Buying a new home should be a joyous occasion. There is nothing like finally turning the key and opening the door to your new home. It should be a moment of triumph and comfort.
Unfortunately, sometimes bad things can happen at times that are supposed to be joyous. There are a few things as disheartening as finally buying a new home only to discover that it has a nasty and potentially dangerous problem: mold.
If you have just closed on a home that has mold in it, you may be wondering what you should do.
The one thing you shouldn't do is panic because there are solutions that you have to choose from. Here we will cover what you should do, and how to do it.
How to Determine If Your Home Has Mold
At this particular point, you may only suspect that there is mold in your home. You may not know what signs to look for, but something seems off.
Here are the signs that you need to look for that can confirm or deny your suspicion.
Health Symptoms
One of the first signs of mold in your house that you cannot see but rather experience would be adverse health symptoms. You need to understand that mold spreads in your home by spreading microscopic spores into the air.
When this happens, it is possible that you could inhale those spores.
When you inhale mold spores, it becomes possible that you will develop certain symptoms. Here are some symptoms you could expect to develop after mold inhalation.
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Difficulty breathing
- Allergy-like symptoms
- Chest pain
- Nausea
If you have developed some of these symptoms after buying a new home, it may be a good idea to speak with your doctor and be tested for mold exposure.
Structural Signs
When you close the deal on a home it is normal to have a home inspector check it for safety, but not every home inspector may be able to spot signs of mold that are less apparent.
Here are some structural signs that you should look for that may reveal mold in your new home.
One of the first places you should look for mold growth that may have eluded a home inspector would be the vents in your new home. If you see small black splotches around your events, then it may mean that your home's ventilation system has been compromised with mold.
Home inspectors may also miss discoloration around the baseboards of the home. This discoloration typically occurs in homes where there are high humidity levels in excess of 50%.
It is also important to look at any examples of wallpaper in your home that may be bubbling up or peeling, as this is another sign of mold-induced due to high humidity.
Water stains on the ceiling or in areas where piping could be run in the home or potential signs of mold growth.
Risks of Not Taking Action
If you do not take immediate action upon discovering the mold in your home, the window with which you can act in cooperation with the seller closes quickly. As frustrating as it may be, you must prove that the mold was there before you assumed ownership of the home.
The longer you wait to do anything, the more difficult it will be to make your case.
It needs to be understood that this does not necessarily have to create a cruel situation.
It simply means that your home may have had mold before the purchase and closure of the deal, and there may be some responsibility on the seller to amend it.
Long-Term Health Risks
You need to understand that won't exposure can lead to long-term, chronic health risks. Coughing, chest pain, frequent allergy-like symptoms, and difficulty breathing are to be expected if you are a victim of long-term exposure.
Because of these potential long-term effects, you should not put off visiting your doctor should you develop these symptoms not long after purchasing your new home.
Property Damage
It is also important to understand that mold infestation does not merely affect your health, it can affect the structural integrity of your new home.
This is because mold is a corrosive substance that eats away at organic matter and causes it to rot. If there is a leak in your home, especially from the roof into the attic, then that water can be absorbed by the wooden foundation of your attic and serve as the necessary moisture to facilitate mold growth.
Once the mold has started to grow on the wooden foundation of your home it will begin to spread as it eats away at the structure. This is a potentially severe threat to the safety of your home if it is allowed to happen unchecked.
Devaluing Your Home
When mold infests your home and begins to do structural damage, the value of your home can quickly start to plummet. Unless you make the necessary steps towards removal and likely repairs, you can expect the value of your home to depreciate sharply.
Second Opinion
The possibility of mold infestation warrants doing additional testing on your home. You can send away a mold detection kit that you can use yourself, so long as you follow the instructions to the letter.
However, nothing quite brings the peace of mind you seek as a homeowner, like calling in a professional. A professional mold inspection and removal service will know exactly what to look for in your home to determine whether or not it is infested or mold-free.
If it is determined that there is mold in your home, many options are potentially at your disposal to get rid of it. It is possible, depending on the terms of the sale of the home that the seller could cover the costs of mold remediation.
It may also be possible for your homeowner's insurance to cover the costs. What you cannot afford to do is allow the mold to grow unchecked.
Conclusion
You cannot allow mold to destroy the positive feeling of owning a new home. Mold can be cleaned and removed, and your home can be returned to normal.
So long as you take the necessary steps to ensure the mold is cared for, you and your family will be home in no time.
