The 10 Most Dangerous Threats in Your Home

If you're like most people, your first and strongest instinct is to keep your family safe, and that's especially true when you are all at home. Unfortunately, the average house contains many things that can threaten to do us harm. Some of these threats can compromise the house, itself, indirectly putting your family in bigger danger. You could even be put in serious financial risk because of these threats! But just by knowing about these common hazards and exercising a little bit of preventive safety, you'll manage to protect your family and loved ones infinitely better.

Here are the 10 most dangerous threats in your home (in no particular order):

1. Lead

Lead is a toxic heavy metal that causes a range of dangerous health problems – and commonly shows up in older homes. If traces of lead are ingested or absorbed into the body, it can interfere with brain function occur, even causing permanent damage to the brain, nervous system and vital organs.

Before it was outlawed, many household products contained high amounts of lead. Once lead was discovered to have adverse health effects, it was banned from use in 1978. So if your home was built before 1978, you might have traces of lead-based paint lurking under newer layers of paint. Lead presents the biggest risk to children, who might put lead-based paint dust or paint chips in their mouths or hands, or breathe it if someone is sanding or doing construction and the particles go airborne. Both children and adults are at high risk of lead poisoning.

2. Termites

Rats, mice, other rodents, wasps, bees, spiders, and snakes are no fun to have around, but there are far more dangerous uninvited guests that may try to take over your home. For example, termites and other wood-destroying pests can cause mass damage to your dwelling. Unfortunately, infestations and the insects themselves are so small and hard to detect, the damage often is invisible in wood framing, below subfloors, structural beams, or inside any other wood that makes up your home.

Subterranean termites are the most common variety – and they also happen to cause the most damage, but damp-wood termites, dry-wood termites, wood boring beetles, and carpenter ants can also invade a home, even rendering it unlivable if unchecked.

3. Mold

Toxic mold can grow in unlikely places in your home wherever there is moisture, often hidden behind the walls, attics, and under the floors. The most dangerous types of molds emit mycotoxins, which can cause illness and respiratory problems, or even hospitalization and death in extreme cases.

Mold can only grow where there is a steady source of moisture, like leaky seals around plumbing or roofing, or even where groundwater seeps in your basement. It grows fast, requiring only 24-48 hours to mature, so mold should be handled with extreme caution.

4. Home fires

We have a home fire every 10 seconds in the US, or a fire big enough to call the fire department every 60 seconds.  Firefighters in the U.S. respond to 374,000 residential fires every year, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Sadly, about 13,000 people lose their lives in home blazes every year, or one every three hours. The monetary damage incurred from house fires is an alarming 11.7 billion dollars a year.

A large number of home fires get started when residents fall asleep with lit cigarettes, from accidental kitchen fires, or shorts in faulty electrical wiring.

5. Water damage

Water damage that seeps into the home is a serious threat that can cause major damage. Of course, burst pipes or broken sewage lines are disastrous and can be exorbitantly expensive to fix. But smaller, slow leaks and water intrusions can enter through faulty rooflines, unsealed windows and doors, or pool up under sink cabinets, in basements, and in crawl spaces. Even small drips can rapidly cause wood rot and provide a perfect breeding ground for termites and other wood-eating pests as well as an ideal place for dangerous mold to sprout.

6. Carbon monoxide

High levels of carbon monoxide gas are a silent and invisible danger in any interior space. Even short-term exposure to carbon monoxide can cause serious health problems. Once breathed, it essentially replaces oxygen in the blood, killing off cells and starving vital organs of oxygen flow. The scary thing is that carbon monoxide can come from a variety of common household items and appliances. It's also totally odorless, colorless, and can incapacitate or kill within minutes in some cases. Many states have laws requiring landlords to put in carbon monoxide detectors, so homeowners would be wise to do the same. 

7. Lawsuits

Unfortunately, we live in one of the most litigious societies in the world, and that means virtually anyone can sue anyone whether it's reasonable or not. Visitors, delivery employees, and service workers who come on your property and then get hurt can sue you, and most people would rather have major surgery than go through a lawsuit. Slip and falls, dog bites (about 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year!), accidents involving children and pools or trampolines, even falling tree branches are common sources of lawsuits against property owners.

8. Thefts and home invasions

According to the FBI, there are approximately 2.5 million home thefts and forced entries every year, or about 1 in every 30 households. The average loss for each home burglary is $2,230, which adds up to about $4.7 billion every year. But the damage goes beyond the material, often having lasting consequences for the residents. The psychological toll and feelings of violation can remain far after the monetary damages are forgotten, often making a house no longer feel like a home.

9. Natural disasters

Referred to as "Acts of God” by insurance companies, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, hailstorms, sinkholes, mudslides, and forest fires are just some of the natural disasters that can befall a home. In California, the fear of a sizable earthquake is a valid concern, and recently, the damaged spillway in Oroville Dam forced 80,000 residents to evacuate. Of course, no one can predict when a natural disaster will hit – or prevent it – but homeowners are often woefully underprepared.

According to United Policyholders, about two-thirds of U.S. homeowners would be underinsured if some sort of adverse weather or geological event struck. It’s advisable to have evacuation supplies ready, extra food stored in your garage, batteries for flashlights and a family plan should some catastrophic event occur.

10. Cyber crime

Does identity theft really count as a danger to homeowners? In fact, identity theft and other types of online fraud are on the rise in the United States – and the stats are staggering. Approximately 15.4 million people have their identities or financial data compromised and exploited, costing them upwards of $50 billion dollars. To compare cyber theft, it amounts to three times more than the combined losses from all other types of theft like personal, burglary, motor vehicle, or property theft.

