Most people are aware that water damage may cause serious problems in their homes. Some of the most common problems include foundational and structural damage, losing personal possessions, and irreparable destruction to carpet and walls. These can all be replaced. However, your health and life cannot be replaced. That is why it is critical to know what potential health effects that water damage may have. The following are two of the most common problems that water damage can cause.
Mold
This is one of the most common and largest health-related consequences that water damage can bring. Mold is the growth of tiny fungal materials. There are many kinds of harmless mold. However, there are many kinds that also pose minor as well as serious health risks.
The following are some of the more common and minor problems that mold can cause:
– Chronic coughing
– Headaches
– Joint stiffness or pain
– Weakness and fatigue
– Sinus congestion
– Shortness of breath
Although none of the above symptoms are really serious, nobody wants to have to experience them, and mold growing inside your home can catalyze all of them.
However, mold can also cause more serious symptoms. The severity level will vary based on the kind of mold, your general health, your age, and how extensive your exposure is. The two most dangerous kinds of mold are toxigenic molds and pathogenic molds.
– Toxigenic molds – The reason why these kinds of molds are so dangerous is due to the fact that they produce mycotoxins. Almost anyone can suffer serious health effects from mycotoxins. Potential reactions include cancer and immunosuppression.
– Pathogenic molds – Some forms of infection can be produced by this kind of mold. It is especially concerning for people who have weak immune systems. It may result in pneumonia and also cause the growth of fungus inside the lungs of people who are immune-compromised.
Contaminated water
Floodwater often contains contaminants that may seriously endanger people’s lives when they are exposed to it. Sewage is one of the more common contaminants that floodwater combines with. There are numerous infectious, deadly diseases that can be contained in sewage and other types of contaminated water. Dysentery, typhoid, and cholera are just a few diseases that you can contract through dirty water and all of them can be potentially deadly. If flooding takes place inside your home, it is critical to exercise extreme caution around the floodwater. You should wear protective clothing and take anything out of your house that has not been affected yet before it ends up being contaminated. When this kind of damage happens, the best thing to do is to have professionals handle cleaning the mess up.
Flooding is one of the main causes of house damage all over the world. However, it is also true that its effects extend far beyond your house. Floodwater can potentially cause harmful or deadly mold to grow inside your house. You also cannot take the dangers associated with contaminated water lightly. In flood damage cases, Florida Service Pro is dedicated to keeping our home and you safe in a flood.
