Thanks to Covid many of us have fled the rent of cities and have bought homes in Vermont or somewhere in the country. This is a must especially if you have kids. Sooner or later, you will end up having to deal with a water leak in your home. It happens to us all, from the US to Australia where it’s now a wet winter.

Most homeowners simply ignore leaks, especially when they are small. I always hope they will just go away on their own and sometimes they do. But even a simple dripping water faucet can lead to some problems and dangers and well, it’s really not eco-responsible all the same. Some leaks eventually lead to large leaks and huge headaches that require emergency plumbing. And that’s no fun. There are piles of resources on emergency plumbing online. Google Plumbers Near Me to find one.

So let’s say you want to stay one step ahead of calling a plumbing ambulance. There are some hidden dangers that appear when you have a water leak in your home, and most of them aren’t pretty or healthy.

Mildew And Mold Issues

Mildew and black mold are very dangerous and almost always appear if the water leak is not quickly taken care of. They simply appear and grow in areas that easily build up moisture, wet areas, and in damp places. Just a few water drops daily will create damp spots that are a perfect growing environment for mold. 

Mold will spread to various parts of your home, like walls, floors, furniture, wood framing, the HVAC system, carpets, and clothes. Remember that mold can be really toxic, and if you do not remove it fast, it becomes more and more difficult and costly to deal with. 

Health Effects of leaking taps

This is directly connected with the appearance of mildew and mold. These growths can hurt the structural integrity of the home but also pose a really serious health risk. This is especially the case when you suffer from asthma or respiratory issues. Spores can easily cause skin irritations, allergic reactions, throat inflammation, nose inflammation, red eyes, itchy eyes, coughing, and more. You can also read this guide on what to expect during mold remediation.

Water contamination

When the leak comes from a broken or burst pipe, one that is carrying drinking water, you can end up faced with contamination because various contaminants enter the pipe. This is easy because there is a pressure drop or change that leads to attracting the contaminants. As an example, the pipe can end up sucking the water coming from the environment, together with all the particles in it. 

Health risks associated with water leaks are multifaceted, especially when considering scenarios involving the contamination of drinking water. The Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit is a prime example of the severe consequences that can arise due to water pollutants. Instances of leaks in residential or public water systems can introduce harmful substances, such as lead, bacteria, or chemicals, posing significant health risks to individuals exposed to the contaminated water. This parallels the far-reaching implications of individuals affected by the Camp Lejeune water contamination, emphasizing the importance of prompt detection and remediation of water leaks to safeguard public health.

Increased Utility Bills

When water keeps leaking, your water bill is higher than it should be. This is also the case with energy consumption when you have electrical devices that use water. Also, when water damages home insulation, the HVAC system will need to spend more electricity on heating up or cooling down the environment. Leaks can reach your ceiling, attic, or roof. There, it can damage insulation much faster than you might think. Cold and warm air is thus lost, and you pay more for heating and cooling bills. 

Structural Damage

We naturally see water as a harmless substance. After all, it cannot really hurt us when just a few drops hit our skin, right? How can a small leak destroy a house? Well, this is possible when the leak is not taken care of at the right time. 

Plumbing and roof leaks can easily cause drastic structural damage to ceiling joists, wall framing, rafters, framing, and deteriorate wood. As a result, you will need to deal with a really extensive and costly repair. This is why it is always mentioned that you have to detect water leaks as soon as possible when the leaks are small so that the damage that appears is salvageable. 

Fire Hazard

This is another thing we normally do not think about. How can water cause a fire hazard?

Water leaks can easily turn into a fire hazard when it reaches electrical wiring. This drastically increases the risk of creating short circuits or shorted wires. This can lead to electrical fires, which would naturally create serious home damage. Always turn off your electricity as soon as you notice the presence of a leak close to electrical wiring.

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The study, conducted by Aylin Dogen of Mersin University, involved 177 homes, with particular focus on kitchen and bathroom appliances and fixtures. Researchers collected almost 900 samples using cotton swabs moistened with physiological saline from dishwashers, refrigerators, washing machines, bathroom walls, tubs and showers.

The Turkish study discovered traces of mold everywhere, but dishwashers proved the favored real estate for black yeast-like fungi with 62% of the appliances testing positive. The moist, warm and highly alkaline interior of the appliance provide a perfect habitat for harmful germs to thrive.

Published in the journal Medical Mycology, the study found  Exophiala (black yeast) in most of the tested dishwashers, followed by Rhodotorula (red yeast) and Candida parapsilosis (white yeast).

