How Leak Detection Can stop Mold from Spreading
Mold represents one of the most common health hazards within homes. Over time, chronic exposure to mold can lead to serious allergy symptoms that include coughing, wheezing, a sore throat, skin rashes, and painful eyes. People who live in homes with mold are more likely to develop serious respiratory conditions including asthma, and certain types of toxic mold have even been linked to cancer.
In addition to the health hazard mold infestations pose, mold also inflicts serious damage to homes, which can be extremely costly to repair.
Tackling the problem early on, before it becomes extensive, is in your best interest — but to stop mold from spreading, the underlying cause must be identified. How can leak detection help with this?
What Causes Mold in Homes?
Mold thrives in humid conditions where it has access to a food source. In some cases, the cause of mold may be as simple as failing to ventilate your home properly — especially when it comes to perpetually moist spaces such as bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. Similarly, forgetting to take care of a carpet spill can allow mold to take hold.
Leaks, however, also provide mold with a constant source of moisture. The leaks don’t have to be anywhere near as dramatic and obvious as a burst pipe. Loose shingles or ever-so-slightly leaky basement windows can lead to insidious leaks that are extremely hard to detect.
You might not be able to identify the source. You might not even know that there is a problem in the first place. Mold, however, quickly proliferates in any hospitable space. Within as little as 24 to 48 hours, mold can take hold and begin spreading like wildfire.
Why Is Hiring a Leak Detection Company the Logical Next Step?
Where there’s mold, there’s water. It’s now up to you to figure out where that water is coming from. If you have bought a humidity meter and your humidity levels are within the normal range — between 30 and 50 percent — a leak is the most likely cause of the mold within your home.
Because not all leaks are obvious, but mold points to the presence of a leak, hiring a leak detection company is the next recommended step. A leak detection company can pinpoint any source of leaks, which then allows you to correct the problem, and banish mold from your home.