the June 1996 issue of Journal of Industrial Microbiology. You might try Aerotech Labs to have this black debris tested if you can't find someone local. Check their web site at www.aerotechlabs.com, where you can get some info on sample collection, handling, submission, and fees. Gil ----Original Message Follows---- From: " Jeff and " <jeff@...> Reply- < > Subject: [] RE: Insulation Question Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 01:34:29 -0600 There's four kinds of insulation that I know of: fiberglass, polystyrene, asbestos, and cellulose (paper). Fiberglass can be irritating if inhaled, but I haven't heard about it causing disease. Polystyrene (so far) seems to be pretty harmless. Asbestos you should already know about. Cellulose (shredded paper) should be harmless, but is a great place to grow mold! First determine what type of insulation you have, and then you will know how to procede from there. Jeff ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 24 Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 23:38:34 EST From: IINDWND@... Subject: question There are many people getting sick at our workplace most likely due to this debris that has been coming out of the vents for the past 5 years. The vents are very dirty and it has been inspected and was found that a fan broke and hit insulation which tore it apart and was coming out of the vents. Several people have gotten samples of this debris and my question is does anyone know where to turn to get this tested? Does anyone know about insulation? can it be dangerous? Please help, any suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated......thanks, deb _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Jackie, The crucial issues are that the insulation should have a vapor barrier at the point where it lays against the ceiling of the room below, or none, and that there NOT be any vapor barriers above that. It needs to be able to dry upward. Also, unless you want to have wasted your money, the insulation should not be compressed. It should be allowed to 'fluff upward' as much as possible, so it can hold air. Don't put plastic on top of that, it will make whatever is underneath it moldy by holding in the vapor. If you put things on top of it, without plastic to avoid creating a greenhouse effect, you will still have a problem in that they may compress your new insulation, which will make it ineffective. You will get cold spots wherever those items are, which will cause cold drafts downstairs. What might make the most sense would be to construct an open storage rack up higher that did not stop the flow of air. Some houses have horizontal beams every three or four rafters that are used to keep the roof shape rigid, maybe you could place planks side by side up there and create some storage space up high, assuming its dry. If you have an attic full of fiberglass, though, perhaps its best to not store stuff up there. It will get on any stuff that is stored, and breathing fiberglass is not good for you. You might want to consider finishing the attic, which would involve moving the building envelope higher, probably to the point I just mentioned, and creating side walls.. and insulating behind them. You would then be heating the new upstairs of your house, too. Of all the ideas mentioned, the one that seems to make the most sense is the chicken wire.. but only if the insulation doesnt move and isn't fiberglass, and the chicken wire is not expected to hold weight.. (there could be a floor of planks with gaps between them built over that to put boxes on, nothing more..). It needs to be able to 'breathe'. On 2/25/08, jackiebreeze <jackiebreeze@...> wrote: > > Hi, > We have the kind of insulation which was blown into our attic. my > husband was going to make storage space up there and cover the > insulation with plastic. I don't think covering it with plastic will > be a good idea..I am afraid of condensation if covered with plastic > since an attic is not climate controlled. Does anyone have any ideas > on how to cover insulation? I really don't like the idea of > insulation being loose like that anyway. I don't go up there but I > still want to make it as safe as possible. I just want advice on > covering the insulation, PLEASE don't tell me I need to remove the > insulation...I only want advice on how to cover it to make it safer > until we can get a different kind of insulation...It does NOT have mold. > Thanks, > Jackie > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I am leaning more to not storing, but my husband wants to free up some of the closets that I am storing some of the items in we use seasonally. I got rid of all of my clutter that I stored in the last move so we really don't need to store much. The shelves does make more sense to use. Using the attic for storage is worrying me as the last thing I want is mold in this house!! I too like the chicken wire idea. Maybe we can do this to " hold " the insulation in place and place shelves as you suggested. Would it work to use chicken wire and then window screen to hold in the fiberglass in more? I also took a look at the site Carl suggested but it was a bit over my head...I need simple...lol. > > > > Hi, > > We have the kind of insulation which was blown into our attic. my > > husband was going to make storage space up there and cover the > > insulation with plastic. I don't think covering it with plastic will > > be a good idea..I am afraid of condensation if covered with plastic > > since an attic is not climate controlled. Does anyone have any ideas > > on how to cover insulation? I really don't like the idea of > > insulation being loose like that anyway. I don't go up there but I > > still want to make it as safe as possible. I just want advice on > > covering the insulation, PLEASE don't tell me I need to remove