How Soffit Vents Keep Your Home Moisture Free

While the more active parts of our home’s ventilation system may get all of the praise and attention, consistent passive ventilation like that afforded by soffit vents can be just as effective at protecting your home as your HVAC system is at protecting your comfort. When heat and moisture are allowed to accumulate in your attic unchecked, it can lead to various problems throughout the year, such as:

• Water condensation build-up
• Wood rot
• Mold and mildew
• Damaged shingles and roofing components

Also, a poorly ventilated attic will make your HVAC system work that much harder to keep up during all seasons, increasing your energy costs. Before putting a call in for another potentially expensive repair, check out your soffit vents first, make sure you have sufficient ventilation, and learn more about how they keep your home moisture-free.

What Do Soffit Vents Do?

A soffit is the area where a home’s exterior wall and roof meet, and this is where soffit vents are placed. The vents themselves look like speakers, and are designed to suck cool fresh air into the attic, and hot stagnant air is pushed out through the roof vents placed towards the roof line. When functioning properly, these vents work in conjunction all year to keep fresh air flowing throughout the attic to prevent the moisture and water condensation build-up that can lead to catastrophic property damage.

Are Your Soffit Vents Functional?

While on the roof, a visual inspection of the soffit vents is typically all that is needed.

• Are the vents clogged?
• Do any of the vents have visible damage?
• Is there any visible debris that needs to be removed from the vents?

If the vents themselves are damaged or otherwise non-functional, be sure to replace them as soon as possible to prevent moisture build-up and higher energy costs going forward.

Is My Attic Sufficiently Ventilated?

When buying a used or older home, it can be difficult to ascertain whether or not the home was originally built with adequate attic ventilation in mind. Therefore, getting the square footage of the attic in question would be the next step towards determining whether or not more ventilation is needed. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development typically requires one sq. foot of net free vent area per 150 square feet of attic area to be vented, otherwise known as the 1/150 rule. 

Using the square footage of your attic, simply plug this number into our HVAC Attic & Ventilation Calculator to determine how many square inches of net free vent area your attic will need in order to be properly ventilated.

How FAMCO Can Help

We are one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of HVAC supplies and accessories in the Pacific Northwest. We pride ourselves on making high-quality soffit vents that stand the test of time and keep your attic dry year after year. Have any questions about our products or services? Give us a call, we’ll be more than happy to help.