New or old, if your home has been through a huge storm or a flood, or any other damage (even if you have had a leaky sink or something), there can be some hazardous issues that arise from these issues. And, if you have an older home there can be even more issues than that. It helps to know your home and what is in it, if you want to protect your health, and the health of your family.
When it comes to finding out about most of these issues you’ll need to hire a professional to come in. Unless you know which floor tiles or ceiling tiles contain asbestos you may not know how to tell what it is. The same goes for lead based paint.
Here are a few of the things that you might find in your home that could be harming your family’s health. Whether you figure them out on your own or you need to hire an inspector to come in, you will also want to know how to get rid of them to make your home safe again.
Mold
There is more than one type of mold that can be found in your home, black mold being the worst of it. Your home could be harboring mold and you may not even know about it. If you’ve had a flood, a roof leak, or even a leaky sink, it’s pretty likely that you do have at least some mold in your home.
If you have the money you can get a home mold test kit. If you do have mold in your home you need to get it taken care of, as black mold can cause asthma and other respiratory issues. You may need to have someone come in and test your home, but you can fairly easily clean mold with bleach. That won’t take care of what is in the walls or behind them though.
Critters
You may find that your home has some bugs, or mice. It doesn’t even matter if it’s a new home or an old home, although older homes are often more attractive. Bugs like termites and carpenter ants are attracted to rotting wood, and can literally destroy your home from the inside out.
Mice can move in, especially in the winter, in search of warmth, food, and water. They can bring with them diseases too. Traps and exterminators are a must, for bugs and for mice.
Lead Paint
If your home was built before 1978 and has not been remodelled since then, you may have lead based paint on your walls. If you do, you need to have a professional come in and get rid of it, for your health. You don’t need your children breathing it in while it’s getting worked on either, so you’ll want to stay somewhere else during the time this is going on.
Asbestos
Asbestos is dangerous to your health, much like lead paint. Most homes have already had the asbestos removed from them, but you may want to have someone look at your home if it is older. Often it is found in floor and ceiling tiles.
Asbestos needs to be removed by a professional, and you’ll want to stay away from your home as the dust is hazardous to your health.