Moisture in your home can have a detrimental effect on the structure of the home and on your health. It is very important that you avoid conditions of excess moisture. This means taking care of basement crawl spaces that are damp or solving leaks in your basement so water does not come into the home and linger. This also means considering the installation of a dehumidifier if your home has too much moisture, and ensuring that you prevent leaks or steam from damaging your spaces.
Finally, one of the most important ways to avoid excess water that could damage your home is to turn to professional carpet cleaning companies only rather than trying to clean the carpets on your own. When you try to clean the carpets on your own with a machine that you either buy or rent, it will not be possible for you to get the water as hot or the carpets as dry as part of the cleaning process.
This will leave water sitting in the carpet for a long time, which can create many moisture problems that damage your home. Chem-Dry uses less water than most carpet cleaning companies so you can ensure you don’t put your house at risk for moisture concerns.
The Dangers of Moisture in Your Home
There are a huge number of different reasons why moisture in your home can be very damaging. Here are a few examples of some key reasons why you want to keep excess moisture out of your house:
- Moisture can cause mold and mildew to grow in your home.
The EPA warns that moisture is one of the primary driving factors that can promote the growth of mold inside of your home. Both mold and mildew thrive in damp conditions and can grow and spread quickly throughout your house. Some types of mold can be deadly, but all types can cause damage to your home. When you breathe in mold and mildew spores, this can create respiratory problems and can cause headaches and asthma.
Children, the elderly and people who suffer from compromised immune systems are the ones that are most likely to be at risk from exposure to mold and mildew. Unfortunately, mold anywhere in the home can travel through your HVAC system and leave you breathing it in. This is why it is important to avoid mold everywhere.
- Moisture can attract insects into your home.
According to Ask the Exterminator, many different kinds of bugs are attracted to moisture. This includes carpenter ants, sow bugs, millipedes, and pill bugs along with many other different types of insects. Some of these insects, such as carpenter ants, can be really damaging to the structural integrity of your home. Some of the insects can bring disease with them and all insects are gross and unpleasant to share your home with.
Unfortunately, when you provide a dark and damp place in your home (like a leaky basement or wet carpets that sit for days), bugs will be encouraged to move in. You could end up dealing with an infestation or needing to call a pest control professional to deal with the problem. If you have children or pets and you don’t want to end up needing to spray chemicals to get rid of bugs, it is better to reduce the risk of an infestation by ensuring you don’t provide an overly inviting space.
- Moisture can affect hardwood floors and wood furniture.
When you have too much moisture in your home and the humidity fluctuates too much and is too high, you can experience damage to wood products in your home. If your moisture problem is severe, then your wood furniture could be affected. Wood flooring, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily need a severe moisture problem in order to be damaged. Even a little bit of moisture can cause buckling of your wood floors. This is unsightly and you could end up being forced to replace the flooring in your home.
These are some of the main reason why moisture can be really bad for your home. You do not want to deal with the serious issues that too much moisture can cause. It is better to be proactive and protect your home from exposure to excess moisture. When dealing with water damage, this is a classic example of a situation where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Featured images:
License: Image author owned
License: Image author owned
Brian Owens is a basement waterproofing contractor. He deals with moisture that is destroying homes on a daily—no hourly—basis. His best advice? If you have moisture in your home, fix it NOW.