Old Home Hazards You Need to Watch Out For

Old home hazards are everywhere if a property hasn’t been well kept. From really bad wiring to leaking carbon monoxide, there are a few dangerous things you need to watch out for.

Life Threatening Toxic Materials

Older properties are made using very hazardous materials that were standard when they were built. For instance, it isn’t uncommon to find asbestos in 19th-century buildings, and homes built before the 1970s are likely to include lead paint. Further, contractors would often mix petroleum in with wood varnish to thin it out when surfacing flooring from the 1930s to the 1960s. Any Asbestos removal must be done by qualified and certified experts because it is so dangerous.

Really Bad Wiring

Electrical wiring is not new and has been around in homes for over 100 years. A general rule is to have wiring inspected every 10 years because while it can last for more than 50, it isn’t expected to last that long. And there is a good reason. Degraded insulation can come apart and expose internal wires, which of course, will lead to an electrical fire. This is made worse in older homes where leaks are likely and an excess of inadequate materials such as paper insulation.

Old Home Hazards Includes the Windows

You may not think the windows are a hazard in a home, but they can be very dangerous if they are not modernized. Modern windows come with safety features that prevent children from falling and provide fire escape routes. Additionally, old windows are less likely to insulate your home, meaning your heating costs will be much higher, with a higher chance of catching a cold. Finally, the glass of older windows could be more fragile and more likely to break, causing injury.

Carbon Monoxide Leakage

Carbon monoxide is extremely dangerous because it cannot be detected by the human senses. You don’t smell it, taste it or see it. And it can kill you slowly over the course of a few hours, whereby you may just think you have the flu. Old dryers, furnaces, and stoves are the most likely causes of CO leaks. But you can buy a CO detector very cheaply and go around the home checking in places where CO leaks are most likely. And, of course, wear a face mask for this.

Excessive Amounts of Mold

There has been a lot of news coverage about common household mold over the past year. In the UK, there have been high-profile cases of child deaths directly related to mold, causing changes to UK residential laws. Old homes, simply for their age, are likely to have a lot of mold, and this can cause issues like asthma and make existing issues worse. It’s easy to remove mold, but you might need to hire an expert to find and treat the actual root cause of the problem.

Summary

Toxic materials like lead and asbestos are some old home hazards to watch out for. But you should also check the windows and pay special attention to common black household mold.