the > > insulation...I only want advice on how to cover it to make it safer > > until we can get a different kind of insulation...It does NOT have mold. > > Thanks, > > Jackie > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I'm interested in this question also. I think you are smart to not cover insulation with something that doesn't breath, like plastic, since it could trap moisture underneath. Perhaps a wood floor would cover it but not be so airtight. I know someone who is architect and works with an indoor air quality person as a team. He has very old house that he wanted to use attic, so he covered the underside of the roof and provided ventilation at bottom of it and at top, so air flows underneath the roof but doesn't mix with attic room. Attic otherwise is not ventilation but enclosed. He said it is cosy and no humidity problems. Then he put a floor in too and has a study up there. I don't know if I explained it well. I could draw it but it's tought to explain in writing. I think the attic is tough to handle. Also the fact I cannot get up there and check it periodically makes it hard. --- In , " jackiebreeze " <jackiebreeze@...> wrote: > > Hi, > We have the kind of insulation which was blown into our attic. my > husband was going to make storage space up there and cover the > insulation with plastic. I don't think covering it with plastic will > be a good idea..I am afraid of condensation if covered with plastic > since an attic is not climate controlled. Does anyone have any ideas > on how to cover insulation? I really don't like the idea of > insulation being loose like that anyway. I don't go up there but I > still want to make it as safe as possible. I just want advice on > covering the insulation, PLEASE don't tell me I need to remove the > insulation...I only want advice on how to cover it to make it safer > until we can get a different kind of insulation...It does NOT have mold. > Thanks, > Jackie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Jackie, I should have made clear I didn't expect you to understand the work of PhD building scientists. A lot is over my head also! The reason for refering you to it is so a contractor can be educated about vapor barriers in attics before they do any work. SIMPLE: Don't put in a vapor barrier unless you and your contractor know exactly what you are doing and how it is appropriate for your climate. The location of the barrier, if appropriate, differs according to whether you are in climate that predominantly requires heating or air conditioning, and whether it is high humidity or low humidity. These are the main factors that the affect the condensation you are rightly concerned about. The Web site will explain why and how. So, in simple terms, don't put in a barrier. Unless the attic is enclosed from the outside and at least partially heated or cooled just like inside the house, I would suggest you NOT store belongings in the attic. The exception would be items that could be stored outside. The only thing an unconditioned attic will protect them from is DIRECT exposure to snow, rain and sun. It will do little, and may make worse, temperature and humidity. Carl Grimes Healthy Habitats LLC ----- > I am leaning more to not storing, but my husband wants to free up > some of the closets that I am storing some of the items in we use > seasonally. I got rid of all of my clutter that I stored in the last > move so we really don't need to store much. The shelves does make > more sense to use. Using the attic for storage is worrying me as the > last thing I want is mold in this house!! I too like the chicken > wire idea. Maybe we can do this to " hold " the insulation in place and > place shelves as you suggested. Would it work to use chicken wire and > then window screen to hold in the fiberglass in more? > I also took a look at the site Carl suggested but it was a bit over > my head...I need simple...lol. > > > > > > > > > Hi, > > > We have the kind of insulation which was blown into our attic. my > > > husband was going to make storage space up there and cover the > > > insulation with plastic. I don't think covering it with plastic > will > > > be a good idea..I am afraid of condensation if covered with > plastic > > > since an attic is not climate controlled. Does anyone have any > ideas > > > on how to cover insulation? I really don't like the idea of > > > insulation being loose like that anyway. I don't go up there but I > > > still want to make it as safe as possible. I just want advice on > > > covering the insulation, PLEASE don't tell me I need to remove the > > > insulation...I only want advice on how to cover it to make it > safer > > > until we can get a different kind of insulation...It does NOT > have mold. > > > Thanks, > > > Jackie > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 You have to also consider if attic is ventilated well enough to safely store things. The attic can get so hot that you can get 'spontaneous combustion' and attic fires can burn a house down. I don't like storing things in attic for that reason. Perhaps you could get rid of more, or checkout free standing storage sheds at Home Depot or Lowes or Sears. They have one piece molded sheds you can buy and put in your yard to store things in. Perhaps you can find one that looks okay and store things outside in that, or if you have a garage, you can get those rack systems that allow you to use the walls of your garage to store things all the way from floor to ceiling without filling up the garage so much you squeeze out your car/s. Usually everything I 'store', I never get into again. --- In , " jackiebreeze " <jackiebreeze@...> wrote: > > I am leaning more to not storing, but my husband wants to free up > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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