[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/dont-let-ghosting-scare-you\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/dont-let-ghosting-scare-you\/","headline":"Don\u2019t Let Ghosting Scare You!","name":"Don\u2019t Let Ghosting Scare You!","description":"Now that we\u2019re solidly into the fall season, leading up to Halloween, I thought I\u2019d tell you a spooky story that\u2019s sure to scare many homeowners.\u00a0 Several months ago, I arrived at a customer\u2019s house to perform preventative maintenance on her furnace.\u00a0 The homeowner met me at the door with a stunned look on her face, and instead of directing me to her basement, she announced very dramatically, \u201cBefore you enter, I need to warn you that something sinister has overtaken my house!\u201d\u00a0 That was a statement I hadn\u2019t anticipated from my usually level-headed customer. Before I could question her further, […]","datePublished":"2018-10-19","dateModified":"2022-10-25","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/author\/the-coop\/#Person","name":"The Coop","url":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/author\/the-coop\/","identifier":4,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb1eb163dafcaf971bc236237b85419f?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb1eb163dafcaf971bc236237b85419f?s=96&d=blank&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cooper Mechanical","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/docorthopaedic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/logo.png","url":"https:\/\/docorthopaedic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Ghosting-Photo.jpg","url":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Ghosting-Photo.jpg","height":348,"width":476},"url":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/dont-let-ghosting-scare-you\/","about":["BLOG"],"wordCount":966,"articleBody":"Now that we\u2019re solidly into the fall season, leading up to Halloween, I thought I\u2019d tell you a spooky story that\u2019s sure to scare many homeowners.\u00a0 Several months ago, I arrived at a customer\u2019s house to perform preventative maintenance on her furnace.\u00a0 The homeowner met me at the door with a stunned look on her face, and instead of directing me to her basement, she announced very dramatically, \u201cBefore you enter, I need to warn you that something sinister has overtaken my house!\u201d\u00a0 That was a statement I hadn\u2019t anticipated from my usually level-headed customer.Before I could question her further, she guided me into her living room and pointed to her wall.\u00a0 In the bright light of autumn\u2019s early morning sun, I immediately saw what she meant.\u00a0 There was a pattern of straight black lines all the way up and down the outside wall of her room.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, when I glanced at her ceiling, I noticed another faint pattern of black lines traveling across the surface.\u00a0 Each line was perfectly equidistant from the other.\u00a0 Was something creepy lurking in my customer\u2019s house?\u00a0 Was this the next \u2018Amityville Horror\u2019 movie in the making, this time located in beautiful Bucks County, PA?\u00a0 I think not!Take it from the Coop, I\u2019ve been in business a long time, and I\u2019ve seen just about everything that can go wrong in a house so I knew right away what was occurring; her home wasn\u2019t haunted, but I could certainly see evidence of ghosting!\u00a0 That\u2019s right, ghosting!Ghosting is the result of a slow build-up of soot, dust, dirt, and other particles that have attached to objects such as studs, joists, walls, ceilings, rafters, and even sheetrock screws. To give you some background, let\u2019s talk briefly about the construction of a house.\u00a0 In order to evenly and comfortably heat and cool a home, 3 barriers must surround the building in a continuous fashion to protect it.\u00a0 There must be a moisture barrier, thermal barrier, and an air barrier.\u00a0 These 3 barriers are often called the building envelope. There should never be gaps, penetrations, or voids in this critical building envelope because air and moisture can be carried by air currents through these penetrations which can create problems such as ghosting.When outside unconditioned air (or inside conditioned air) penetrates the air barrier and moves in and around insulation in the walls, it is called thermal bypass.\u00a0 In the winter, when cold air passes through a badly insulated wall, condensation may occur on the back side of the wall.\u00a0 Sometimes, this leads to a mold issue within the wall cavity.\u00a0 (That\u2019s a BIG problem that I\u2019ll address another day.)\u00a0 At other times, dirt particles stick to these cold, damp spots, and over time, clump together creating the distinctive (and downright creepy) lines that mimic the framing of a wall and\/or ceiling. \u00a0Moreover, differences in indoor vs. outdoor air temperatures can also affect the relative pressure in a home, causing air currents to flow, resulting in, you guessed it, ghosting patterns.When I described to my customer what caused the ghosting, she became miffed.\u00a0 Her house looked clean and tidy \u2013 where was the \u201cdirt\u201d and excess moisture coming from?\u00a0 Interestingly, many sources you\u2019re probably not aware of can cause moisture and dirt including:Lit candles \u2013 particularly scented types and incenseCooking oils that smoke over high heatGas log fireplacesSmokingPoorly maintained heating\/cooling equipment with dirty filtersPet danderInfrequent vacuuming, dusting, sweepingUnvented appliances like cooktops, clothes dryers, and bathroom fansSoot from fireplaces and woodstovesSo, now you know what causes ghosting.\u00a0 Here are some things you can do to fix the situation:Have a reputable insulation expert make sure your home is properly insulated and fixes any gaps, voids or penetrations.Make sure your heating and cooling equipment is cleaned and maintained by a professional company like Cooper Mechanical.Replace your air filter on a regular basis, according to the manufacturer\u2019s instructions. You may want to invest in a high quality air filtration system if your air filter can\u2019t seem to keep up with the amount of particle debris in the air.If you feel air escaping from your duct work, have a professional technician check it out to ensure there are no leaks on the return and supply sides which can exacerbate pressurization issues.Keep the relative humidity in your home below 55% in the winter.Make sure appliances are properly vented and be sure to use the venting systems.Seal up any cracks or air leaks around windows and doors to mitigate drafts.Don\u2019t smoke! (Yet another reason to stop smoking!)If you\u2019re addicted to the scent of candles wafting in your home (I sure am) switch to hard wax candles and keep the wicks trimmed to no more than \u00bc inch.Clean-up and remove wood-burning soot on an ongoing basis.Stay on top of the dirt particles in your home. Vacuum, sweep, and dust often.Once you\u2019ve corrected the issue(s) that are the root cause of the ghosting, then and only then, should you completely clean the affected area, paint over any ghosting marks with a stain-killing paint and then repaint with your top-coat.Ultimately, my customer had nothing scary to worry about but she did have a good size project to address.\u00a0 It took several months to assess the problems and then fix the issues, but my customer\u2019s home now looks as good as new, with no sign of ghosting!Is something spooky happening at your house?\u00a0 Don\u2019t be frightened, there\u2019s probably a logical explanation.\u00a0 No need to call \u2018Ghost Busters\u2019 \u2013 just call Cooper Mechanical for professional assistance at 610-228-4405..fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-4{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-4 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 0px;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-4{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-4 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-4{width:100% !important;}.fusion-builder-column-4 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0px;margin-left : 0px;}}.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-5{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Don\u2019t Let Ghosting Scare You!","item":"https:\/\/coopermech.com\/dont-let-ghosting-scare-you\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]