Have you ever looked in your roof only to find there’s as much rat poo and dead leaves as there is insulation? Cleaning out the ceiling cavity is just one reason why you might remove old insulation. Here’s a few others…

  1. You are planning renovations that involve pulling down the ceilings and don’t fancy being smothered in itchy insulation as it rains down from above.
  2. The insulation is a health hazard. Expanding foam insulation that contains urea formaldehyde is highly carcinogenic and should be removed from homes.
  3. You are rewiring the house and want to have a clean space for the electricians to work in so they don’t charge a premium for having to crawl around in a mountain of itchy insulation.
  4. You suffer from allergies or asthma. The roof is a terrible collector of dust over time, by cleaning it out you can reduce the risk to any occupants who suffer from poor air quality.
  5. You are installing new insulation and the old insulation needs to be removed first to create a nice clear surface for the batts to sit on without creating any gaps (Never just stick batts over old, uneven insulation – they won’t work!).
  6. Pests have invaded. Carpet beetle love to nest in sheep wool insulation and munch on the contents of your wardrobe. Rats love making nests in fibreglass batts and aren’t exactly toilet trained. Sometimes its best just to clear everything out , treat the pests and start again.
  7. Electrical safety. Since a review of the electrical standards, if you have an older home and any type of loose insulation in the ceiling, the maximum size of the fuses you are now allowed on your power circuits is 13 amps (which trip easily if overloaded). An alternative to dropping down to smaller breakers though is to remove the loose insulation and replace with batts that allow you to have either 16 or 20 amps instead.

Keen to see how to remove insulation? Watch our insulation removal vacuum in action below.

 

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