Home Inspections and Mold and 6 tips how to reduce mold In Your home
Mold can be a big issue - particularly when a home has been vacant for some time. A great home inspection is always a great idea especially if you are buying a distressed property.
This Westchester Home Inspector shares information about mold and some tips to keep it at bay.
It is normal to find mold spores in any homes indoor air and surfaces such as clothes, walls, and furniture. I n Westchester mold samples am taken on the exterior of the home to determine a baseline of the molds found in the air. Most of the time mold spores found indoors during a home inspection is from outside sources and do not pose a hazard. Regular housekeeping cleaning helps keep mold levels low keeping it healthy home standards. Cleaning small areas of visible mold, like the mold around your shower, is obligatory to maintain sanitary conditions.
When you should be more concerned is when your home has a large-scale of active mold growing. Such problems are most likely to happen when there’s been an on-going water leak, flood, or excessively high levels of humidity in the home. Leaks are some of the issues found during a home inspection in New York in older homes and newer as well. Some home inspectors in Westchester NY can test for mold by taking a few simple air samples to test .Indoor mold growth may lead to high levels of airborne mold spores, which, in turn, can trigger the spread of mold growth from the original source to additional areas of the home having high moisture levels.
Extensive mold growth will damage your home and furnishings, like carpets, sofas and cabinets. Over a period of time, uncontrolled mold growth can even instigate damage to structural elements of your home. While there is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment, keeping your home clean and dry can avert extensive mold growth and the ensuing damage.
Damage to your home or the home you are buying is not the only reason to be concerned with mold. Although most people are exposed to small amounts of mold or their spores on a daily basis without apparent harm, mold is an unsanitary condition that may present potential health risks to certain individuals. Having mold sampling done during a home inspection is not required but may be a good practice if you are sensitive to environmental conditions.
Possible adverse health effects produced by molds can include allergic, irritating, or toxigenic effects, and even infections, allergic reactions being the most common. Symptoms reported by affected people include: respiratory conditions, such as wheezing, difficulty breathing, and shortness of breath, sneezing and/or nasal congestion, eye and/or throat irritation, headaches and fatigue.
Here are a few tips to keep moisture from becoming a breeding ground in your home for molds.
1. Ensure that bathrooms, dryers and other moisture-creating sources are vented to the outside
2. Take care not to block any of your house’s air conditioning vents
3. Install de-humidifiers in basements and crawlspaces.
4. Use your kitchen’s exhaust fans when cooking
5. Install insulation on cold surfaces like piping, air ducts or basement walls to lessen possibilities of condensation
6. Install moisture sensor alarms in potential water back-up and overflow areas to alert you when a leak occurs.
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