How To Remove Loose Attic Insulation

This extra step removes all the tiny pieces of insulation that can infiltrate the air.

How to remove loose attic insulation.

Perform a general cleaning by removing loose dust and dirt. Use plastic sheets or tarps to protect areas of the home you don t want exposed to insulation fibers. Close off doorways or use plastic sheets taped over openings to other rooms. Large debris and fiberglass batt insulation is bagged by hand.

Though some batts come with a paper or foil facing that can act as a vapor barrier tom silva prefers to use 6 mil polyethylene sheeting cut to fit between the joists and with seams sealed by foil tape to prevent moisture from seeping into insulation. Whether using loose fill or batts put the vapor barrier closest to the warm side of your installation where hot moist air would get in facing the house s interior in cold climates beneath floor insulation and the attic s interior in. According to the u s. If you choose to use a wet dry vacuum you ll need garbage bags to dump the vacuum canister into.

The first step to making sure it is safe to remove insulation from your attic is to clear the area of all contaminants look out for the following. Believe it or not there are situations in a home when you should remove the old attic insulation before adding more over the existing and in this short video. After vacuuming all of the loose insulation and emptying it into garbage bags you ll want to thoroughly vacuum all of the attic joists. Use the shop vac to remove remaining insulation after raking and vacuum the attic floor without commercial vacuum usage.

Use the commercial vacuum hose to remove the insulation and clean the attic floor. All of the dust and debris can be suctioned up safely and efficiently and collected in a large volume filter bag which is specifically designed to collect the insulation material. Check for mold or mildew in the attic. Consumer product protection agency this is very important if your home contains insulation manufactured between 1930 and 1950.