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wet insulation

Does Wet Insulation, or Moisture in Insulation Ever Dry Out?

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You may be interested to know that once you have moist or wet insulation, it may never dry out!

A study in the USA did a test to see how long it would take for wet insulation to dry out in the sun, and depending on the thickness and absorbancy of the insulation type, it takes somewhere between 10-100 years!

For insulation to accumulate moisture, it usually needs to be penetrated somehow for the water/moisture to gain access. Sometimes this penetration can happen in the most unexpected of ways… like being chewed by rodents! Here’s a photo of rat chewed insulation behind the walls.

See photo here

Photo of Water Damaged Insulation Behind Walls

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Do you have water damaged insulation?

Water damage to insulation can potentially spell disaster to both the structural integrity of your home, and also your energy bill!

If water & moisture sits in behind your walls for extended periods of time, then you’ll find it slowly creeps into the framework, drywall/plasterboard and beyond. In a nutshell, water will creep it’s way downwards due to gravity and sideways through absorption… and any tiny gap in between!

water damaged insulation

Take this photo for example. This photo was taken at night time from the buildings exterior during a thermal imaging building inspection. The inside of the building was warm and the exterior air temperature was cold. The white area you see is wet insulation, and the finger shapes you seen is water creeping down the wall due to gravity.

Due to warm air naturally rising in the home (in still conditions), the warm air in this building is all being lost at the top due to conduction. Once warm air is lost at the top, it’s replaced by cooler air at the bottom…. and as a result the whole building will cool.

We can detect missing insulation behind your walls that could be causing an unhealthy home! Contact us for a free quote.

NZ Leak & Heat Loss Detection Ltd.

(Photo -Infraspection Institute)