The study said that Exophiala species are known to cause systemic disease in people and can colonize in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Separately, the World Health Organization warned that “exposure to mycotoxins can produce both acute and chronic toxicities ranging from death to deleterious effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular and pulmonary systems.” Mycotoxins are troublesome byproducts of mold.

Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, as seen in Green Prophet’s report on a Sharjah apartment eaten by mold.  It can also become a significant pathogen in pets.

We’ve harnessed fungi for food products, for fermenting alcohol and soy sauce, for producing antibiotics, and, more recently, extracted specific fungi enzymes for use as biological pesticides to control weeds and insects. Some fruiting structures (the mushroom-like blooms) of fungi species are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies, due to the hallucinogenic affects of their psychotropic compounds.

Amazingly versatile, but unleashed, they can wreak havoc on human health.  Look around your own home.  See anything suspect? Check out this excellent guide (link here) from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Try some of their DIY tips, or call in your building manager or a mold specialist.  And consider a return to hand-washing your dishes.

Image of a dishwasher interior from Shutterstock

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Sounds like a 1950’s horror flick, but it’s been no Hollywood experience for this family-of-five in the United Arab Emirates of Sharjah. They’ve been living in a hotel since September 4 when they returned from vacation to discover the havoc wreaked by mold in their Al Majaz apartment. Incidents like this are increasingly common in hot and humid Gulf states, causing stress, expense, disruption to homelife and litigation. But the real damage is to our health.  

Illnesses caused by mold exposure are a growing problem that few people, including most physicians, are aware of.  Prolonged exposure to high spore concentration can cause serious chronic illness and a syndrome called Mixed Mold Toxicosis. I read this while eating a salad, slathered in blue cheese dressing. I don’t know much about mold.

The father of this family told Gulf News,“When I opened the apartment door I was shell-shocked. Everything was covered in black mold. I’m a pharmacist and know the health risk mold poses, especially to kids. I asked them to stay back while I stepped inside to inspect the extent of the damage. It was far worse than I’d imagined. We immediately decided to move to a nearby hotel.”

“Everything is destroyed. My TV, sofa, bedroom sets, washing machine and all our clothes,” he said. The mold was likely caused by a poorly executed paint job. A second coat was applied before the first had properly dried and the moisture trapped on the walls and ceilings created a perfect environment for fungus to colonize. The 20-story apartment building is just four years old.

Mold is a fungus that thrives in warm, humid conditions, making most Middle Eastern nations especially susceptable to outbreaks, which is why moisture control and ventilation are critically important.  Once established in a building, it spreads quickly. Washing machines are a common haven for spore growth, as are poorly ventilated bathrooms and air conditioning systems. Mold loves gypsum wallboard and fibrous ceiling tiles: add moisture and it spreads across the surface’s cellulose face.

Molds are categorized by their ability to grow at a certain water activity requirements.  The organism creates tiny spores to reproduce just as plants produce seeds. Once airborne, spores are difficult to filter out. That black mold around the shower curtain can blow to the ceiling, from the ceiling to the carpet, then onto your bed, and into your body.  It’s incidious and fast, and some molds produce toxins.

The World Health Organization recently published a report on mycotoxins, or toxic mold. It warned that “exposure to mycotoxins can produce both acute and chronic toxicities ranging from death to deleterious effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular and pulmonary systems.”

You’ve heard about “sick building syndrome” (SBS) where people suffer a range of symptoms related to a certain building, often their workplace, with no specific identifiable cause. This poorly understood phenomenon grabs frequent headlines (test Google to find examples in your neck of the woods).  Workers in modern buildings with inoperable windows and mechanical heating and air conditioning are most at risk, and mold is a major culprit.

SBS symptoms include:

• headaches, dizziness
• nausea
• aches, pains
• fatigue
• poor concentration
• shortness of breath, chest tightness
• eye, skin, throat irritation
• irritated, blocked or running nose

What to do if you spot mold?  Do not Google this one, it’s too risky to depend on bogus guidance.  If you can see mold on the outside of a surface, it’s likely on the backside too.  Don’t discount the invisible spores in the ether, either.

Instead, take a peek at this (PDF) excellent guide from the US Environmental Protection Agency.  Try some of their DIY tips, or call in your building manager or a mold specialist.

The best tip is prevention.  Keep your spaces sparkling clean.  Read the labels on the paint can. Open windows on drier days and let the spaces breathe. And hang up your wet towels.

Image of moldy wall by Shutterstock

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