2016 marks the 80th birthday of the first commercial use of the word “dumpster.” The word came from two brothers named Dempster who created the first front-loading garbage truck called the “Dempster Dumpmaster.” Dumpsters are made for trash … attics are not.
As an inspector, I have the opportunity to go into a LOT of attics. Some are very functional, and others are… let’s just say – not so clean and functional. Many people use a portion of the attic for storage, but the primary purpose of an attic serves a very important purpose in a house. Aside from storage, a well-organized clean and functional attic is one sign of a well-maintained house. It will make a difference in the comfort and efficiency (and resale value) of a house.
Some of the things found in an attic are quite incredible! You may think I’m a bit eccentric here, but it is a pet peeve of mine to find a bunch of trash in an attic. Often times, when a service technician, be it an electrician, HVAC, plumber, or general handyman does some work in an attic, they leave their trash there.
I recently inspected a 55 year old house that was being “flipped.” A person (who happened to be a real estate agent) bought the house, hired a general contractor to make many repairs and upgrade the house, and then put it on the market to sell for a profit. When I went into attic and inspected the HVAC equipment, in addition to old parts and boxes of new parts, I found a huge, wadded up pile of trash crammed under the decking and into the original insulation. It was the paper backing to the aluminum tape used to tape the ductwork and plenum. In addition, there was an old disconnected vent pipe that had never been removed, just lying on the ceiling joists additionally. The attic was more like a graveyard for old parts from a half-century of time.
It’s actually too common to find the boxes for new parts being installed, the old part that was replaced, old ductwork, and all sorts of trash thrown into the insulation on the other side of the HVAC unit. I don’t know how or why it got there, but in a 24-year old house I purchased in 1999, there was one of the 16-foot panels to the original garage door in an inaccessible place on the other side of the HVAC equipment. The attic is not a place for trash!
When someone is in your house or attic repairing or servicing something, make sure they take their trash with them. The job is not done until the work and surrounding area is clean. Ask a service provider before you hire them if they will make sure the area is clean when they’re finished.
It’s Spring Cleaning time of year. Clean out all the trash in your attic, and make sure that the insulation is covering well the areas needed. You may also find that you need to add some insulation in some parts of your attic to make your house more comfortable and energy efficient. Don’t block the soffit vents … they’re an important part of the function of your attic. Do it yourself, or get a professional to help you with that. Remove any debris or insulation in the overflow pans under the evaporator core and water heater. You generally need to do all of this just once. Please be careful when in the attic. A better time to be in the attic is early in the morning before the attic heats up. Cleaning out an attic would make a great project for a teenage son or grandson. Stay clean and well-insulated my friends!
