Checking Out Your House For Mold

Checking your home for mold is something that every homeowner should do if they want to protect their investment and the health of their family, since mold has been known to cause health problems for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Breathing problems and numerous different types of infections have arisen from breathing in or coming into contact with mold and its spores, not to mention the allergic reactions that some people have. Around one third of the population is allergic to mold, but most people do not realize that even dead mold spores can cause allergic reactions.

There are a number of reasons that you should check for mold in your home and signs that should tell you where to check. Any room that has a large amount of water going in and out of it every day should be considered at risk for mold growth and while this usually includes the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room, it can also include the basement.

The basement should be considered for another reason: it is underground. Humidity builds up easily in basements, especially those that have not been properly waterproofed. Water can leak into this room from the outside of the house, but it can also leak in from cracks in the concrete formed by ground water. If you have any plans on finishing your basement with drywall, you should get the water issues in the basement solved as thoroughly as you can.

The floor of your bathroom and kitchen should also be completely waterproofed. You can install any kind of flooring that you like (although hardwood is not recommended) as long as it is sealed so that water does not get underneath and soak into the floor boards. This can rot the floor over time and cause it to fall right out from underneath you, but before that happens, mold growth is very common.

Mold has also been known to grow on bathroom and kitchen ceilings and walls because the steam has nowhere to go. Both of these rooms should have exhaust vents that will pull the steam out of the room. If not, it becomes absorbed by the ceiling and upper walls and will cause mold growth.

Another problem occurs when people put carpet in moist areas of their home. While most people do not put carpet in the kitchen, some have been known to put carpet in the bathroom. Since water is dripped onto the floor almost every single day in the bathroom, this is one of the worst bathroom remodeling ideas going. No matter how careful you care, mold will eventually start to grow underneath this carpet and you will have to throw it out.