Whether it’s malware that infiltrates your computer and corrupts your data, hackers who steal your passwords and commandeer your financial information, or cyber criminals who assume your identity and open new accounts under your name, the damage could cost consumers tens of thousands of dollars and take years to clean up – without the thieves ever physically entering the home.

Pest inspections protect home buyers and sellers from hidden hazards.

When you’re buying or selling a house, there are many disclosures, inspections and safeguards in place to protect both the buyer and seller. But perhaps none is more important than the termite inspection, also called a pest inspection.  In fact, making sure the house you are buying (or selling) is free from harmful critters, water hazards, and other wood-destroying pests of mass destruction is so crucial that most lenders mandate you have to sign off on your pest report before they’ll issue a mortgage.

Why all the caution?

Termites, dry rot, and the other hazards they’re looking for in a pest inspection can cause irreparable damage to your home. The damage is often hidden below subfloors, structural beams, or inside the wood that makes up your home, making detection nearly impossible until it’s late. Left unchecked, these issues can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage or, in extreme cases, even make the home unlivable. Even more scary, moisture problems can be a breeding ground for toxic mold and pest infestations, both of which could harm your family.

Can you keep termites away forever?

And it’s impossible to completely protect your home from these conditions, only keep an eye on them and have your home inspected at intervals. That’s why pest inspectors always say there are only two types of homes: those that have termites, and homes that will have termites.

Is a pest inspection required by law?

California state law actually does not require a pest control inspection report with the sale of property. However, the mortgage lender almost always wants to see a pest report and certification that certain items have been cleared.

Why are mortgage lenders interested in your pest inspection?

Banks want to diminish their risk and protect their investment, so they only want to lend money on a property that isn’t in danger of rotting away and falling over!

Mortgage lenders and pest reports usually differentiate between two categories of information: Section 1 items and Section 2 items. Section 1 documents active infestations and damage, while Section 2 outlines the conditions that could lead to further Section 1 damage. Some types of loans, like FHA and VA, do require Section 2 items are addressed, too, before they’ll sign off on the loan.

Who is qualified to conduct a pest inspection?

In California, pest inspection companies need to be licensed and in good standing with the Structural Pest Control Board (SPCB).

You can contact the SPCB at:

www.pestboard.ca.gov

Or call 1-800-737-8188

Or 916-561 8708 in Sacramento

Of course or buyers and sellers have used many pest inspection companies, so contact us if you’d like some recommendations.

What exactly is a pest inspection?

A pest inspection is a comprehensive visual inspection of the subject property that’s looking for evidence of termites and other pests, as well as water damage, rot, and conditions that manifest in infestations. The inspector will look outside, inside, in crawl spaces, attics, and areas that are accessible, but not normally accessed. Of course they can’t see behind walls, under carpet, and in concrete slabs, etc. but inspectors are adept at working around these inaccessible areas and still detecting evidence of problems.

A pest inspection usually runs about 45 minutes to 1½ hours depending on the property and what they find. Inspectors don’t normally go through out buildings like sheds and pool houses unless specifically requested.

What is the pest report?

After they conduct the pest inspection, the termite company will put together a detailed report with all of their findings. The report will break down both Section 1 and Section 2 items that were discovered. These are documented in writing and also in the form of a diagram of the house and the areas of concern.

The second part of the report is an estimate to repair the Section 1 and Section 2 items. The seller (who usually pays for Section 1 pest work) is under no legal obligation to use the pest company to perform this work just because the company did the report. They can have a licensed contractor do the repairs needed and then call the pest company to come back and inspect, clearing Section 1 pest work and issuing an amendment to the report so the real estate transaction and mortgage can commence.

Once inspected, the pest company must deliver this report to the person who ordered it within 10 days, though it is usually openly shared with the other agents and parties to the real estate transaction. These reports are kept on file with the pest company for three years.

What are they looking for in pest inspections?

Inspectors are looking for damage and signs of an active termite infestation along with many other hazards, including other wood-destroying organisms, fungus (dry-rot), and holes in the wood. They’ll take note of signs that pests were once there even if they don’t appear to be still active, dead insects and termite tubes. Inspectors also thoroughly investigate places where water is leaking, dripping, standing, and especially where earth meets any wood, all breeding grounds for future problems.

What are the most common wood-destroying organisms?

Subterranean termites are the most common variety of termites and the ones that can cause some of the worst damage to a home. They build their nest in the ground and travel via mud tubes to get food. They can enter a structure through cracks, expansion joints, hollow bricks or concrete blocks around plumbing and in any opening as small as 1/32 of an inch, but they’re most prevalent anywhere that bare wood touches soil, especially if it’s wet.

There are other kinds of termites, like dry-wood termites that don’t nest in the ground but have wings and fly right into wood structures. You’ll often find these above ground level like in window frames, door frames, and the wood trim on the outside of your house.

Wood boring beetles are probably the second-biggest pest hazard to your home. They bore into the wood and leave numerous slots or holes and debris where they entered the wood. These beetles can attack the substructure like subfloors, joists, and piers, so they’re particularly dangerous.

Damp-wood termites, carpenter ants, wasps, bees, and rodents are other critters that pest inspectors may point out.

Dry rot is another blight to the wood structure, but the name is somewhat misleading because it’s actually a fungus that’s caused by excessive moisture, not dry at all. When wood is consistently getting wet, the fungus grows and spreads into the fibers of the wood, rotting and softening it, and eventually causing structural damage. The fungus that causes dry rot needs oxygen, water, and a food source (cellulose - or wood) to survive, so in the absence of protracted moisture it cannot live.