Attic Cleaning And Organizing Tips

Reduced temperatures during fall and winter open the perfect opportunity to organize and clean your attic spaces. While you’re up there, you’ll also notice any areas of the attic that might need repair or replacement - like damaged attic insulation, issues with HVAC ducts, evidence of leaks or moisture issues, or pest damage. A clean and optimized attic space improves whole-home energy efficiency and indoor quality. 

If you haven’t peeked up in your attic lately, or what you saw felt overwhelming, look for local Bay Area attic pros who can support your efforts.

Tips To Organize And Clean Your Attic Space

The first step in organizing and cleaning an attic space is to take a look up there and assess the situation. If you own an older home, or it’s been a while since you’ve been up in the attic, you may find all six steps are necessary to get the attic back into shape.

Establish that it’s safe to proceed

A neglected or poorly maintained attic can be dangerous. If that’s the case, only licensed attic or insulation professionals should continue.

Signs of danger in the attic include:

• Signs of rotted or damaged flooring or joists that may not support your wait.
• Harsh or toxic-smelling fumes or odors.
• Obvious signs of significant leaks or water damage on the attic floors (which may not support your weight).
• Dangling, cut, or damaged wires and cords that could pose an electric shock or fire risk. Never touch unidentified wires in an attic.
• Any gut feeling that “something isn’t right.”

If you get any sense that the attic is unsafe, trust that and contact a professional to continue with a professional attic inspection.

Use appropriate attire and tools

Attics can be full of all kinds of minor irritants and potential injury risks. Also, the more equipment you have available for the job when you’re up there, the less time you’ll waste going up and down the attic ladder retrieving what you need.

For this reason, you should never go up in your attic space without:

• Long-sleeved shirt and pants.
• Safety goggles and dust mask (to protect yourself from stirred dust, particulates, and falling debris).
• Comfortable, well-fitting, closed-toed shoes (preferably with a hard sole in case there are stray nails, tacks, or staples.
• Gloves.
• Flashlight.
• Heavy-duty trash bags.
• Brooms/dust pans.
• Microfiber cloths.
• Vacuum with a HEPA filter (or a shopvac with an equally powerful filter if you have one).

Attic cleaning and organizing old stored items

Unsurprisingly, all that empty attic space became a storage unit over the years. However, to complete a thorough attic cleaning, you’ll need to go through everything and verify its condition, whether it’s worth saving, and what needs to be donated, gifted, or trashed.

If your attic is large enough, you may have the luxury of moving all the stored items into various sections, cleaning and sanitizing one section at a time. If not, we recommend taking everything out of the attic, going through it, and reboxing it if necessary (prioritizing plastic totes over cardboard boxes to prevent rot or rodent nests), and then moving it back in an orderly fashion.

Cleaning out debris and dust

If you notice any signs of significant mold growth, stop and contact a professional mold/mildew removal team. Many mold species, like black mold, are dangerous and cause serious respiratory issues. Equally important, failure to provide proper mold removal and sanitization simply releases mold spores into the environment, putting other areas of your home at risk. 

Depending on the length of time the mold or mildew has been established, you may also feel soft or spongy areas around the infestation, indicating structural rot. Again, this is a significant red flag and should prompt a call to a licensed attic specialist or contractor to ensure everything is cleaned up and repaired correctly.

• Sweep or vacuum all surfaces.
• Pay careful attention to corners and spaces between wood/beams.
• Remove all cobwebs or evidence of pests (See next if there is evidence of pest infestations).
• Scrub stubborn stains with a solution of warm water and a mild detergent.

Remove pest debris

Like mold, evidence of pest infestations is a red flag. In some cases, it’s evident that any nests, dried waste products, or other damage is historic. In other cases, you might find that pests currently occupy the space.

Evidence of rodents or other pests in the attic include:

• Visible droppings.
• Visible signs of urine.
• The smell of urine or an ammonia-like odor.
• Nests that look new or fresh (or may even have the most recent litter lying inside).
• Bored holes, spongy woods, or other evidence of wood-boring insects.
• The busy activity of bees or wasps.
• Chewed wires, insulation, or plastic PVC pipes.

Make sure to don your mask and safety goggles when cleaning up pest debris and waste, as they can be toxic. Then, we recommend contacting a professional attic pest removal and prevention company to do what’s necessary to prevent future infestations.

Inspect, clear, and clean attic vents

Finally, make your way around the attic and inspect your attic vents. Air circulation via attic ventilation is critical for controlling both whole-home temperature and humidity, particularly during peak hot and cold seasons. 

Clear any obstructions and then sweep, vacuum, and/or wipe the vents down to minimize the debris that circulates the space. You may notice that some vent seals are compromised. In that case, you can purchase caulking and follow these simple air-sealing instructions or contact a local licensed attic contractor or handyman to do it for you. 

Use Attic Solutions For All Of Your Attic Cleaning And Organizing Needs

Is your attic space overdue for some TLC? Schedule an attic inspection with Attic Solutions. We’ve been cleaning, sanitizing, and optimizing Bay Area attic spaces for more than a decade. 

In addition to attic cleaning and organizing, our team can replace or repair damaged, insulation, get ductwork back into shape, provide guaranteed pest removal and prevention, and other services designed to keep your attic in great shape. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.