Getting Rid of Roof Tar Fumes in Your Home

Baking soda is a natural deodorant and can be used to absorb some of the pungent tar smell in your home. Sprinkle a pinch of baking soda in the house and even in the attic to keep carpets smelling fresh. To get rid of the fumes, you'll need to install three ventilation grilles on the roof of a turbine, also known as whirlwinds. Additionally, you should place excellent ventilation strips on the ceiling that allow outdoor air to flow up and into the attic, so that the vapors from the asphalt come out through the top of the roof.

Ceiling ventilation must be continuous throughout the ceiling. Many of us have experienced the extremely penetrating odors that bitumen emits when a building is re-roofed with tar or when a road team is installing asphalt. These harmful vapors are volatile organic compounds released by these substances. Bitumen, asphalt and tars are all derived from crude oil residues. After gasoline, kerosene, or other more volatile fuels are removed from crude oil, what remains can be converted to tar. Kerosene and diesel fuel can remove tar, but they're not suitable for tar spills on roofs.

Asphalt shingles are commonly used for roofing, so it's not a good idea to fuel the structure of your house either. Depending on the application, tars must undergo further refinement before they can be used as asphalt or bitumen for roofs, ships or roads. Liquid EPDM rubber roofing coatings are of high quality, but adding an elastomeric polyurethane coating will further help ensure overall roof protection. If you use kerosine on your clothes to remove tar from ceilings, it could leave a stain and you shouldn't put the garment you treated it with in the washing machine or dryer until the smell of the product has completely disappeared. Kerosine is easily the best option if you get roofing tar sticking to your car, but for anything else, you'll probably be better off with one of the other products. Both roofers and road workers are at high risk of developing cancer or other health problems when they are exposed daily to PAHs emitted by asphalts and tars.

On the contrary, these same materials are known to be carcinogenic to roofing or road construction workers. After reading everything I could find (not much) and talking to air quality experts, I was finally convinced that I wouldn't be able to smell ceiling materials indoors. One of the main advantages of this particular form of coating is that it can be applied to many different types of roofs. If you're looking for an effective way to get rid of roof tar fumes in your home, consider installing ventilation grilles on your roof and placing ventilation strips on your ceiling. Additionally, baking soda can help absorb some of the pungent tar smell.

Garry Hesler
Garry Hesler

Freelance pop culture guru. Roofing contractor. Friendly food practitioner. Total travel evangelist. Freelance travel ninja. Proud musicaholic.