Hidden home hazards can make your home unsafe and unlivable by posing health and safety risks, such as exposing you to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). Some types of dangers, like water damage and mold, are also detrimental to human health and can cause significant property destruction.
Such hazards, which range from gas leaks and intrusion to dangerous materials, are of particular concern to people in certain regions, including North America. As an article published by Health Policy Watch points out, North Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, on average.
With a better understanding of these hazards that could be hiding and lurking in your home, you can take more proactive measures to prevent disasters from befalling your family.
What Are Common Yet Hidden Home Hazards?
Common but hidden home hazards include:
- Environmental hazards
- Electrical and fire dangers
- Overlooked physical and structural risks
They're "hidden" in that they could be:
- Invisible, tasteless, or odorless (e.g., carbon monoxide and radon gas)
- Too small for the naked eye to see (e.g., mold spores, particulate matter, bacteria, and other airborne pollutants)
- Out of sight (e.g., hidden frayed electrical cables, deteriorating asbestos-containing materials, and damage that compromises your home's structural integrity)
How Can You Tell if Your Home Has Hidden Hazards?
Usually, people realize there's something wrong with or in the house because their health suffers as a consequence of exposure.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for instance, says that carbon monoxide (CO) can cause sudden illness (with flu-like symptoms), even death. The agency further notes that every year, unintentional CO poisoning (unrelated to fires) results in:
- Over 400 deaths
- 100,000+ people visiting emergency departments
- 14,000+ people requiring hospitalization
You can also tell that a home has poor IAQ because spending time inside it triggers the onset of "Sick Building Syndrome." Headaches, fatigue, and eye, skin, and nasal irritation are all signs of spending too much time in an unhealthy house.
Another more accurate way to tell is to get professional inspection and testing for specific hazards.
Say you have an older home, and you worry about potentially dangerous materials like asbestos. In this case, you can get qualified professionals to conduct material, air, and dust sampling, as explained by this page discussing asbestos testing and removal in Bergen County, NJ.
How Can Hidden Home Hazards Make Your Home Unsafe and Unlivable?
Home hazards can cause health problems, from respiratory illnesses to cancer. In other cases, they can pose safety issues, such as mold growth and pest infestations. All these, plus the property damage they can result in, can render your home unsafe and unlivable.
Causing Potential Health Problems
Aside from CO, radon is another toxic gas that could be lurking in your home. It's a radioactive gas that, at elevated levels, can cause lung cancer through long-term exposure. The American Cancer Society even notes that it's the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smoking individuals.
Radon is a hidden home hazard because you can't see, taste, or smell it. As a naturally occurring gas, it can permeate your home from the surrounding soil, entering your abode through cracks and gaps in the foundation and other structural components.
There's also asbestos, another carcinogen that still exists in many older homes in the United States. Asbestos-containing materials (e.g., insulation, flooring, ceilings, and roofing) that are in good condition aren't a serious problem, but they can become severe hazards if damaged and disturbed.
Posing Significant Structural Safety Concerns
Water damage and mold growth are other hidden hazards that can make your home unsafe and unlivable. They can occur in hard-to-reach or inaccessible areas, usually where leaking plumbing pipes run.
- Inside walls
- Within ceilings
- Under the floors
Both water damage and mold growth can pose health concerns, too. Water damage can encourage more mold and bacterial growth, and it can even attract disease-causing pests like cockroaches.
Remember, too, that the more water damage there is, the more mold there likely is.
Extensive mold growth can compromise your home's structural components, eating away at organic, porous building materials like:
- Wood framing
- Drywall
- Subflooring
If the damage becomes severe enough, it can cause these materials to collapse.
Contributing To Property Destruction
Water and mold damage, on their own, can already cause considerable destruction to your property. However, water damage can bring even more problems: wood-eating termites.
As with mold growth, termite infestations can result in significant property damage that can make your home structurally compromised and unlivable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are There Ways To Prevent Hidden Home Hazards?
Yes.
Many hidden home hazards are easily preventable and manageable, such as by using CO detectors and alarms and having all CO-generating appliances (e.g., gas furnaces and ovens) undergo regular professional inspections and tune-ups.
You can't prevent naturally occurring radon, but you can have your abode tested. If the results reveal elevated levels, you can hire a certified radon mitigation expert to install an Active Soil Depressurization (ASD) system. Sealing foundation cracks and enhancing ventilation can also help.
If you have an older house and you suspect that it contains asbestos, invest in asbestos inspection. Professionals should tell you if you need it removed. You may have to if the materials are in bad condition or if you plan on doing something to your home, like a renovation, that will disturb the materials.
What Should You Look for When Hiring Contractors Who Deal With Home Hazards?
Many contractors who work with hidden home hazards (e.g., mold, asbestos, and radon) often have to meet rigorous state-mandated requirements. They must, for instance, complete specialized industry training, pass state examinations, and undergo certification.
Check with your state government agencies, such as the building inspection and planning departments, and ask them about these specific qualifications. Then, ensure that the contractor you'll hire meets all these requirements and provides documentary proof.
Protect Your Family From Hidden Home Hazards
From CO to radon, asbestos, water damage, and mold, these are just some examples of common yet hidden home hazards. Unaddressed, they can render your abode unsafe and unlivable.
If you take the time to familiarize yourself with these dangers, you can take more proactive steps to protect yourself and your family.
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