Dry rot is one of those roof problems that can become very frustrating and expensive. There are risks to dry rot, including the collapse of your roof or serious structural damage to any wooden elements of your home. In order to manage these risks, you need to understand them and dry rot. Here is what you need to know.
What is Dry Rot?
Dry rot is caused by fungal growth. There are two main species that can cause dry rot: Serpulalacrymans and Meruliporiaincrassate. While many other fungi can be stopped by improving ventilation and reducing the humidity in your attic or the affected area, dry rot will keep growing even at lower humidity levels. This means that dry rot is hard to resolve and usually requires swift action to remove all of the infected wood and proactively remove any wood which looks like it could develop the infection.
Dry rot will produce copious red or brown spores, which look a bit like dusted rust. From these spores, the rot will spread to any wood that it can find.
Are There Health Risks of Dry Rot?
Probably not. You’re right to be concerned, as there are fungi which can produce spores that are harmful to human health. However, the two fungi species which cause dry rot are not known to produce anything which is absolutely harmful to human health. Some individuals may find that they are more sensitive to different molds and have reactions to them. However, this sensitivity is rare.
On the other hand, while the dry rot may not be a risk, the same conditions which create dry rot often grow molds which can be harmful to human health. This includes mold species such as:
- Aspergillus
- Cladosporium
- Chaetomium
- Alternarla
- And more
These molds may be harmful and can be more harmful to certain individuals who are sensitive to them. In order to prevent the growth of these molds, your roofer should correct the roof leak that likely led to the damp conditions. If mold has started, you may also need mold remediation services to remove them safely.
Are There Structural Risks of Dry Rot?
The major risk of dry rot is not health-related, but safety-related. Dry rot eventually turns wood into a powder, which can completely collapse your roof or do serious harm to other structural elements of your home. The risk is that dry rot can cause injury to anyone in our home if they are around when the wood gives out.
In order to prevent this, dry rot has to be dealt with very seriously and immediately. All infected wood needs to be removed and replaced. As dry rot spreads very well, you will also need follow-up appointments to ensure that the remaining wood has not be infected. Otherwise the dry rot can progress unchecked—especially considering it tends to infect wood that is not visible to you, such as wood in the attic.
If you suspect you have dry rot you should reach out to professionals for help right away.
